Issue - meetings

(1)     Prior to discussion of this item the Director of Operations circulated a paper which updated Members of the Advisory Board on the summary of written responses.

(2)     He also circulated a paper which replaced paragraph 14.1 of the published report.  The amended paper confirmed that there were no capital costs to KCC connected with the closure of Axton Chase School.  Part of the site was due to be sold with the subsequent receipt being used to support the Academies and Building Schools for the Future Programme.  The Academy would take on the rest of the site.  Running cost for the Academies would be paid for by the Government and the sponsors with the Academy also formulating its own staffing strategy.  Should there be any redundancies then these costs would be borne by the Local Authority.

(3)     During the course of a wide ranging and detailed debate Members of the Advisory Board asked officers a range of questions related to these proposals.  Dr Craig confirmed that the Capital Receipt could only be used for a purpose related to the Academy.  Dr Craig also said that whilst it was standard procedure to invite the teaching unions to attend consultation meetings, it did appear that on this particular occasion, they had not receive such an invitation.  Mr Hart said that the Headteacher of Axton Chase School had confirmed there had been on site meetings with Union representatives and that the appointed Consultants had arranged a meeting with the unions and this would be taking place on 23 April 2008.

(4) Dr Craig said that should the recommendation before the Advisory Board be agreed then the formal consultation process would commence and the Unions would be consulted as to their views as part of that process.  In answer to other questions raised by Members, Dr Craig said that until the work of the consultants had been completed, it would not be possible to say what exactly would be provided in terms of facilities on the site.  Dr Craig also said that although KCC was a sponsor of the Academy proposal, it could not itself decide how the school should be organised.  In relation to the timing of the planning application, Dr Craig said that its determination did not in his view pre-judge the Academy proposals and that nonetheless the school was in urgent need of re-building.  Also, it was acknowledged that Axton Chase was at the heart of the community and a range of extra curricular activity took place within the surroundings of the school.  The Academy would be able to build and enhance those uses and continue to act as community hub.  In answer to a question relating to the costs to local people of using the school facilities, Dr Craig said that, that would be a matter for the Governing Body as it was for them to determine the charging policies relating to extra curricular uses.

(5)     With regard to issues relating to staffing, Dr Craig said that the new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1

(The Chairman declared consideration of this item to be urgent because  although it had been intended to report on this matter to the meeting of the  Advisory Board in March 2008, the DCSF, under the direction of the Minister, had requested the County Council’s consultation to be moved ahead as expediently as possible, to ensure funding was made available for the benefit of the school and community).

(1)       Axton Chase School is an 11-19 mixed (non-selected foundation) high school which serves both rural and urban communities located in the Dartford area.  In Axton Chase School, the socio-economic profile of the student intake is below national and Kent average overall.  The proportion of students with a Statement of Special Educational Needs is 6%, above the Kent (2.8%) and the National average (2.2%).  The proportion of students eligible for free school meals is 10%, which is below the national average of 13.6% and the Kent average of 7.9%.

(2)       The vision for the Axtane Academy is that it will develop new first class approaches to education.  The Academy will have a particular focus on vocational education, creating a mix of academic and vocational experiences.  The Academy will also specialise in science and the creative and expressive arts with a bias to technology based programmes.  It would also have a specialist centre for students in the Autistic Spectrum.  The Academy would also form part of a hard federation with the Leigh Technology Academy which is the lead sponsor, with the County Council being a co-sponsor together with the University of Kent.

(3)       During the course of discussion, Mrs Angell expressed strong concerns about the way the consultation relating to the establishment of this Academy had been handled to date.  She said there had been little timely information made available to either the school, parents or elected Members.  She said she understood that there were circumstances that needed to be taken into account when considering when information should be made public but that elected Members ought to be given relevant information even if for a period of time that had to be on a confidential basis.

(4)      Dr Craig said that the County Council was totally constrained in these matters by Government rules and procedures and that timely information had been provided as soon as the County Council had been told by the Minister that the consultation process could begin.  However, he understood the point being made about the position of elected Members and he said that he would speak to the Department on that particular point and advise Members of its response.

(5)       During the course of further discussion, Members of the Advisory Board raised a number of points relating to a range of matters including seeking confirmation that when the Academy comes into place, there would be one Governing Body which would oversee both the Axtane Academy and the Leigh Technology Academy.  Officers also confirmed that although the admission arrangements to the two schools would be set by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3