The motion was moved by Councillor James Holmes and seconded by Councillor Linda Taylor.

The Labour amendment, as set out in agenda item 16 was moved by Councillor Ross Garrod and seconded by Councillor Judy Saunders.

The Labour amendment was then put to the vote and was carried – votes in favour 39, and votes against 20 with 1 abstention.

The substantive resolution was then agreed.

RESOLVED

This Council recognises, given the urgent and projected demand for more secondary school places in Merton, that there is still not a suitable site agreed with the Department for Education (DFE) who are responsible, via the Education Funding (EFA) Agency, for identifying such a site. Furthermore, even if the process can shortly be concluded, Council is concerned about the time it has taken for the EFA to identify a site for a new secondary free school in the borough that fully meets the needs of parents and pupils across the whole of Mertonbut acknowledges the unavoidable difficulties facing the EFA.

The search for suitable sites for a new secondary school commenced in 2012 but it was immediately clear from the results of the Capita Simmonds report which the council commissioned that unfortunately there are very few sites in the borough that are suitable for a school, given the lack of significant land availability, the requirements for sufficient space and outside play areasand the government funding available for building new schools. The government’s EFA have now undertaken their own site search and have confirmed the difficulty in finding a suitable site in Merton.  Nonetheless, the council has assisted the EFA in identifying a potential site in South Wimbledon which is the administration’s preferred option although it cannot currently be named for reasons of commercial confidentiality.   This Council acknowledges that:

•          If, due to lack of a suitable site and insufficient funding from central government,  a viable secondary school site cannot be identified by the government’s EFA within the timescale required to meet future need then this administration will work with the government’s EFA and with Harris where appropriate to reassess the current secondary school strategy and look at the various contingency plans in place for such an eventuality, including looking at alternative options for secondary school expansion which are cost effective and value for money and which meet our statutory responsibilities so we do not  run the serious risk of not having enough provision in place, with inadequate  funding from the Department for Education for the construction of a new school potentially requiring us to look at more cost effective and value for money options.

•          Notwithstanding the difficulty in finding a site, this administration has focused on finding a good quality provider with a track record of achievement in the borough  by writing to the Regional Schools Commissioner expressing a clear preference for a provider with a track record of offering good quality education to young people in Merton over an untested provider, Chapel Street, which was proposing a split site school across three unidentified sites, which was approved and selected by the DFE but which later withdrew. The process undertaken by the government’s EFA, assisted by the council, in finding a suitable site, close to where pupil numbers will be highest in the west of the borough, is unavoidable in order to ensure the suitability of the site in terms of space and environmental requirements and the affordability of the site in the light of government cuts to the funding for new school construction.

This Council notes that many parents, teachers and children don’t want split site secondary schools for a variety of reasons, such as safety, travel issues and lack of flexibility, and congratulates the council on making clear to the Secretary of State our preference for a tested provider with a good track record overthe Chapel Street three site proposal. Nor do they want to see popular primary schools, such as Joseph Hood and Wimbledon Chase, adversely impacted by proposals for a new secondary school on their existing sites. The lack of a suitable site for a new secondary school is regrettable but the EFA and the council’s focus is on ensuring the right site and to ensure our residents’ children can access a high quality school close to their home.

This Council therefore urges the government’s EFA, working where appropriate with Harris and the council and Cabinet, to continue todo all they can to identify a site and to rapidly progress a single site location where at all possible for a new secondary free school in the west of the borough, as close as possible to the area of greatest need that a) would not adversely affect existing schools in Merton and b) could accommodate a new secondary school on a single site thereby avoiding the need for a split site, bearing in mind the land availability constraints and the inadequategovernment funding for the construction of new schools.