Paul Ballatt introduced the item at the public session with reference to the public scrutiny report:

·         The Council has a statutory responsibility to provide sufficient and appropriate school places;

·         The new school will be financed by the Government (through the Education Funding Agency – EFA) with  the Council contributing some funding as the new school will be meeting some of our ‘basic need’ for school places;

·         It will be a Free School in line with Government policy;

·         The Council has increased its primary place provision by 20+ forms of entry to meet need.  This increase in demand is now progressing to secondary;

·         The need for the new school is based on pupil number projections.  This will be affected by the retention of pupils in Merton between primary and secondary phases;

·         The EFA had originally planned for the new school to open in Sept 16 although a deferral until September 2017 was agreed some time ago.  There may be a need to delay this further to September 2018 because of the difficulty in identifying a suitable site.  Additionally this may be beneficial to Merton’s other secondary schools as the increase in secondary pupil numbers is not due to hit until 2018; LB Merton’s existing secondary schools are concerned about the potential impact on their admission numbers if the new school opens before the increase in demand for secondary places occurs;

·         The school will initially have to use a temporary site (the vacant Whatley Avenue Adult Education site has been identified); and

·         Details of the proposed permanent site are currently exempt because it involves commercially sensitive negotiations with third parties.

With the agreement of the chair Julia Waters, the Head of Ursuline High School, representing Merton Secondary Heads, also provided a short presentation.  This supported the new school but only on the basis of it opening in September 2018 rather than September 2017; opening in 2017 would be before the forecast significant rise in pupil numbers so would lead to spare places in existing LB Merton secondary schools with significant financial consequences.

In response to Member questions, officers clarified:

·         Demand for the new school is based on projections based on the number of children already in LB Merton primary schools (a paper was tabled at the meeting on the projections which is now part of the agenda pack for the meeting);

·         If the projected increase in demand is realised, eight new secondary forms of entry will be needed.  This can all be achieved through the new Harris Wimbledon development and the expansion of Harris Merton.  Other expansion is available if this isn’t sufficient;

·         The Department has brokered meetings between the primary school (Joseph Hood) adjacent to the Whatley Avenue site and Harris Federation to support the development of a good relationship.  This has focused on safeguarding younger children at the primary school.  Harris Federation’s delivery model has a strong focus on safety;

·         The South Wimbledon location has been determined on need.  This is where most of the increase in primary provision is located necessitating more secondary places that are accessible from Wimbledon and Colliers Wood;

·         The proposed date for opening is still being considered; September 2017 is very ambitious and demand isn’t projected to rise until September 2018.  Extra provision in advance of this demand may destabilise existing LB Merton schools especially at a time when Sutton is also providing additional spaces;

·         The new school, as a Free School, will be its own admission authority.  It will still have to comply with the School Admissions Code and Harris Federation has given reassurances it won’t be a selective school;

·         There are currently no plans for expansion of other schools beyond Harris Wimbledon and Merton.  Other secondaries in Merton will only be expanded if demand dictates.  The disappointment of the Church of England Diocese was noted; it highlighted that current plans do not allow for a range of additional places to be offered including those in faith schools;

EXEMPT SESSION

Having fully explored the information provided in the public agenda, members of the public were asked to leave the meeting to allow information on the exempt agenda to be discussed.  Details of this exempt session and the reference to Cabinet are contained in the exempt minute and report.