Decision details
St Ambrose Barlow Catholic College - Outcome of Consultation on the Proposed Closure of the School
Decision Maker: Cabinet
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Is subject to call in?: Yes
Purpose:
This report will summarise the results and comments of the statutory consultation process with regards to the proposal for closure, subject to the outcome the Cabinet would make a decision on the Local Authority publishing a statutory notice setting out the proposals for St Ambrose Barlow Catholic High School.
Decisions:
Further to Minute No. 27 of the meeting held on 3 July 2015, the Cabinet considered the report on the Head of Schools and Families which provided details of the outcome of the consultation on the proposed closure of St Ambrose Barlow Catholic College (known as St Ambrose Barlow Catholic High School) and sought approval to publish a Statutory Notice relating to the proposal.
The Head of Regulation and Compliance referred to a letter of 3 November 2015 circulated to Members of the Cabinet and Officers by Turner’s Solicitors of Bridgend relating to the content of the report and advised the Cabinet that the correspondence did not delay Cabinet’s consideration of the officer report before them today. The Council will be responding to the correspondence in the near future.
The Head of Schools and Families outlined the content of the report and the next steps to be taken subject to the Cabinet agreeing to publish the statutory notice.
Members of the Cabinet raised questions to the following issues and the Head of Schools and Families responded to the issues as indicated below:
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Paragraph 4.6 of the report indicates “no sustainable viable financial proposals have been put forward as of the consultation process.” Have any viable proposals been submitted since the publication of the report?
Response: A number of representations have been received since the publication of the report but no sustainable viable financial proposals have been submitted.
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Please can you outline the transitional arrangements to be made in the event of the school closing to protect the welfare of the children.
Response: The school would continue to be operational until it was closed and provide support to pupils and families. The school would also work with the local authority and other schools to ensure that bespoke transitional arrangements are put in place for each pupil. Vulnerable children who have health and care plans and/or require high needs support would be supported by the local authority Special Education Needs and Inclusion Service to ensure that those children have a smooth transition into their new school.
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Paragraph 6.1 in the report indicates that there are significant surplus pupil places in secondary schools in the south of the Borough. Are you confident that there is sufficient capacity in other Catholic schools in the area to accommodate all of the pupils from St Ambrose Barlow?
Response: The Archdiocese have indicated that they can provide places for all Catholic and non-Catholic pupils from St Ambrose Barlow in other Catholic secondary schools in the area. There are significant alternative options should families wish to go to other schools. |
Decision Made: That:
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(1) the responses to the statutory consultation process be noted;
(2) it be noted that the Archdiocese of Liverpool had requested the Council to proceed with the publication of the statutory notice: and
(3) approval be given to the publication of the Statutory Notice on the closure of St Ambrose Barlow Catholic College.
Reasons for Decision:
The Local Authority has the statutory power to close a maintained school following the statutory process detailed in the report.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
None. |
Report author: Mike McSorley
Publication date: 11/11/2015
Date of decision: 05/11/2015
Decided at meeting: 05/11/2015 - Cabinet
Effective from: 19/11/2015
Accompanying Documents:
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