Issue - meetings

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Young People and Families which indicated that the Governing Body of St Ambrose Barlow Catholic High School had met on 29 June 2015to consider the financial position of the school going forward in the light of no foreseeable increase in pupil numbers and increasing costs, which were exacerbated by pension changes which would increase staffing costs by around 3% and the continued freeze in education funding at 2010 levels. The Governing Body had decided that they could not reduce costs further and be able to operate as a school delivering a suitable broad curriculum and a good standard of education. Given the legal requirement to set a balanced budget they had come to the sad conclusion that St Ambrose Barlow was no longer viable as a school and passed a resolution asking the Archdiocese of Liverpool to request Sefton Council to consult on the closure of St Ambrose Barlow High School in August 2016.The Archdiocese of Liverpool had subsequently requested the Council to consult on the closure of the School.

The report set out the current financial position of the School, the Ofsted classification of the School, number of pupil places and the statutory process and timetable for consultations to be held on the proposed closure of the School.

The Director of Young People and Families reported that the details of the proposed consultation arrangements would be submitted to an additional meeting of the Public Consultation and Engagement Panel to be held on 9 July 2015 for approval.

Decision Made:

That :

(1)       the request from the St Ambrose Barlow’s Catholic High School Governing Body to close the school because they are no longer financially viable due to falling pupil rolls be noted;

(2)       the statutory process outlined in the report for the closure of the school be noted;

(3)       approval be given to the commencement of the statutory consultation process relating to the proposal to close St Ambrose Barlow Catholic High School with effect from 31 August 2016;

(4)       it be noted that the proposal was a Key Decision but had not been included in the Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions.  Consequently, the Leader of the Council and the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services and Safeguarding) had been consulted under Rule 27 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution, to the decision being made by Cabinet as a matter of urgency on the basis that it was impracticable to defer the decision until the commencement of the next Forward Plan because the consultation should commence before the end of term; and

(5)       it be noted that the Leader of the Council and the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services and Safeguarding) had given her consent under Rule 46 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules for this decision) to be treated as urgent and not subject to "call in" on the basis that it cannot be reasonably deferred  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27