Agenda item - Deputations from members of the public.

A list of deputations received by the due date of the 19^th April 2012 will be circulated separately as part of an addendum at the meeting.

5.1             The Mayor reported that one deputation had been received from members of the public and invited Ms. Sylvester as the spokesperson for the deputation to come forward and address the council.

 

5.2             Ms. Sylvester  thanked the Mayor and stated that:

 

“You may remember us. We presented a petition showing overwhelming support from our local community for this sensible boundary change at the last council meeting. We were touched by the warm reception we received and encouraged by the cross-party support to reconsider this issue. Thank you.

 

We are delighted that the boundary change for Map 1 is being recommended to council today. You will be able to change lives for the better with a simple ‘yes’ vote. This straightforward, popular decision will transform our local community and deliver benefits citywide.

 

Let’s look at the problem.

 

Stanford is the only junior school in the affected area, slap-bang on the catchment boundary. Torn apart by the current system, it has 96 children split between 11 different schools. It’s tough on children, sent miles from home. Even if they are lucky and get the school they want, it’s rare for them to go with the friends they’ve grown up with. In the past, the school has dealt with up to 20 appeals in one year.

 

Kids need certainty and support when they move to secondary school. Our children face division, disappointment and distress. Some families can’t stand the uncertainty. They choose ‘knees’ or ‘fees’ – either faking a faith to get into Cardinal Newman or reluctantly going private; not options open or attractive to everyone.

 

Sending children to their fifth and sixth closest schools makes no sense. Blatchington Mill and Hove Park are simply NOT our local schools. Children don’t walk or cycle; they take crowded buses. They can’t participate in after-school clubs because there is no bus service to bring them home. They join classes dominated by feeder schools in unfamiliar neighbourhoods.

 

Today, you can send our children back to their closest inclusive schools – Stringer and Varndean. You will transform our community. It’s a better, fairer, and more sustainable solution.

 

Here’s why. It means more children will:

 

·        walk and cycle on safe routes to schools they can see from home

·        help the council meet sustainable travel targets

·        attend after-school clubs

·        remain part of their local community

·        go on to secondary school with friends

 

It means:

 

·        less pollution and improved fitness

·        less pressure on Hove secondary school places

·        less time, money and resource spent on appeals and further consultation

·        less uncertainty and anxiety for families.

 

No one action will solve the citywide school place issue. But this change is a quick and effective way of addressing Hove’s ticking timebomb and solving our community’s problem.

 

Let’s tackle some concerns head on.

 

Will there be enough places in the Stringer/ Varndean catchment? Frankly, there’s no point making a change unless there are.

 

Yes, the numbers stack up.

 

·        after all, this boundary shift was originally proposed by the council!

·        places at Stringer have been increased to 330

·        Varndean placed 54 children out of catchment this year

·        Cardinal Newman will continue to attract pupils

·        the removal of out of catchment sibling link frees up more places

·        honouring sibling link in the boundary change area, to help families with children already in Hove schools, also creates space.

 

Meanwhile, primary schools in Hove have been expanded to take an additional 270 children this year. These children will need secondary school places. They need to access their local schools too. Soon, Hove secondary schools simply won’t have enough space. Inaction is not an option.

 

Has there been opposition to this boundary shift?

 

Residents in our area support this change passionately. We represent the majority view. You have seen the evidence: a (TBC)-strong petition, a committed action group and a steady stream of emails.

 

Of course, you can’t please all the people all the time. However, opposition has been minimal. A dozen parents on the other side of Dyke Road in Hove want our children to keep theirs company as they travel to Hove and Hangleton. We ask them to consider the bigger picture. We urge people focused on protecting places for themselves at Stringer/ Varndean to find reassurance in the figures. We advise anyone keen to push our kids to another faraway school to think again.

 

Are there lessons to learn from the consultation?

 

In short, yes. It is difficult to get consultations right. Five years ago, our community campaigned fiercely to keep our local schools. We were ignored. Commitment to return our children to Stringer and Varndean is undiminished. So why didn’t the original consultation reflect this? Many interpreted the consultation wording incorrectly – they thought it was a done deal. Two information sessions were nowhere near the affected area and information was not distributed reliably.

But the community stepped in. We have worked hard to inform residents by:

 

·        including information about the consultation in school newsletters

·        holding four community meetings

·        ensuring links to the online petitions (both for and against) were sent by text to all parents at Stanford Juniors

·        going door-to-door asking people to consider the boundary change, contact their councillors and sign petitions.

 

You can be confident that people have been effectively engaged.

 

Let’s not meet again next year and rehash the same arguments. We will have failed another year group, Hove schools will be fit to burst and frankly, we know the city needs to focus on the pressing issues of creating new schools and improving school performance.

 

This decision is easy. We want our children to walk to their local school, participate in after-school clubs and go to secondary school with friends. You need to alleviate pressure on Hove schools, cut pollution, reduce appeals and respond to local communities. The numbers stack up and the outcome would be a greener, fairer, better, popular solution. So, what are we waiting for?

 

I implore you to vote for this change. We hope that we can count on your support.”

 

5.3             The Mayor thanked Ms. Sylvester for attending the meeting and speaking on behalf of the deputation. She explained that the points had been noted and would be taken into consideration during the debate on Item 6 on the agenda and therefore Ms. Sylvester was welcome to remain to see the outcome of the debate. 

 

5.4             The Mayor then invited Councillor Shanks as the Cabinet Member for Children & Young People to respond to the two deputations.

 

5.1             Councillor Shanks thanked Ms. Sylvester for attending the meeting and putting forward her deputation.  She noted that the matter had been considered at her recent Cabinet Member Meeting and was to debated during consideration of the next item on the agenda, however she had listened to the points made in the deputation and would be putting forward recommendations to meet those points.

 

5.2             The Mayor then moved that the deputation be noted and taken into consideration during the debate on the following item relating to school admission arrangements.

 

5.3             RESOLVED: That the deputation as outlined be noted.