Agenda item

Further to Minute No. 19 of a meeting of the School Organisation Committee held on 20^th January, 2005, the meeting considered a report concerning DfES consultations on School Organisation issues.

Foundation Schools

The meeting considered a letter from the Department for Education and Skills, together with copies of the amended regulations and list of consultees, confirming that regulations will be laid before Parliament on 8^th July and will come into force on 1^st August, 2005.  Regulations will also be laid to allow the governing bodies of all secondary schools to appoint up to four sponsor governors.

The five-year strategy set out the Government’s plans for a reformed system of strong, autonomous schools and a modernised role for local authorities acting as commissioners, rather than direct providers, of services for children and learners in their areas.

The five-year strategy made clear that the Government’s principles for reform applied to all schools, and explained how primary schools would also enjoy more freedom, with a lighter-touch role for the local authority.

Foundation status offers community and VC schools a route to practical autonomy.

Foundation schools have formal ownership of their assets and their governing bodies are the direct employers of the school’s staff; are their own admission authority;  and have the power to publish statutory proposals for other changes. 

Foundation and VA schools combined constitute a majority of secondary schools in several areas.  In those areas the local authority and schools will already be working in a way which prefigures the reformed system outlined in the five-year strategy.

The Government proposes to make further amendments to the Education (Change of Category of Maintained Schools) (England) Regulations 2000 to bring community and voluntary controlled primary schools within the scope of the streamlined process available to secondary schools.  The key principle is that the governors of individual schools are best placed to decide whether a change of category is in the best interest of their school and the wider community, taking account of the views of parents and other stakeholders.

The Government proposes to streamline the process for community and voluntary controlled primary schools to change category to foundation so that it is identical to the process being introduced for secondary schools.  The effects of this would be as follows:

·        The period during which representations may be made about the proposals would be reduced to four weeks;

·        the amount of prescribed information that the governors must publish would be significantly reduced; and

·        the governing body would be able to determine their own proposals,    and their determination would be final.

The Government is not proposing any changes to the governance arrangements for foundation schools.

The meeting made reference to the following points:-

(1)               the Government’s response to the consultation, particularly the chairmanship of SOC, and the attendance at meetings by LEA officers

(2)               the proposals to streamline the process for primary schools to change category

Resolved:-  (1)  That the content of the report be noted.

(2)    That this Committee place on record its appreciation of the way in which this meeting is chaired by the Cabinet Member for Lifelong Learning, in an open and fair way.

(3)  That an appropriate response to the consultation be made to the DfES regarding the proposal to streamline the process for primary schools to change category.

The response to include the same points raised and forwarded in response to the previous consultation relating to secondary schools.