Issue - meetings

Consideration was given to a report of the Interim Director of Education and Early Years and the Director of Economy which sought the following recommended changes to Kingsland School.

·         Increase the schools PAN (Planned Admission Number) to 100 pupils (70 permanently excluded children and 30 SLC children).

·         Refurbish the lower ground floor of Laurel Bank to enable use by the school at an estimated cost of £500,000.

·         Set a budget for the school based on the newly proposed PAN and agree the release of funds from the Dedicated Schools Grant to cover the schools currently predicted deficit.

Kingsland School currently had a PAN of 70 (40 permanently excluded children and 30 SLC Children).  The PAN of the school has not changed since 2012.  In recent years the number of school age children in the borough had increased to approximately 43,500 in 2020 and was predicted to increase to 47,000 by 2025.  This increase has put enormous pressure on Kingsland School as there had been a corresponding increase in the number of pupils excluded in the borough, consequently the actual numbers of children in the school was always far in excess the official PAN.  Therefore, there was a need to formally increase the PAN of the school.  The current number on roll at the school was 148 (although some of these pupils are on part-time timetables).  A statutory process would need to be followed in order to formally increase the schools PAN. A six-week public consultation was required, and it was also necessary to inform and gain the approval of the Department for Education for the changes proposed to the PAN. 

Option/alternatives

Option 1 – Do nothing.

Option 2: Approve the recommended changes:

·         The current budget was not set at an appropriate level for the school and was complicated by the lack of an appropriate PAN.  Revising the school PAN would enable more effective budget planning. 

·         In addition, the extra funding requirements outlined above would be required to enable these targeted interventions to continue. 

·         The school was currently short of physical space and the development of the lower floor of laurel bank would allow the school to build upon the recent successful Ofsted Inspection and continue its programme of targeted interventions. 

RESOLVED – That:

1.    Option 2 be approved to;

a.     Increase the schools PAN (Planned Admission Number) to 100 pupils (70 permanently excluded children and 30 SLC children).

2.    The spend of up to £500k to support the delivery of the works needed to progress immediately with further delegated authority to the Director of Economy and Director of Finance for an additional £250k should this be required to complete the scheme be approved.