Questions to be asked by Members of the County Council of the Leader of the Council, a Cabinet Member, or a Chairman of a non-Scrutiny Committee. The question will be answered by the relevant Member and the Member asking the question may then ask a follow up question which will also be answered
Minutes:
Mr. D. Nixon asked the following question of the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills whose reply is set out below the question:-
Question
(i) Does the portfolio holder welcome the liberation of our schools from L.E.A. control which on a national basis will have gone from one in sixteen schools now to the predicted figure of one in three schools by the end of this year?
(ii) How many schools in Staffordshire have so far opted out of the L.E.A. or are in the process of doing so?
(iii) As schools free themselves from L.E.A. control, there is going to be less work for the administrators in county buildings so are there any plans in place to cut-back the number of educational bureaucrats to reflect this?
Reply
(i) I am proud of the fact that in Staffordshire we have a strong and robust relationship with all schools whatever their status. I am also confident that whilst in some areas schools have felt the need to ‘break free’ from perceived Local Authority control, in Staffordshire we will continue to work with all schools to improve outcomes and provide the very best education we can.
(ii) There is an evolving situation with Academies in the county.
We have four operational academies in Staffordshire:-
· JCB Academy, Rocester
· Landau Forte Academy, Tamworth
· John Taylor High School. Barton under Needwood
· de Ferrers Technology College , Burton on Trent
In addition three schools have had their applications approved and will convert to Academy status on the dates shown:-
· Violet Lane Foundation Infant School 1 June 2011
· Chasetown Specialist Sports College 1 July 2011
· Chadsmead Primary School, Lichfield 1 August 2011
The following four schools have applied to the Secretary of State to convert to academy status. Their applications have been approved and they anticipate that they will be operating as an Academy from 1 September 2011:-
· Biddulph High School, Biddulph
· Christchurch VA(CE) Middle School, Stone
· Cheadle High School, Cheadle
· Cannock Chase High School, Cannock
In Hednesford:-
· Blake Valley Technology College will become an Academy from 1 September 2011, sponsored by Staffordshire University
In Rugeley:-
· Fair Oak Business and Enterprise College and Hagley Park Sports College will become Academies, sponsored by the Creative Education Trust.
In total; by September 2011 there will be 13 Academy schools.
(iii) The County Council retains responsibility for ensuring standards of education in schools are high and improving and for making sure that we have enough school places. We have a small team of officers who ensured that this year 93% of all secondary pupils got their first choice of school and 99% were offered one of their preferences (the figures for primary admissions were 93% and 97% respectively). Additionally, we have just completed a review and restructure of our Education Transformation Team to make sure that all Staffordshire pupils get the best education we can provide. Again, the record speaks for itself with my area of responsibility (education and skills) coming in on budget and committed to achieving significant savings over the coming years. I will keep under review both the cost and effectiveness of all those services we are required to provide, whilst at the same time look to trade those services which we can and that schools value.