Agenda and minutes

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no Reserve Members in attendance at this meeting.

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Panel;

(b)               all other Members present.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following interests were declared:

Agenda Item 8 – Admission to County Schools

Councillor Camilla Bath declared a non-pecuniary interest in that she was a governor of Whitchurch First and Nursery School, St George’s RC Primary School and Harrow High Academy.  She would remain in the room for the consideration of any cases relating to these schools.

Councillor Raj Ray declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he was a governor of Heathland Primary School and Shaftesbury High School.  He would remain in the room for the consideration of any cases relating to these schools.

Ms G Caroli, Headteacher of Grimsdyke School, declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in relation to case P420.  She would leave the room during the consideration of this case, as it related to Grimsdyke School.

To appoint a Vice-Chairman of the School Placement Admissions Panel for the Municipal Year 2013/14.

RESOLVED:  That Councillor Raj Ray be appointed Vice-Chairman for the Municipal Year 2013/14.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 May 2013 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 May 2013 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents or organisations under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 51 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions were put, or petitions or deputations received at this meeting.

Which the Chairman has decided is urgent and cannot otherwise be dealt with.

Timing and Frequency of Future Meetings of the School Placement Panel

The Chair proposed a discussion on the options open to the Panel to change the timing of future meetings of the Panel, and asked the headteacher representatives for their views on the optimum timing which would have the least impact on their working day.

The School Admissions Manager also raised the possibility of reducing the frequency of meetings to three or four weekly intervals, instead of every two weeks as at present.  She also suggested that meetings remained on a Wednesday, as schools were now used to the schedule for reporting.  The secondary headteacher representative commented that afternoons or an earlier start would have less impact on the working day for the headteacher representatives, but added that there was a regular secondary headteacher meeting every other Wednesday afternoon.

Panel Members considered whether a move to four weekly meetings would double the workload at the meeting, but acknowledged that there would be advantages in that it would give the Admissions Service more time to resolve applications in the interim period, as well as allowing themes and patterns to emerge which could be addressed in a more strategic way.

Panel Members agreed that the remaining meetings in the 2012-13 school year would start at 10.00 am and not 10.30 am.  The secondary headteacher representative requested that any change to the frequency of meetings was agreed by the start of the school year so that they could plan for them.  The Chair proposed that the frequency of meetings be reviewed at the end of this term, with a view to reducing the frequency to monthly meetings from September 2013 onwards.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)               future meetings of the School Placement Panel will start at 10.00 am, and not 10.30 am;

(2)               the frequency of meetings will be reviewed at the end of the school summer term with a view to reducing the frequency to monthly meetings from September 2013.

To resolve that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business, on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of confidential information in breach of an obligation of confidence, or of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972:

RESOLVED:  That, in accordance with Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item for the reason set out below:

Report of the Corporate Director Children and Families.

In accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, cases P483-P515 were admitted late to the agenda to allow the Panel to allocate an appropriate place to the applicants.

On 5 June 2013there were 30 children for whom admissions staff could make no reasonable offer of a school place.  The School Placement Panel was requested to recommend to the Corporate Director of Children and Families to authorise the admission of these pupils to a school where no places existed in the relevant year group.

Resolved to RECOMMEND: (to the Corporate Director of Children and Families)

That offers of admission to schools be made as follows: