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 personal or prejudicial interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Committee, Sub Committee, Panel or Forum;

(b)               all other Members present in any part of the room or chamber.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no declarations of interests made by Members.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 October 2009 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

In accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, this item was admitted late to the agenda to allow Members to approve the minutes of the last meeting at the earliest opportunity. This item had not been available at the time the agenda was dispatched and circulated due to the proximity of meetings and the need to consult.

RESOLVED:That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 October 2009 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents or organisations under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 16 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

RESOLVED: To note that no public questions were put, or petitions or deputations received at this meeting under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rules 16, 14 and 15 respectively.

Report of the Director, Schools and Children’s Development.

In accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) 1985, this item was admitted late to the agenda so that the feedback from the Nursery Admissions Working Group could be considered at the earliest opportunity. The feedback from the Nursery Admissions Working Group was not available at the time the agenda was printed and circulated.

An officer introduced the report which set out the feedback from the Nursery Admissions Working Group on arrangements for admission to Harrow nursery classes.  The officer stated that the Nursery Admissions Working Group had made recommendations which, if approved by the Forum, would be used as part of the public consultation on admission arrangements.

In response to questions, it was stated that:

• when allocating nursery places, older children were given priority over younger children;

• offering parents one choice of nursery reflected the fact that the majority of parents only applied to their local nursery;

• at present, nursery admission applications were not processed centrally, resulting in a need for schools and nurseries to consult with each other to ensure that children were not offered more than one place;

• in addition to community schools with nursery classes, there were many other providers;

• in the event of a late application being received, children would still be admitted to the nursery of their choice if spaces were available.  If there were no spaces, the child would be placed on a waiting list;

• as admissions to nurseries were not dealt with centrally, officers could not provide detailed statistics for the area.  However, officers did have figures for the number of children attending nursery in Harrow.

RESOLVED:

That

(1) the Nursery Working Group’s recommendations be approved;

(2) the recommendations of the Nursery Working Group be used as part of the public consultation on nursery admissions.

Report of the Director, Schools and Children’s Development.

In accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, this item was admitted late to the agenda so that the consultation process on proposed admission arrangements for Harrow Community primary and high schools for the school year 2011-12 could be approved at the earliest opportunity. The report was not available at the time the agenda was printed and circulated.

An officer presented the report which outlined Harrow’s current admission arrangements and the changes required in order to meet the requirements of the Schools Admissions Code of Practice.

The officer stated that:

·         it was proposed that the oversubscription criteria be amended to ensure that twins and other multiple birth children could attend the same primary schools;

·         officers were awaiting guidance from the Department of Children, Schools and Families on the issue of flexible entry into reception class.

RESOLVED:

That (1) the recommendations set out in the report of the Director of Schools and Children’s Development be approved.

(2) the consultation process on proposed admission arrangements, to apply to Harrow Community primary and high schools for the year 2011-12, be agreed.

(i)         Children’s Services Representative

In response to a question from a Member, an officer stated that a request for a representative of Children’s Services to join the Forum had been made to the relevant Corporate Director. A nomination was expected soon.

(ii)         I-Foundation Representative

The Forum requested that legal advice be sought on the status of the I-Foundation as a representative of the Hindu faith on the Forum.