To consider the following motion submitted by Councillor Jim Brown:
Stevenage Borough Council notes that 2019 will mark the 70th Anniversary of the local Barclay School and thanks all current and past staff for the opportunities they have provided for thousands of local children. Therefore we regret that by June, when the anniversary would have been celebrated, the school may not exist in its currently recognisable form, given the forced academisation process the school is being put through.
Barclay School is an important community asset for Stevenage. After many years of academisation, no evidence exists to suggest that the educational outcomes of multi-academy sponsor trust school pupils improve. Our first priority must therefore be to support local students at Barclay School, and we condemn this recent upheaval as completely unnecessary.
The Council notes that parents of transferring year 6 students were not aware of the imminent transfer when they had to submit preferences before 1st November 2018 and is concerned that the school may no longer be accessible and affordable for not for profit community activities after this hostile take over.
We send our support to the parents, pupils and staff of Barclay School who are coming together to defend a vital resource for their local community. Thousands of people from across Stevenage have told the Education Secretary that they want Barclay to be locally rooted and accountable, yet he has refused to even answer their petition. We therefore call on the Secretary of State to respond to the people of Stevenage who have signed this petition immediately.
We believe that the process for handing over this school has been flawed and ministers have real questions to answer about how this decision is being made. As such, we urge the Regional Schools Commissioner to review the conversion timetable and whether the designation of Future Academies Trust is appropriate.
Instead of imposing a conversion that our community is overwhelmingly against, the Secretary of State for Education should work with parents, staff, the community and local Councillors to support the school. In light of the recent rapid improvements at the school, the Secretary of State for Education has the power to rescind the academy order. We call on him to do so immediately, so that the school can get back to helping local young people “Believe, Achieve and Exceed.”
Decision:
After a full debate including contributions from the public gallery, it was moved, seconded and RESOLVED:
“That Stevenage Borough Council notes that 2019 will mark the 70th Anniversary of the local Barclay School and thanks all current and past staff for the opportunities they have provided for thousands of local children. Therefore we regret that by June, when the anniversary would have been celebrated, the school may not exist in its currently recognisable form, given the forced academisation process the school is being put through.
Barclay School is an important community asset for Stevenage. After many years of academisation, no evidence exists to suggest that the educational outcomes of multi-academy sponsor trust school pupils improve. Our first priority must therefore be to support local students at Barclay School, and we condemn this recent upheaval as completely unnecessary.
The Council notes that parents of transferring year 6 students were not aware of the imminent transfer when they had to submit preferences before 1st November 2018 and is concerned that the school may no longer be accessible and affordable for not for profit community activities after this hostile take over.
We send our support to the parents, pupils and staff of Barclay School who are coming together to defend a vital resource for their local community. Thousands of people from across Stevenage have told the Education Secretary that they want Barclay to be locally rooted and accountable, yet he has refused to even answer their petition. We therefore call on the Secretary of State to respond to the people of Stevenage who have signed this petition immediately.
We believe that the process for handing over this school has been flawed and ministers have real questions to answer about how this decision is being made. As such, we urge the Regional Schools Commissioner to review the conversion timetable and whether the designation of Future Academies Trust is appropriate.
Instead of imposing a conversion that our community is overwhelmingly against, the Secretary of State for Education should work with parents, staff, the community and local Councillors to support the school. In light of the recent rapid improvements at the school, the Secretary of State for Education has the power to rescind the academy order. We call on him to do so immediately, so that the school can get back to helping local young people “Believe, Achieve and Exceed.”
In accordance with Paragraph 22 of Part 4 of the Council’s Standing Orders, a recorded vote was taken on this item. Details of the recorded vote will be published in the minutes of the meeting.