Sixth form at Arden School
From Press Office on 11 December 2007
Solihull’s Overview and Scrutiny Management Board will be asking Cabinet to look again at their decision to support a proposal to add a sixth form at Arden School.
On 22nd November, Cabinet decided to support the proposals in line with the government’s policy of establishing 16-19 provision at high-performing Secondary Schools.
The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board called in this decision, and at their meeting last night (Monday 10th December) the grounds for the call-in were debated:
- The case made by the school that there was true collaboration between itself and its partners was neither explored nor proven;
- The advice of the Education, Children and Young People Scrutiny Board was ignored;
- The Cabinet did not take into account the consequences of their decision on the future of the other secondary schools in the south of the Borough and the future of the Sixth Form College;
- The decision of the Cabinet was not based on any strategic plan for the future of secondary education in the south of the Borough;
- The Cabinet, as the legal decision maker; abdicated its responsibilities by not challenging the Government Guidelines, which, in this instance, had potential to break up an arrangement for sixth form education which has worked well in the south of the Borough for many years and which has been regularly supported by OfSTED;
- There was no evidence that adding a sixth form at Arden School would help raise local standards and narrow attainment gaps.
Grounds 4 and 5 were withdrawn. Number 3 fell following a vote.
The board concluded that they still had concerns about grounds 1,2 and 6 and these will be going back to Cabinet for them to consider at their meeting on 20th December.
Julie Turner 0121 704 6136
Email: juturner@solihull.gov.uk