The Chairman welcomed Marisa White, the Area Education Officer for East Kent and the Swale Borough Council Leader, Councillor Roger Truelove to the meeting for this discussion.

Following a question by a Member, the Leader explained that it was important for the matter of secondary school provision to be discussed at individual Area Committees as each area had specific issues they would want to discuss.

The Leader set out the Administration’s view of the situation of secondary school provision in Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey.  Many people were concerned about secondary school places and a large number of Sittingbourne pupils had been allocated schools on the Isle of Sheppey.  There was also a skills gap in Swale.  The Leader added that it was important to get secondary education that would be of benefit to the pupils and the local economy.

The Area Education Officer went through her presentation, explaining the figures and the pressures on secondary schools.  She also went through the options Kent County Council (KCC) had considered for new secondary provision and the issues that had been encountered, making progress difficult.  The North West Sittingbourne allocated school site could not move forward until the site was purchased by the developer, which at present looked unlikely to happen for some time.  Discussions with the Oasis Academy indicated it was unlikely to release the West site at this time, meaning any new provision on the Isle of Sheppey would be subject to the identification of a new site.  The favoured option was for the Department for Education to work with the Oasis Academy to release the West site, but site searches continued.  If one were found it would take a number of years to implement and whilst KCC did not have the funds to purchase a site, if that was the only option, they would have to re-prioritise to pay for it. 

The expansion of the intake at existing Sittingbourne schools could only provide temporary respite, due to highways and other local issues constraining the possibility of significant expansion.  Other issues added to the pressures, such as parents not understanding the process of choosing school preferences, which resulted in unpopular outcomes.

A discussion ensued and below is a summary of comments:

·         Road access to release the North West Sittingbourne site was as a result of KCC Highways & Transporation decisions;

·         KCC policy on assistance with travel to schools was not helpful for Isle of Sheppey pupils who wished to attend a grammar school;

·         a Member suggested assisting parents in selecting their preferences, including a video explaining the process on the KCC website.  The Area Education Officer agreed that was a good idea and would follow this up;

·         home education was discussed, KCC could give advice and deal with safeguarding issues but did not have the money to provide resources.  A Parish Councillor commented that Swale had a good home education community; and

·         the pressures on special places were commented on in light of increasing mental health issues.

The Chairman thanked the Area Education Officer and the Leader for attending the meeting.