Agenda item

The Final Report of the Further Education in the Salisbury Area Task Group is circulated separately from the Agenda pack.

This Task Group was established to undertake a review of the post-16 education available in the Salisbury area. This followed a visit by several members of the Committee to three secondary schools that are co-located in the Laverstock area of Salisbury. During the visit, a number of students and staff expressed a wish for the schools to have their own joint sixth form provision. The Committee had also received reports of significant numbers of students from the Salisbury area travelling large distances, often outside of Wiltshire, to access post-16 education and it was this broader issue that the Task Group was later established to consider.

The Chairman of the Task Group, Dr Mike Thompson, will give a brief presentation introducing the report, followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion. Members are asked to consider and endorse the recommendations of the Task Group, which are listed on page 54 of the report. These will then be referred to the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services formal response  at the Committee’s next meeting (26^th July).

Dr Mike Thompson, the Chairman of the Task Group, gave a presentation by way of introduction to the Task Group’s report on further education in the Salisbury area.

Dr Thomson explained that this Task Group had been established to undertake a review of the post-16 education available in the Salisbury area, following on from a visit by several members of the Committee to three secondary schools co-located in the Laverstock area of Salisbury. During the visit, a number of students and staff expressed a wish for the schools to have their own joint sixth form provision. The Committee had also received reports of significant numbers of students from the Salisbury area travelling large distances, often outside of Wiltshire, to access post-16 education and it was this broader issue that the Task Group was later established to consider.

Mrs Jenny Lawrie, Headteacher of The Trafalgar School, Downton then addressed the Committee setting out her views and those of the School’s Governing Body on the Task Group’s recommendations.  She stated that:-

·                    The report misrepresented the School’s views, suggesting that the needs of the students at that School would be served simply by their not having to travel long distances to Salisbury for post 16 education. She went on to explain that although it could well be disadvantageous to the area to lose so many young people to Hampshire provision, there was evidence to show that these students were not educationally disadvantaged by receiving their post 16 education in Hampshire.

·                    The report made no mention of the School’s candidature for the Middle Years Programme of The International Baccalaureate (IB) which would lead perfectly on to the IB’s post 16 qualification – the higher regarded Diploma. There was a clear gap in the Salisbury area for an international curriculum.  The School’s aim was to offer the IB Diploma.

·                    A significant proportion of secondary school students in Salisbury wished to remain at their individual schools for their post 16 education where they felt a sense of belonging, whereas there was evidence to show that some students found transition to a new school and joining an existing cohort difficult.   Students from The Trafalgar School would continue to prefer to study at the Hampshire Colleges rather than to attend a new facility in Salisbury.

·                    The report suggested that students at The Trafalgar School would be the only 16 year olds in the Salisbury area who would not be able to stay on at their school for post 16 education.  Bearing in mind the stated policy in Wiltshire was for every secondary school to offer education to 11-18 year old students, the Board of Governors at The Trafalgar School were aghast that this policy appeared to have been ignored by the Task Group and thus lead to the isolating of this School to a less favoured status and therefore threaten its future viability.

Dr Thompson confirmed that the Task Group was most impressed by what was seen on its visit to the School and assured Mrs Lawrie that her School’s concerns would form part of the submission to the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and that the needs of the School would be taken into account.    

Cllr Lionel Grundy confirmed that discussions were already being held with representatives from the Laverstock schools and also the College to take this forward.

During the ensuing discussion the following points were raised:-

·                    Young people from the south west of Wiltshire, especially from the Mere and Tisbury areas, were attending secondary schools in Dorset at Gillingham and Shaftesbury, this arrangement having been formalised as part of the three tier review of education in the south of Wiltshire several years ago.

·                    There was an apparent lack of understanding amongst parents as to what sixth form facilities were available in Wiltshire.  It was important that the services in Wiltshire were adequately marketed.  How many sixth form places in Wiltshire remained unfilled and how many students chose to undertake their sixth form studies outside of the County?

·                    A suggestion was made that sixth form provision be made at Amesbury, Salisbury and Downton but it was recognised that there were considerable financial restraints on what could be provided. 

Dr Thompson reported that a good proportion of students interviewed had expressed the desire to continue with their sixth form studies within Wiltshire. However, if all the sixth form places in Wiltshire were taken up there would still be a shortage of 500 places.

Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director, welcomed the report and considered it a useful document to share with the Education Funding Agency. She explained that the Local Authority was not the strategic commissioner of sixth form provision.

Resolved:

(1)          To express the Select Committee’s thanks to Dr Thompson and the Task Group for producing an excellent and comprehensive report and to Henry Powell, Senior Scrutiny Officer for drafting the document.

(2)          To endorse the final report of the Further Education in the Salisbury Area Task Group and refer its recommendations, together with the concerns expressed by the Headteacher and Board of Governors of The Trafalgar School, Downton, to the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services for response at the Select Committee’s meeting on 26 July 2012.