Issue - meetings

Outcome of Consultation to the Change of Designation at Rivermead School

 

 

Meeting: 09/11/2010 - Cabinet (Item 128)

128 Change to Designation of Rivermead School, Forge Lane, Gillingham pdf icon PDF 480 KB

Minutes:

This report provided details of the outcome of consultation on the Council’s proposal to change the designation of Rivermead School from a maintained special school with a designation as a hospital school to a community special school by means of a prescribed alteration. The report set out the background to the proposed change and provided details of the consultation process, noting that there had been 63 responses to the consultation (61 supported the proposal whilst two were opposed).

 

The Children and Adults Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the outcome of consultation on 20 October 2010 and its comments were set out in paragraph 9 of the report.

 

A Diversity Impact Assessment (DIA) screening form had been completed and was set out in appendix 2 to the report.

 

 

Decision number:

Decision:

187/2010

The Cabinet noted the responses received during the consultation period, and agreed to proceed to formal representation, when statutory notices and full proposals will be published.

188/2010

The Cabinet agreed to delegate authority to the Director of Children and Adults, in consultation with Portfolio Holder for Children's Services, to determine whether to approve the change of designation proposals at the end of the statutory consultation period, if no objections are received. However if any objections are received during that time then a report will be prepared and placed before Cabinet for determination.

 

Reasons:

 

Redesignating Rivermead to a community special school will: secure the future viability of the school in the eventuality that the PCT make a decision to remove the hospital schoolroom facility; enable the school to organise its curriculum so that it is able to plan for the particular needs of the children it provides for and to ensure that adequate expertise and resource is available; give parents the opportunity to name Rivermead as a preference for their child’s education where appropriate and; provide an opportunity for cost saving by enabling pupils to be educated within Medway rather than being placed in expensive provision out of area.

Meeting: 20/10/2010 - Children and Adults Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 453)

453 Redesignation of Rivermead School - Outcome of Consultation (pre-decision scrutiny) pdf icon PDF 501 KB

This report provides the outcome of the consultation on the proposal to change the designation of Rivermead School from a maintained special school with a designation as a hospital school to a community special school.

Minutes:

Discussion:

 

The Director of Children and Adults Services introduced the report, which detailed the outcome of the consultation.  The School Organisation Officer added that since the report had been published five further responses had been received and of these, four were in support of the proposals and one against.  However, the one opposed to the proposal was because they did not want the education provision to the hospital to cease, which officers confirmed was not proposed.

 

Members then expressed their support for the proposal, identifying the benefits of being able to extend the provision at Rivermead to some pupils currently being educated outside of Medway.

 

Decision:

 

The committee recommended the Cabinet to approve the proposal to change the designation of Rivermead School from a maintained special school with a designation as a hospital school to a community special school by means of a prescribed alteration.