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Proposed closure of Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School from August 2021

Meeting: 04/02/2021 - Scrutiny & Overview Committee (Item 7)

7 CALL-IN Proposed closure of Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School from August 2021 pdf icon PDF 141 KB

The Committee is asked consider and respond to the Call-In in accordance with the procedure set out in the Council’s constitution.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair of the Scrutiny & Overview Committee, Councillor Sean Fitzsimons introduced the Call-In item, outlining the reason why the ‘Proposed Closure of Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School’ key decisions had been called in. It was confirmed that there were a number of reasons why the call-in had been made, which were as follows:-

1.            To hold the decision takers to account on their decision and to the evidence that underpins their reasoning to recommend closure of Virgo Fidelis Secondary School.

2.            To ensure that there are sufficient secondary school places in Croydon for Croydon pupils and that the decision will not adversely affect disadvantaged groups

3.            To ensure that there is no undue negative impact on other Croydon schools as a result of this decision

4.            To obtain reassurance on the future use of the site

5.            To obtain reassurance on the treatment of the accumulated budget deficit

6.            To ensure that the decision does not unduly restrict the choice of parents to send their children to a single sex school or a school of religious character.

In response to these concerns a report setting out additional information had been provided for the consideration of the Committee.

The Chair explained the process for considering a call-in, confirming that the Committee needed to agree whether to review the decision and if it was decided to proceed, to confirm how much time it wished to allocate for the discussion of the item. The Committee agreed that it would review the decision and allocated one hour and thirty minutes for consideration of the item.

The Chair went on to explain that there were three outcomes that the Committee could reach as a result of the review. These were:-

1.    That no further action was necessary and the decision could be implemented as originally intended.

2.    To refer the decision back to the Cabinet for reconsideration, outlining the nature of the Committee’s concerns

3.    To refer the decision to Council, if the Committee considered that the decision taken was outside of the Budget and Policy Framework.

At the start of the meeting the Chair gave the representative from the Southwark Archdiocese and council officers the opportunity to respond to the call-in. During this introduction it was highlighted that any proposed school closures were not taken lightly and would be based on the standard of education provided and the safety of the children attending the school. Both the Council and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese were in agreement on the closure of the Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School and had approved the closure after following the process for closing schools. The main reasons for the closure of Virgo Fidelis were the unfit estate, the declining roll and the impact of the increasing deficit. The Council and the Archdiocese were working together to manage the smooth transition of pupils to new schools.

The Ward Councillors in attendance, Councillor Stephen Mann and Councillor Pat Ryan, were also given the opportunity to provide the local view on the closure.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7


Meeting: 18/01/2021 - Cabinet (Item 8)

8 Proposed closure of Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School pdf icon PDF 255 KB

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming

Officer: Interim Executive Director Children, Families & Education, Debbie Jones

Key decision: yes

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Consider the representations made in response to the statutory notice and consultations regarding the proposed closure of Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School from August 2021; and

 

2.    Approve the proposed closure of Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School from August 2021.

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming, informed Members that the report recommended the closure of Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School, which was a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school for girls aged 11 to 18 years old and was based in Upper Norwood.

 

The school’s Interim Executive Board in consultation with the council and the Archdiocese of Suffolk had agreed to undertake a statutory consultation on the proposed closure from August 2021 due to the state of repair of the buildings, the pupil roll consistently decreasing during the previous seven years and the school budget deficit being significant.

 

The Cabinet Member confirmed that the consultation had taken place and the majority of respondents were opposed to the proposed closure with the three main reasons being; the loss of a catholic school in the area, the reduction in single sex schools in the borough and the history attached to the school. It was noted by the Cabinet Member that there was another catholic school in the borough, St Mary’s Catholic High School, and there were two single sex schools for girls in the borough, including Norbury Manor Business & Enterprise College which was in close proximity.

 

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal, Councillor Stuart King, noted that at paragraph 6.7 of the report that there was a requirement for the council to take on the schools deficit following closure and requested assurance that while the school was running that the deficit was being managed and would be as small as possible. In response, the Interim Director of Education & Youth Engagement, Shelley Davies, confirmed the council was in regular contact with the Interim Executive Board and the school’s leadership team to ensure the deficit was kept as low as possible as it was understood that this would impact the council. Legal advice would also be sought in relation to the deficit and what support was available.

 

The Leader noted that the school was the second school in recent years to be put forward for closure and queried whether horizon scanning was taking place to understand whether there were any other schools which could face similar challenges. The Interim Director confirmed that strong processes had been put in place in the previous 18 months to monitor schools which had submitted a deficit and regular meetings took place with those schools. Detailed information was requested from schools so that the council could understand why there were deficits and plans were required to be submitted which outlined how they would manage the school within budget. It was stated that there were a number of schools in the borough which had submitted deficits but that she and the Head of Finance for Children, Families & Education, Kate Bingham, were meeting those schools regularly to both provide a level of challenge and support.

 

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Maria Gatland, noted that the council had little choice but to consult on the proposed closure of the school as pupils  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8