Council wins right to run new school

nlnews@archant.co.uk
23 May 2007

Councillor Liz Santry: ""Delighted with this vote of confidence

THE COMPETITION to set up a £29million new secondary school in Wood Green has been won by Haringey Council.

An independent panel of schools adjudicators announced it had chosen the council's bid to establish the 1,080 pupil community comprehensive school in Haringey Heartlands opening in September 2010.

It rejected the three other bids from private organisations - two for independent academies and one for a foundation school.

The adjudicators described the council's proposal as "a convincing case".

They said: "Not surprisingly the proposal capitalises on the promoter's knowledge of the borough, draws on what has been learned in recent years in improving education in the borough, emphasises the potential collaboration with other local schools which should widen curriculum choice and contribute to the standards achieved, and through the new build indicates that the total final provision would add variety to the provision in the borough."

It is the first school in the country to be awarded under new legislation requiring councils to hold a competition when a new school has to be set up. Councillor Liz Santry, Haringey Council's executive member for children and young people, said: "We are delighted with this vote of confidence by the schools adjudicator.

"Our proposal for a community school is the right one for the parents and pupils of our culturally diverse borough."

The adjudicators noted consultation responses had shown "little support for a school other than a community school".

Tony Brockman, secretary of the Haringey branch of the National Union of Teachers, which campaigned for the council bid, said: "This was the right decision at the end of an unfair process.

"Lord Adonis (schools minister) should now recognise how unpopular the academies programme is. He should stop trying to foist them on local communities."

The "unfair" process Mr Brockman was referring to concerns the Government's decision mid-process to bypass the school organisation committee, which includes representatives of the council, governing bodies and church boards, and give the decision straight to the adjudicator.

It argued this was to ensure impartiality as the council was one of the bidders but critics believed it was a ruse to foist an academy on the borough.

For the adjudicators' full determination visit the website www.schoolsadjudicator.gov.uk



SCHOOL adjudicators have cast doubt on Haringey Council's ability to open the new school on time in 2010.

Part of Alexandra Park is being considered for playing fields for the school on Haringey Heartlands but the adjudicators noted there was "no binding agreement" with the park trust to use the area and that access also needed to be secured.

In their determination, they wrote: "There seem to us to be several potential delays in completing the school in time to open in September 2010 resulting from matters to do with the site and playing fields."

They also rapped the council for the wording of the consultation document on the new school, which had "possibly misled" respondents.

They said: "While it is not surprising that Haringey Council as both commissioner and a promoter should wish to win the competition, as commissioner it should act impartially and describe each type of school fairly and accurately."

The comments related to a line in the document that "the new school should be a non-denominational, inclusive school, which suggests a community school".

The adjudicators said this seemed "to imply, falsely, that no other type of school could be non-denominational and inclusive" and was "not acceptable".

A Haringey Council spokeswoman said: "The consultation document was openly and extensively discussed in public so anybody involved in the discussions would have understood what was meant.

"Now that we have been given the go-ahead for the school we will start formal negotiations regarding the playing fields and we don't expect this to delay matters.