Issue - meetings

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the agreement of the detailed financial information for the rebuilding of the school as set out in Part 2 of this agenda, the business case for the rebuilding of Cranleigh Church of England Primary School be approved.

Reasons for Decision

The proposal supports Surrey County Council’s statutory obligation to provide sufficient school places to meet the needs of the population in the Cranleigh area.

[The decision on this item can be called in by the Council Overview Board or the Council Overview Board]

An introduction to the report was provided by the Cabinet Member for Schools, Skills and Educational Achievement who stated that SCC had provided an additional 13,000 school places over the past five years in order to meet rising demand and it was anticipated that a further 11,000 schools places would be required over the next four years. It was proposed to rebuild Cranleigh Church of England Primary School to consolidate it on a single site at Glebelands Secondary School thereby creating an all-through school with 210 additional primary school places. This would help to mitigate growing demand for school places in the area which had arisen as a result of new housing developments around Cranleigh. The construction of the new school would be financed through the sale of the land on the two sites across which Cranleigh C of E Primary School was located coupled with a grant from the Department for Education (DfE) meaning that no additional capital funding would be required from SCC. Mrs Kemeny highlighted that the school also provided specialist support for children with learning disabilities and stated that the proposed rebuild as outlined in the report would enhance and expand support for children with learning disabilities in the area.

The Cabinet Associate for Children, Schools and Families indicated her support for the proposal emphasising the excellent work that staff at the school had done in facilitating inclusive education for children with learning disabilities but stressed that the dilapidated state of the school’s buildings was placing limitations on the support that staff could provide. A new school was required in order to support staff in providing as inclusive an educational environment as possible.

The Leader of the Council paid tribute to the work that Mrs Kemeny had done as Cabinet Member for Schools, Skills and Educational Achievement in ensuring that SCC was able to meet the significant growth in demand for school places which had taken place over the past four years.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the agreement of the detailed financial information for the rebuilding of the school as set out in Part 2 of this agenda, the business case for the rebuilding of Cranleigh Church of England Primary School be approved.

Reasons for Decision

The proposal supports Surrey County Council’s statutory obligation to provide sufficient school places to meet the needs of the population in the Cranleigh area.

[The decision on this item can be called in by the Council Overview Board or the Council Overview Board]