New East Dulwich Primary School 161/80 + 102

[david_carnell]

Or we could even have a community-run school. Instead Harris has been imposed without consultation. Whilst I appreciate their current record in education the mantra of choice, so beloved of politicians, seems to have deserted parents here.

[James Barber]

Hi David,

I'm sorry you feel so aggrieved but I don't follow your logic.

Harris have not been imposed on you. If you choose not to send your children there they won't go there. But sufficient parents have come forward to fill its intake for 2014, 2015, 2016 and amazingly a good proportion of 2017.

The good thing about a new local school is that it will ensure we have enough places for all our local children. So it's less likely parents would have to from necessity send their children to a school they don't want to use.

[Renata Hamvas]

Council Officers have met with Harris, Harris have confirmed that if they are successful in their Free School bid and can't use the Hospital site, there may be a Harris Free primary school put on one of their existing sites.

Renata

Renata Hamvas Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I am a little concerned about this. No mention has

> been made about a potential site for this school.

> Possibly the plan is too put a Harris Free School

> on one of the existing Harris sites eg Harris

> Girl's. this is what has happened with the Academy

> @ Peckham site.

>

> I know that the Dulwich Hospital site has crept

> into the equation a few times when schools for the

> area have been discussed on this forum. As I have

> said elsewhere on here, the land does not belong

> to the council. While the future of health service

> provision in South London is up in the air as it

> is a the moment, so too is the future of Dulwich

> Hospital and it's grounds.

[LondonMix]

In East Dulwich?

[James Barber]

Hi Renata,

Officers also confirmed they could see the need for a free school serving our area but espeically so your ward!

But I havent had a chance to confirm the Harris side of the meeting.

Hi LondonMix,

It's clear that we need 2-3 new schools serving Dulwich, Peckham Rye Nunhead.

I'm hope the Judith Kerr comes to out area. Fingers crossed for the first Harris Primary school - that could be built in ED or Peckham Rye. WE then just need a second Harris school in the either ED or PKR depending on where the first ended up. If the first Harris Primary school was built in Peckham Rye it would serve many families who owuld otherwise send their children to ED schools.

[LondonMix]

Sorry, my question was which of the existing Harris secondaries had space for the primary school should the hospital site not work out. ED Girls, ED Boys or one of the Harris secondaries in Peckham?

[Renata Hamvas]

I didn't know Harris had applied to set up 2 Schools?

As you know James, Peckham Rye Ward is geographically large as the entire centre is taken up by Peckham Rye Park. Part of my ward, in terms of the community it's in is East Dulwich, part is Honor Oak and Part is Nunhead. People tend to send their children to school by the area they live in and not by Ward! There is only one primary actually in Peckham Rye Ward. As people living in the ED part of Peckham Rye Ward, live in East Dulwich their closest primaries are likely to be ED ones eg Goodrich, same for those in the Nunhead Part eg Ivydale or Rye Oak. If the Harris Primary is approved and ends up eg on the Girl's Academy site (personally London Mix, I feel this would be more likely than the Harris Boys' site), pupils would be likely to come predominantly from the part of ED close to the school and Nunhead.

If this would happen would there be a 3-18 entry as happens with Academy at Peckham, ie would Harris Free School pupils have priority to go to Harris Boy's/Girl's for Secondary? It is also possible that if approved the Harris Free School Primary could go elsewhere as happened with Southwark Free School. A year and a bit is not very long to find a site and build a school. Sorry, Londonmix, not really clear answers I know, but I don't think there are any at the moment.

Renata

[LondonMix]

Thanks for the update. It seems we just need to wait to see if they get the hospital site and take it from there.

If Harris have indicated to the council that they want the hospital site but if that falls through they'll use land attached to one of their existing local schools why do you think the primary might go elsewhere like Southwark free school? It seems they have a preferred local and fallback solution.

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi Londonmix,

I'm just saying this is possible, so that residents are aware of the possibilities. There isn't buckets of space at Harris Girls' (so I don't know if there is enough space there or eg their 6th Form centre would need to move elsewhere), but none at Harris Boys'. I was quite surprised that Southwark Free School could move to a different area once funding was approved (I thought they would need to reapply with support of parents in the new area, they didn't).

Renata

[LondonMix]

Oh, I see, you were just highlighting the legal possibility rather than any specific proposal put forward by Harris. Understood.

[James Barber]

Some weeks ago I was asked about Secondary School admissions and how the number of places will pan out.

These are the questions we've been asking. Two colleagues had more joy than me and obtained some numbers of the shortages being predcited. Really worrying that the forecast shortage rose by so much from one meeting to the next ie. in one month.

Council Assembly 17 October members questions no.5 from colleague Cllr Wilma Nelson:

http://moderngov.southwarksites.com/documents/s33586/Members%20Question%20Time%20-%20Appendix%204.pdf

States that by 2015, 60 secondary places shortage getting worse in subsequent years.

Two new secondary schools being talked about in the very north of Southwark

28 November Council Assembly ? members question no.9 from colleague CllrCathy Bowman:

http://moderngov.southwarksites.com/documents/s34785/Appendix%203%20Members%20Question%20Time.pdf

Stated ?Secondary school place

planning is carried out on a borough wide basis. We are anticipating there would

be a secondary shortfall of 10 forms of entry by 2016 and if the Compass

proposals to establish a 4 FE free school on the Bermondsey site of Southwark

and Lewisham College proceeds then we would still anticipate a shortfall of 6 FE

over the same period.?

Southwark has a total households 119,050.

Primary school pupils 23,314

Secondary school pupils 13,506

Private school pupils 5,355

So that big gap is worrying. If more people choose to use Southwark secondary schools - which we'd hope they had the cofidence to do - we could have a massive shortage.

[Renata Hamvas]

There are discussions going on with some of the current secondary schools with regard to permanent expansion.

Renata

[edanna]

Renata, I hope in these discussions that the balance of single sex vs co-ed is considered. For parents who don't want their kids in all boys/all girls schools there seems to be very little choice.

[James Barber]

Hi Edanna,

School expansion looks so easy. But should we expand successful schools causing them disruption and risking their success. We certainly shouldnt expand less successful schools delaying any improvements.

How many of our schools has extensibe grounds to add new blocks onto. I can;t think of any state schools in Southwark with extensive grounds.

What's the optimum size for a secondary school in terms of pupil numbers?

When the Harris ED boys school was proposed we were told the minimum number was 150 pupils per year. I'll find out the maximum that educationalists recommend.

Real dilemma whether to build new single sex schools or co-ed or southwark as a whole borough.

The co-ed schools we have arn't all balanced. With more girls schools than boys schools that leaves co-ed schools boy focused.

But for our area the balance should now be ok with a boys school, a girls school and several co-ed schools in the area. So if we need a new secondary school, which it looks like we do, for our area it should be co-ed.

[kellywild]

Hi,

I just wanted to comment on the fact you said that you haven't encountered anyone who didn't want to use the schools currently avaliable in E Dulwich. That's not really the issue. I would quite happily use some of the local schools but the fact is that where i'm situated i am in the gap between boundries for schools and will reealistically only have the choice of one which i DO NOT want. The new free school is a perfect solution, a good school which will help bridge the gap and maybe help some of us get a good school without having to go private.

I attended the meeting held at HGAED and was happy with all i heard and will be lending my full support to the new school and hope that more people will show their support to this project.

[James Barber]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21365001

Shows 1/3rd increase in births.

[flocker spotter]

Hi there,

With the secondary school places being offered at the end of this week - what are the chances of a secondary school (ideally Charter) having a bulge class in September?

[edanna]

Hi kellywild, you don't say where you live and you diplomatically don't name the school you don't want but there may be a school available to you that you haven't considered depending on where you are.

Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hi,

>

> I just wanted to comment on the fact you said that

> you haven't encountered anyone who didn't want to

> use the schools currently avaliable in E Dulwich.

> That's not really the issue. I would quite happily

> use some of the local schools but the fact is that

> where i'm situated i am in the gap between

> boundries for schools and will reealistically only

> have the choice of one which i DO NOT want. The

> new free school is a perfect solution, a good

> school which will help bridge the gap and maybe

> help some of us get a good school without having

> to go private.

>

> I attended the meeting held at HGAED and was happy

> with all i heard and will be lending my full

> support to the new school and hope that more

> people will show their support to this project.

[James Barber]

Wednesday 6 March The Harris Dulwich primary school team will be interviewed by the Dept of Education team about a new Dulwich primary school. We then hear early May whether we've been successful.

We've sufficient support for one school but seek more support to have two new primary schools locally.

So any support between now and Wednesday lunch time would be really helpful.

[James Barber]

The meeting with officials appeared to go really well yesterday. We hear in May whether we get a new free school in East Dulwich or even two we're all hoping for.

Thank you for all the supporters who encouraged others and got behind this campaign.

[LondonMix]

Renata do you have any update on the expansion of the 3 schools mentioned earlier and the funding?

Thanks

[Renata Hamvas]

I haven't heard, but you reminded me, I need to chase this up,

thanks,

Renata

[James Barber]

BBC News website carries story about the National Audit Office states primary school places are shoing "real strain" and 240,000 extra primary school places are needed by 2014-15.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-21785796

[LondonMix]

It sounds like the Judith Kerr Free School is moving forward and the Harris Primary is likely to get DofE approval. I know both were considering the Dulwich Hospital site. Does anyone know when the location of either of these will be clear?

Thanks!

[Worker]

This from the JKPS website. So looks more SE24 than 22.

Newsletter ? 13 March 2013

Posted on 13 March 2013 by Peter Johnson

A short update about premises and the school?s location. We are acutely aware of how important it is to all of you, especially those who have applied for places this coming September. Unfortunately, along with many free schools, it has proved a longer job than we had hoped to convert options into reality.

The Education Funding Agency ? part of the DfE ? is charged with securing us a site. They retain commercial agents, in this case DTZ, to assist in the negotiations. They are pursuing two live options on our behalf: the SE24 site we discussed at our consultation events, and a site in SE5 about which we recently emailed our applicant families.

SE24. EFA are optimistic they can reach a deal on this site. They are in negotiations with the owners and tell us they are making progress. Given the distribution of our support and applicants, this continues to be our preferred location.

SE5. EFA have told us they believe they could acquire this site in time for a September opening. It is further away from the core of our support, and thus is our second choice. However, as we are committed to opening in September, we have instructed the EFA to pursue it as our back up and potential temporary location, in case our SE24 option is available, but not in time for September.

We remain embargoed about saying exactly where these sites are, since EFA want to minimise the risk of information leaking out that might affect their negotiations.

Above all, we are totally committed to opening in September and are doing everything possible to achieve this. Our headteacher starts early next month and as well as currently recruiting teaching staff, we?re making progress across the board in order to be ready for the next school year.