Shenstone School

At the recent full council meeting in November, parents and Labour Councillors asked important question on the delivery of the new Shenstone School, yet parents are still waiting for answers.

These questions were asked given that parents feel the questions asked at a meeting with the local authority on 27 September and that councillors asked at the Children Services and Education Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 17 October have not been answered.

Parents also believe that questions they have continued to ask since the November Full Council meeting have not been adequately answered.

 The Labour Group is supportive of the policy of educating as many of our Special Educational and Disabilities (SEND) children within the borough and were delighted that Bexley had secured £9.5 million from the Department for Education for a new Shenstone Secondary School. We are however concerned about the timeline of this project being put back by two failed procurement processes and the impact this has had on students.

Some of the parents whose children are currently in Years 7 and 8 are also concerned about the facilities at the St Augustine’s site in Belvedere not meeting the needs of their children with complex needs, particularly the poor lack of outside space. Furthermore, there remains a lack of certainty around the proposal to accommodate the current Year 6 next September in portacabins on the Shenstone Primary School site in Crayford as a planning application is yet to be validated. Parents are rightly concerned that there remains no sign of a planning application, ten weeks after their meeting with the local authority and the likelihood that a project that doesn’t currently have a valid planning application can be delivered within less than nine months,

There have been several questions asked with few answers given. The answers we have been able to obtain are recorded below which outlines why parents are rightly concerned about the position.

1.Can the council give a straightforward answer as to why two procurement processes for Shenstone Secondary School have failed?

‘During this process officers had concerns with aspects of the tender and sought further advice from both the Council’s Procurement Team and an independent Quantity Surveyor, with the recommendation that a new tender process should begin. To minimise any further delay, officers swiftly initiated an alternative tender process which resulted in the second tender exercise going live on 12 September’.

2.Is it still the council’s intention to submit a planning application to install temporary portacabins at Shenstone’s Primary School site in Crayford?

Answer: Yes

3. When is the planning application for portacabins at the Shenstone Primary School site likely to be submitted and when will it likely be determined?

No Answer and at present there remains no validated planning application

4. Is the land on which they will be placed metropolitan land and if so what are the planning consequences of this?

No Answer

5. If the planning application is agreed when will the council likely go for tender for these portacabins?

No Answer

6. Is there a Plan B if planning permission is not granted for the proposed temporary accommodation for children currently in Year 6 and wanting a place at the Shenstone Secondary School in Year 7?

No Answer

7.Can you guarantee that the new Shenstone Secondary School will be ready for September 2025 and in the interim that the provision and all the children’s needs will be met in line with their EHCPs?

No Answer

8.Where is the money coming from to pay for any temporary classroom arrangements for next year’s Year 7s at Shenstone Secondary School and for this year’s year 7 students? Is it being funded from the overall capital programme provision for delivery of the new school or is it coming from another budget and if so, can details be provided?

No Answer

9.Why did it take Bexley Council over 5 weeks to ensure that parents whose children were going to be impacted by the second failed procurement process for Shenstone secondary school be advised of the situation?

No Answer

10. While the council are stating this was the responsibility of the school, should the council have ensured case officers worked with families to make them aware of this when submitting their secondary transfer applications?

No Answer

11. As a result, parents were advised of delays to the project on 27 September when applications had to be submitted by 29 September. This has resulted in very little time for parents to look at other schools. This is wrong. How is the local authority going to rectify this situation?

No Answer

12. Do we have enough secondary school places within the LB Bexley for those children leaving Shenstone in Year 6 this year?

No Answer

The answers above will be updated, once the appropriate responses have been received.