BLACKPOOL COUNCIL
REPORT
of the
HEAD OF LEGAL AND DEMOCRATIC SERVICES
to
THAMES AREA PANEL
THAMES AREA FORUM MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 29TH JANUARY 2009
1.
Introduction
The Chairman of the Area Forum and Ward Councillor for Squires Gate Ward,
Councillor Wynne welcomed members of the community to the Area Forum. He
introduced the other Councillors present who were Councillor Lee (Waterloo ward) and
Councillor Mrs Fowler (Highfield ward). He also advised the Forum that the
Community Partners who had been appointed to the Panel were Mr Alan Barber,
South Shore Community Association, Mr Nigel Hough, Blackpool Community Sports
Council and Mr Kevin Winkley, Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Society for the Blind.
The Chairman announced that the following three nominations had been received for
the three available places for Community Members on the Area Panel:
1. Mr Des Pulford
2. Ms Carole Holmes
3. Mr Christopher Smith.
The Forum agreed the appointment of the above three nominees to the Area Panel.
The Chairman advised the Forum of the format of the evening and explained that the
theme was Building Schools for the Future. He introduced the representatives from
the Council and Highfield Humanities College who would be conducting the
presentations.
2.
Context
The Area Panel, at its meeting held on 18th September 2008, had identified Building
Schools for the Future as a suitable topic for the next Forum due to its impact on the
schools within the boundaries of the Area Forum as well as the local community. The
Panel also considered that local residents would be interested in the proposed
development for Highfield Humanities College as this was a major school within the
area.
3.
Theme
Mr Lund, Executive Director of Children’s Services, Blackpool Council advised the
Forum that Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was a major opportunity to raise the
level of attainment for the young people of Blackpool. He explained that a significant
investment had been allocated to BSF and that this would be spent on secondary
schools within Blackpool over the next few years with the aim of supporting families
and the local community in addition to providing opportunities for young people to
progress. He reported that a major part of BSF included investment in the buildings
1
and facilities for all Blackpool’s secondary schools.
Mr Baker, Assistant Director, Transforming Schools, Blackpool Council advised the
Forum that BSF was the largest single investment in schools since the 1950s and that
Blackpool was in Wave 5 of the 15-year programme. He explained that £153 million
would be allocated to capital investment in buildings and £15 million to Information
Technology. He reported that every secondary school within Blackpool would be
remodelled and that four schools would be rebuilt. He advised residents that Phase 1
would include the construction of a new building for Highfield Humanities College and
that work was currently being undertaken with designers to produce a model for the
new school, which would incorporate facilities for the local community. He explained
that the potential impact on the community would include the provision of additional
jobs for local people, more opportunities to train young people and an increased
demand for housing. He presented residents with a footprint of the new Highfield
School, but stressed that this was not the final design as this would be determined
following discussions with the contractors.
Mr Evans, Headteacher, Highfield Humanities College introduced Mr Bracewell and
Ms Bligh to the Forum. He explained that they had attended the Forum to present the
residents with a pupil’s perspective on the plans for the College. Mr Bracewell
informed residents that pupils had representation on the Board which ensured that
pupils’ views were taken into account in decision-making. He was eager to see that
the new school included areas to enable the wider communities to be involved in
learning and considered it important to consider the environment in the designs for the
new school. He reported that the school had recently celebrated its 75th anniversary
and that he hoped that the new school would be in place for many more years to
come. Ms Bligh advised the Forum that she was very pleased at being involved in the
plans which would affect not only the current pupils but also future generations. She
accepted that the school needed to be adapted for the benefit of the current pupils and
the pupils of the future. She highlighted that pupils were keen to retain the heritage of
the current school and that this would be a key requirement for the new building.
Mr Evans reiterated that BSF was a once in a lifetime opportunity to improve on the
current facilities to take the school into the 21st Century. He reassured residents that
the building would change, but that the school would remain the same. He highlighted
the benefits that would be gained by the new technology and the improved sports
facilities. He stressed that one of the key aims of the new building was to offer more
facilities for the community throughout the day, in addition to outside of school hours.
Further improvements included an enhancement of the special education facilities and
the introduction of flexible accommodation would allow for more integrated learning
between age groups.
In response to questions from the floor relating to the timescales for BSF, residents
were advised that the new school should be open in 2012 with the building works
commencing in 2010. Confirmation was given that the admissions number for the
school would remain at 224. Mr Baker reported that the planned commencement of
Phase 2 would be in 2012. It was also predicted that school places would be reduced
across all schools within Blackpool but that despite this, the intention was to retain all
eight schools. He confirmed that the proposed plans would need to comply with
planning and highways regulations, which would take into consideration road safety
and car parking issues.
Responding to a question, Mr Lund stated that there was sufficient provision for A
Level students within the existing colleges within the Borough and therefore there was
no necessity to increase the current provision. He reported that initially there had
been consideration given to providing a sixth form college in the South of the Borough,
but that this had been negated following the decision to relocate Blackpool and the
2
Fylde College. He added that the intention was to ensure that there was a natural
progression to further education for students aged 14 and above.
In response to concerns relating to funding, it was confirmed that the funding already
allocated to BSF was guaranteed. It was expected that future funding would be
obtained through the normal school revenues and from self-financing of extended
services. Mr Lund also gave examples of where private partners had linked with
schools to utilise existing facilities which had produced revenue and it was hoped that
similar arrangements could be made with the community areas planned for the new
schools.
At the request of a resident, Mr Evans confirmed that there were no formal feeder
schools for Highfield, but that the majority of students came from Hawes Side,
Roseacre and Marton Primary Schools.
Following concerns relating to the potential disruption caused by the new
developments, Mr Lund confirmed that there would be a short-term impact on
residents, but that the aim was to keep this to a minimum. Mr Evans reassured the
Forum that the plans for Highfield included potential adaptations to the school
curriculum, but that there was a commitment to the current pupils to ensure that the
BSF programme would not adversely affect them.
It was agreed that a resident’s suggestion to utilise the field behind Highfield School
for car parking and the possibility of road widening to alleviate vehicle congestion in
front of the school, would be noted.
4.
Conclusion
Building Schools for the Future was a 15-year programme aimed at transforming
secondary schools to enable today’s students and students of the future to increase
their level of attainment. Blackpool was in Wave 5 of the programme and Phase 1
would be the development of the new Highfield Humanities College.
The next stage of phase 1 would be to meet with designers and contractors to draw up
the plans for the new school. Consultations with schools, pupils and members of the
local community would take place once the designs had been finalised. Although it
was accepted that there would be an element of disruption during the development
this would be kept to a minimum and would not adversely affect the pupils’ education.
At the end of the presentations the Chair expressed his appreciation to the presenters,
in particular the students from Highfield Humanities College.
3