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Could Sarah Fielding provide an overview of the consultation process conducted for the new secondary school? Additionally, what specific measures is the DfE implementing to mitigate the risks associated with falling pupil rolls in Tower Hamlets? Specifically, how does the Department plan to address the financial and operational challenges, as well as potential threats to the quality of education within the borough?

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For Sarah Fielding: Pupil place planning for primary schools is, at best, an inexact science. Projections do not always match reality because they are often based on best guesses around birth rates and planning applications for housing projects. The same cannot be said for secondary place planning. We know pretty well exactly what is coming down the line - the current primary place surplus. Under these circumstances, how does creating so many more forms of entry in the borough make sense?

With the inevitable consequence being fewer pupils in our existing secondary schools, how does the DfE plan to mitigate the damaging impact on their ability to provide the high quality education that our pupils deserve?

Can you clarify the process that has allowed this to happen?

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For directors: Some SENDCOs and heads are increasingly disillusioned by the SEND changes at local level beyond the national context. Some of the changes have come in without consultation or collaboration. If we are to work together for all children how can vision, strategy, communication and practice align

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For Sarah Fielding: the last time a school was awarded a site- Wood Wharf, there was a process that included local representation and trusts were able to bid for it. Why was this process not followed? What was the process for this?

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For Sarah Fielding: The DFE and local authority have failed to consider the continued fracturing of community cohesion on the Isle of Dogs by allowing a small academy with a very selective intake to expand. What will they do to ensure that the likely detrimental impact on existing schools will not deepen community divides even further?

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For Sarah Fielding: Why did the LA not consider that this would have been a perfect opportunity to relocate the George Greens school?

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For Sarah Fielding: The clear need for specialist places for young people at KS3 and KS4 could have been addressed with the opportunity to build as part of this development. Why was this not taken? There is no need for additional mainstream places as the data clearly shows.

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For Sarah Fielding: Why has the LA been allowed to agree to an expanded secondary school on the Westferry site when they are predicting a surplus of 20% at Y7 (641 places) when the new school is due to open?

It is not likely that the 379 affordable homes are likely to yield that many new children into the Borough. Housing development on the Isle of Dogs has never historically brought higher numbers of families into the area and local schools. CWC was established in a different era and had detrimental impact on community cohesion in this diverse area of the Borough.

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Why is it not becoming a special school where there is high need as opposed to a mainstream school where there is significant falling roll in the borough? (I understand the White Paper need for inclusion bases within mainstream but it does also talk about there still being a need for special schools and there certainly is the need in LBTH - the level of tribunals is huge here.

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What consultation took place / needed to take place for this school to go ahead? I don't remember seeing the opportunity oopen to others but perhaps we missed it.

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For Sarah Fielding: Was there a feasibility study / impact assessment completed before deciding togo ahead with the new secondary school? If so, what was the outcome of that?

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Is it the local authority’s position that all schools should form/join a federation or join a MAT?

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What’s happening with the envoy based on the price put in the HTB about lack of progress?

What is the future plan for the PDC nor the secondary isn’t happening?

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Promoting our schools/Parental complaints- please can we suggest a strategy to improve the LAs marketing and coms about TH school offer- it is now necessary for the LA to advertise widely through the LAs communications channels ( what’s happened to the THIS TOWER HAMLETS drive? ) and marketing …-1 how brilliant our schools are ; 2 what an amazing offer children who attend schools in Tower Hamlets get; 3 our fabulous outcomes 4) that by writing ‘this is a safeguarding issue’ on a complaint doesn’t mean it is- and therefore for parents to understand ( through education by the LA) the difference between a ‘safeguarding issue’ and a parent query or concern.

There is a direct correlation between parents escalation and the lack of celebration to the wider communities about how amazing our schools are at responding to need.

A necessary LA strategy surrounding this and supporting parents to manage expectations would mean a great deal of leaders time ( including those in the LA - who are having to respond to these escalations) could be better spent.

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How will schools completing an annual certificate about food standards improve food standards? If schools buy into the LA schools meals service why do they have to do this? It is more box ticking and bureaucracy.

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Attendance is a local and nation issue, schools are working hard to combat this as well as being clearly held to account by Ofsted. So how can we strength our work with LA and partners such as BASS and Social Care so that we are working together to tackle attendance.

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Will the LA confirm that they have reduced capacity in the safeguarding team. We need clarity about the safeguarding audit cycle and the requirement to have Tower Hamlets DSL training.

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We are at the point of court action for a family (attendance) and because we don’t have the LA AWO SLA we have been told that we have to do the court paperwork and attend court. What are the LA statutory responsibilities regarding attendance?

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Testing

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How can we strengthen communication between the LA SEND dept, schools and parents? Emails are rarely acknowledged/responded to.

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What are the plans for replacing Chris Jordan in THESS?

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What is the plan for the PDC?

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Hello- we had a flurry of new pupils announced in wafts throughout the last 10 days - with some very last minute transfer notifications on the last day. Please can the systems and processes for this be tightened up so that schools who are welcoming new pupils have time to carry out safe and appropriate induction administration processes. Thanks

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When will the huge backlog of children who should be in special school provision but who are trapped in mainstream schools be reduced? It has been almost 3 years since the LA began the or work and there is no impact to date. Schools who have worked with Phoenix or set up their own provision are not able to take enough children from other schools.

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What do the NEU attend school forum meeting? Please clarify their role in attending and whether they are there as an observer or a contributing forum member. If the the latter then the constitution has to be reviewed.

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Test question - Darren