Schools Strikes Will Damage Children's Education

This week’s strikes will only serve to damage the education of thousands of children in Southampton and disrupt the lives of hard working parents. Many parents will themselves lose a day’s pay as they have to take the day off work and others will have to pay the cost of making alternative child care arrangements.

Southampton’s schools are driving up standards and results are improving year after year. One of the key drivers of improvement is better attendance. The more children are in school the better they do. The reverse is true; the more children miss school the more this sets back their progress. Strikes this week and perhaps in coming months are therefore damaging and wrong.

Schools in Southampton will be doing their best under these difficult circumstances; with some able to keep their school open or partly open for some year groups, or able to facilitate self study for older children.

Schools need to know how many teachers will be off work and how many are working in order to plan ahead, to communicate early with parents and to run an open or partly open school on the day. It is therefore deeply irresponsible of some of the more militant elements among the union leaders to be advocating that teachers refuse to tell their school if they will be in work or not. This is designed to maximise disruption to the school and to parents and ultimately to the education of children in the city. The union leaders should respect the right of teachers to come into school and teach if they choose and I am sure parents across the city will be very thankful to those that do.

Politics should be kept out of schools and the focus of everyone – school heads, the unions, the teaching profession and parents should be on delivering for children.

60th Birthday Celebrations for Banister School!

I was delighted to join Banister School on Wednesday for their 60th birthday celebrations. The school was first opened on 23rd April 1953. Built by a former aircraft manufacturer seeking to diversify their business after the war, the building was only intended to last 15 years. Wednesday's birthday celebrations were also an opportunity to mark the progress of the building of the new school which is due to open in September. The event was marked by the launching of Chinese lanterns from the outside learning space on the roof of the new building. 

New Banister School Agreed By City Planners

Today the Council's Planning and Rights of Way Panel considered the planning application for the new Banister School.

The new school will be open in September next year and will cater from a growing number of primary age pupils in area. The existing school is now very old and is long past its sell by date. It has for some time been the aspiration of many, including myself, to rebuild the school and extra government money secured last year by the City Council makes this possible. The new school is very good value for money and will be the quickest school build done in recent history in Southampton: just over 18 months from the decision to the school being open.

A large number of local residents were at the meeting and several spoke. It was good that everyone at the meeting was in favour of the new school although some valid local concerns were rightly raised.
A lot of work has gone on in recent weeks to try and get the best possible scheme, taking account of the views of neighbours.

As a result of local residents petitioning the City Council, several trees will be saved which were previously going to be lost. 3 lime trees will be protected. Also the planners asked that further consideration be given to saving the horse chestnut tree by Archers Road and if it is possible then the tree will also be kept.

The school has resolved to do everything possible to tackle concerns about congestion, with a 'Park and Stride' scheme planned, whereby parents who must drive drop their children away from Archers Road and walk them to school.

Maximum car parking has been secured on the site and the City Council agreed to make efforts to find temporary parking nearby during the construction phase so that teachers don't park in residential streets.

Also agreed today at the planning meeting was the application for the new Wordsworth School and a remodelled Moorlands School. Funding and sign off for the 3 schools was agreed at the end of last year by Conservative Councillors. It is great to see the schemes progressing.

Southampton to Share in New Government Funding for Schools

I was delighted to read yesterday that two Southampton Schools will benefit from the new Priority School Building Programme. Bitterne Park and Cedar School will benefit from the new £2b fund which is aimed at targeting improvements and repairs to those schools most in need of building works. 

I submitted a bid for these schools to the new scheme last year whilst in my role as Cabinet Member for Childrens' Services and was able to raise the issue of Southampton Schools with the Secretary of State for Education when he visited Southampton in March.

To see the full list of schools benefiting from the scheme click HERE and for Michael Gove's ministerial statement click HERE.

The extra funds come on the back of a separate award of £3.9 to the City Council in April, to fund new places that are needed in our primary schools.

The new money will all be put to good use very quickly with school rebuilds and repairs being completed within a couple of years.

Southampton Secures £3.9M from Government for local Schools

Great news for Southampton Schools! £3.89M of extra government funding is coming to Southampton to help meet the growing demand new primary school places in the city.


Southampton's Conservative Councillors already have a detailed plan to expand primary school provision, including rebuilding both Banister School and Wordsworth School in 2013 and remodelling Moorlands School. 


This extra money will help ensure we get the best possible outcomes for local primary children. 


We have published our manifesto for schools and young people as we approach the local elections on 3rd May. Click HERE for more details.

Talking About The Government's Education Reforms

Southampton Schools Move Up The League Tables

At a visit to Mayfield Academy earlier today. Mayfield's results showed a huge improvement last year and their new school building is due to open next month.

The Department of Education today published its GCSE league tables for 2011 and the figures are hugely encouraging for Southampton. Schools and colleges in Southampton completed a clean sweep of the best ever results at GCSE, Key Stage 2, and A Level in 2011. This will reassure parents that education in the city is improving across the board and will provide the city’s children and young people with the opportunities they need and deserve.  In 2011 Southampton achieved a 9% increase in 5+ GCSEs A*-C, and a 4.2% increase in 5+ GCSEs A*-C, including English and Maths.

I would like to offer my congratulations and to the pupils who have worked so hard to achieve these results and wish them every success in what they choose to do next. I’d also like to thank the city’s fantastic headteachers for their leadership and dedication, as well as all the committed and talented teaching and support staff for everything they do.

The City Council will continue to work alongside the city’s schools to keep up the momentum and build on this success. We are fortunate to have some of the best headteachers in the country working within the city and this can only be good for the education of Southampton’s children and young people.

We are not complacent and there is still work to do, but these results move us closer to achieving our goals.

Banister School Rebuild Given the Green Light

Freemantle Councillor, Michael Ball in Archers Road, outside Banister School

I am delighted to report that the City Council will be investing in a complete rebuild for Banister School. Conservative Councillors have been pushing for this for some time.  

A number of schools in the city are expanding to meet the growing demand for primary places. The greatest demand is in the central part of the city and in Freemantle Ward. All of the Junior and Infant schools in the ward are going to become 'all though' primary schools and this includes Banister School from September 2013.The current Banister buildings are very old and in need of replacement and now with the need to grow the school, a complete rebuild is the only sensible option to pursue.

At the end of last year the City Council was successful in winning additional capital money from the government to help deal us fund our ambitious local primary school expansion programme. The council was awarded £3.1M. As a result I am pleased to report that we are now in a position to commit to the Banister School rebuild.

We will be able to produce a fantastic, state of the art new building, which will not only be excellent quality but superb value for money. The new build will be completed for September 2013 and so this will be the fastest school build that the city council has ever done.

Southampton Pushes Ahead With Solar Energy Plans

Southampton City Council is pushing ahead with ambitious plans to install solar panels on schools, blocks of council flats and civic buildings.

This will mean cheaper energy for schools and ultimately the taxpayer, as well as being good news for the environment and a boost to business and jobs.

By installing solar PV we will also benefit by selling spare energy to the national grid and will earn money through the government's feed in tarrif (FiT), money that will help us meet the challenge of reduced council budgets and protect services to residents.

The decision to press ahead comes despite an announcement by government that they might bring forward the date at which they reduce the funding through the FiT, to 12th December from April as previously planned.

Because Southampton is ahead of schedule and through skillful procurement, we will be able to excelerate our scheme, with panels starting to go up as early as next week. This will mean we get the best return for our local investment possible.

Click HERE for further details.

Launch of Southampton's Junior Road Safety Officer Scheme

I was very pleased this morning to be part of the launch of Southampton's Junior Road Safety Officer scheme at the Saints football ground.

Southampton City council, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and Hampshire Constabulary officers were joined by pupils and staff from Harefield, Oakwood, Bitterne Manor, St Swithun Wells and Bassett Green schools.

The scheme has been piloted over the last few months by 6 year 6 pupils from Harefield who have been engaged in projects to raise awareness of road safety, cycling and green travel amongst their classmates. They have been doing assemblies, running competitions and designing posters to communicate with children and their parents.

In January volunteers from a host of other schools will sign up to the new initiative and next Summer they will compete against schools from North and South Hampshire and Portsmouth in a Champion of Champions competition run by the fire service to determine which is the best school in the county at improving the safety of children travelling to and from school.

Rosewood School to Become Southampton's First Free School

I was delighted to hear this afternoon that Rosewood special school (in Lordswood) has been successful in its application for free school status.

This is good news for Rosewood and a boost for parental choice and the diversity of education provision in Southampton.

The council worked closely with Rosewood on their application for free school status and the school will continue to have our support. Rosewood is a strong institution and will be well-placed to help the city manage the increasing demand for school places in the coming years.

Well Done Southampton Schools

Southampton schools are continuing to make fantastic progress! GCSE results this month show a 4.5% increase in pupils getting 5 A-C GCSEs including English and Maths. The figures mean that the city has met its target for 2011, with 52% of pupils hitting this standard.

There has been a step change in educational attainment in the city in recent years, with Southampton persistently out stripping the national average improvement in performance. Since 2007, on average, schools have improved by 13%; the most improved school being Upper Shirley High, which has improved by 26% over that period.

Standards need to keep going up. The government is quite rightly raising the bar for minimum standards in schools and with the improvements in performance we are seeing in our local schools I am very confident we will continue to push up results.

Click HERE for further details.

School Strikes on 30th June

Details of which Southampton schools will be open on Thursday and which will be closed as result of the national schools strike can be found HERE.

Well done to all those schools that are able to stay open. I know many schools are thinking creatively about how best to manage the school day and how to make curriculum changes to deal with some staff striking.

It is important that the impact on children and their families is minimised by the action.

Well Done Southampton Schools!

Results from Southampton Schools have been superb this year.

At Key Stage One the city is now above the national average, shooting up the local authority league tables.

At GCSE we have had our largest increase in our history at 4.1%, closing the gap significantly with national average.

The improvements reflect the hard work put in by teachers and pupils across the city. In addition the city council has worked with struggling schools, partnering them with good schools and investing in teacher training programmes.

Schools in the west of the city have done particularly well with big improvements in GCSE results:

• Lord’s Hill Academy (+13%)
• Upper Shirley High School (+5%)
• Redbridge Community College (+17%)
• Regents Park Community College (+10%)

£35m Boost for Southampton's Academies

Fantastic news! We have heard this afternoon that the new Coalition government has signed off the £35m for the rebuild of Southampton's two city academies.

Funding for the schools had been on hold because of a government review being undertaken of capital funding for schools across the country.

Building work for the Oasis Academy Mayfield starts in October and Lord's Hill Academy construction starts in January 2011.

I Will Fight For Local Schools and Colleges

As your Member of Parliament I will fight hard to improve our local schools and colleges.

I am pleased that I have been able to secure millions of pounds of funds for our primary schools. I am also delighted that we are pushing ahead with the rebuilding of two city academies. As a local councillor I helped secure £35m for these schools – money that Southampton Labour Councillors and MPs would have turned down.

We have 5 new secondary school building projects in the pipeline. The only thing holding back approval for these new schools is government sign off. As soon as the government gives the go ahead the city council will enter procurement to build the new schools. My concern is that our local Labour MPs are delaying the projects for political reasons, during the election campaign.

Our Labour MPs have already let the city’s young people down once, by refusing millions of pounds of promised funds to rebuild Taunton’s and Itchen college. It would be shameful for them to put our new secondary schools at risk too.

Pioneering Scheme to Boost Sport in the City

Yesterday local Conservatives announced plans for a pioneering scheme to dramatically increase the amount of sport provision for children in Southampton. The Conservative led council is looking to work in partnership with Southampton Solent University to provide 5,000 hours of after school sports training each year.

Initially a pilot scheme will be run with sports studies undergraduates from Southampton Solent coaching children at a number of schools in the city. If the scheme proves popular then it will be extended to all interested schools and it is hoped that the scheme could double to 10,000 hours a year. This is a fantastic scheme which will help tackle childhood obesity as well as anti social behaviour.

The proposal forms part of the Conservative budget proposals for the city due to be voted on by all political parties on 20th February. The proposals from local Conservatives come on the back of a report this week from David Cameron about how we can improve the development of young people in Britain and increase accessibility to sports and other activities within and outside school.

Green Light for New Learning Campus

Southampton Conservatives are pushing ahead with plans for investment and modernisation of secondary education in the city.

Later this month the Council's Conservative Cabinet are meeting to approve the next steps for the eventual development of 4 new secondary schools in Southampton:

• The Lord's Hill Oasis Academy which is to be built on the 5 acre field site on the northern boundary of the city.
• The Mayfield Oasis Academy which will be developed on the Grove Park School site.
• The relocation of Regents Park Community College to the St Mark’s CE Junior/ former Civil Service Sports Ground site in Freemantle.
• The relocation of the Sholing Technology College to the Itchen College building.

I am delighted that such excellent progress is being made and I am particularly pleased with the work that is going on secure the former Civil Service Sports Ground as school and community playing fields.

Together with Cllr Brian Parnell and Cllr Michael Ball we have represented residents' wishes to protect the Civil Service Sports Ground from housing development and protect one of the last green playing fields in the city centre, and we have sought to secure central government funding (Building Schools for the Future Programme) to build a new school on the St Mark's site to serve the needs of the local community.

In January we will be formally authorising the Council's Director of Resources to take steps to acquire the former Civil Service Sports Association playing fields at the rear of the St Mark’s site from its current owner, Bovis Homes so that it can be developed as a playing field for St Mark’s CE Junior School and Regents Park Community College, and made available for community use.

The Council will work with the governing body of Regents Park Community College, the governing body of St Mark’s CE Junior School and the Board of Education of the Winchester Diocese of the Church of England with the aim of creating a learning campus on the St Mark’s CE Junior School site including both primary and secondary education.

As the newly selected Parliamentary Candidate for Southampton Test, top of my agenda will be pressing government to provide funds for these and other schools in the city.

Twenty Is Plenty!

The new Conservative Council Administration has announced plans to slow down traffic outside of Southampton's schools.

Signs encouraging drivers to slow down to 20mph will be installed around all the city's schools by the end of March next year.

This should have happened along time ago and I am really pleased this important issue is now being tackled.

Click HERE to read the Daily Echo report and HERE for Southampton City Council's press release.

Brown Plans Raid On School Coffers

Brown is keen to get his hands on schools' money

Gordon Brown is planning to confiscate money from schools which have budgeted sensibly by taking 5% of any school surpluses. Click HERE to read more.

This is quite unfair and smacks of more top down control from Labour. The money belongs to the schools and the head teachers should decide how it is spent.

This news comes after recent warnings that the Government might be backing away from its plans to rebuild or rennovate schools across the country. Southampton has been promised funds under the Building Schools for the Future fund and there is deep concern that the city will be denied vital funds for improving local education. Click HERE to read more.

UPDATE 01/11/07 - Good news. The Government has backed down over its plans to raid the funds of prudent schools.