Agenda item

To receive the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services

The Board received the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services, noting the 17% reduction in the number of children in Greater London since 2010 resulting in excess school places (though some future-proofing needed to be factored in across the next decade), noting also that sixth-form places were holding up and secondaries were aligned to planned numbers apart from Highgate Hill.

A Member asked for further information on any marketing or branding around ensuring that City of London schools were viewed as desirable destinations. The Board heard that the matter was expected to be discussed the next day at the CoLAT Head Teachers’ forum and would encompass parental involvement, marketing and reputation management. The meeting heard that the Education Strategy Unit (ESU) was ready to support schools in any such initiative, and that the ESU was happy to facilitate co-learning across the family of schools including independent schools on marketing and communications. The Board also noted that a core driver in a CoLAT school’s appeal was Ofsted reports and exam results, and these were focus areas for the Trust to ensure schools were protected from any further downturn in pupil numbers.