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Camden New Journal - By RICHARD OSLEY
Published: 7 June 2007

Teachers, governors and parents from Frank Barnes, Jack Taylor and Swiss Cottage schools protest at Haverstock on Tuesday

School told to go it alone

Consultation finds little support for private sponsorship deal

EDUCATION chiefs at the Town Hall have been told to learn the lessons of neighbouring Haringey and open a new school without the use of outside sponsorship.
In a blow to government policy of using private money to fund new schools, Haringey Council successfully argued last week that it should be allowed to run a new school planned for the Alexandra Palace area by itself.
The Office of the Schools Adjudicator said the authority should take charge, rather than a host of private sponsors that had hoped to run the new Heartlands School.
The adjudicator noted consultation responses had shown “little support for a school other than a community school”.
The case, which blew up from stiff competition over who should run a new school, has a direct relevance to Camden Council where a similar debate is raging.
Camden is deliberating not only where to open a new school – the provisional site is in Adelaide Road, Swiss Cottage, but parents in the south of Camden want the project moved to their neighbourhood – but also whether to use private sponsorship.
University College London and the Church of England have already expressed interest in getting involved.
The Town Hall is currently in the thick of a consultation to see what parents want, holding its latest meeting at Haverstock School on Tuesday night.
Andrew Baisley, from Camden NUT, said: “We are encouraged by the case in Haringey.
“Camden should look at it and do something similar.”
Education chief Councillor Andrew Mennear said that he was aware of the Haringey case but added: “We have not said what route we are going down at the moment. We are considering all of the options.”
Cllr Mennear and his colleagues are weathering a three-pronged attack. Not only are they coming up against parents who think the proposed school will be in the wrong place and educationists who are ideologically opposed to city academies, council chiefs have also been told they are not doing enough for special schools.
Under the provisional plan, Frank Barnes School for the Deaf will be moved to make way for the new school, while Jack Taylor and Swiss Cottage will “co-locate” on the same site.
Governors at all three schools are worried about what the plans will mean for them.
Camden Unison’s Huge Pierre said: “We are very concerned about the fate of Camden’s excellent special needs schools. Frank Barnes urgently needs a guaranteed future.”
He added that Swiss Cottage and Jack Taylor needed playground space for children to let off steam.

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