25/11/2012 Sunday Politics East


25/11/2012

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Here in the East: Questions over the sponsors of

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Academies, after a successful head teacher quits his post.

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2253 seconds

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Here's one answer to the shortage Proof later, the academy where

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ahead improved exam results quits after apparently falling out with

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its sponsor. Many parents will be seeking to solve the problem by

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moving their kids to another school. This this your ideal of a

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classroom? The plans to turn an office block into a school to help

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provide desperately needed schools places.

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First, let's meet our guests, Elizabeth Truss, education minister

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and Conservative MP for South West Norfolk, and Daniel Zeichner,

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Labour's parliamentary candidate for Cambridge. I wanted to begin

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with our sighing -- soundbite of the week, we hear from Simon Ash,

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the chief constable of a Suffolk police who just days after the PCC

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elections has announced he is to go in February.

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I think we have got to be very careful we don't assume there

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aren't a lot of good Chief officers developing behind us who are fit

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and able to take on those roles. I am absolutely confident there are

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really good colleagues are there who are already and I'm sure we'll

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apply for this job. He seems they are dropping like

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flies. On the day of the PCC elections came at the Essex chief

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constable will not actually see out his 10 either. People like the

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former home secretary, Charles Clarke, said this would be a

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disaster. I don't think it is. The police

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commissioners have just been elected, they have got their time

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in office to show the difference they can make. What is going on

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across the country is at their wrath changes in policing, we are

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developing a national crime agency which will mean more monitoring of

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crime at a national level, and people do move jobs, they move into

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different jobs, that is perfectly natural. We will be able to judge

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the results from the police commissioners in what happens in

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four years' time, once they have had a period of time in office,

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that is when we should judge the results.

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We have been told more chief constables could go, this is a

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shambles. Just the word I was going to use.

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The last thing we needed, when crime was falling under the last

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Labour government, was to compete reorganise the police service, at a

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time when massive cut a be made as well. I have every sympathy with

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the chief constables who have looked at it at the people did last

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week and given it the thumbs down. Wasn't it hypocritical for your

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party to support the elections, if you didn't support the role?

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We didn't oppose the elections, but you have to put up candidates, it

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would have been foolish not to have done so, but we thought it was a

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total waste of money. Chief constables are saying the same

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thing. Now, to the growing number of

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Academy Schools in our region and what is to belief -- believed to be

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the first is the, ahead of an academy in Basildon after falling

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out with its sponsor. Dr Rory Fox, who has improved exam results by

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one-third since taking over in 2011 is to leave, raising questions over

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whether the academy system is at the mercy of private backers who

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are not educational experts. They wear and still art schools and

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special measures. But since Dr Rory fox became head of the Basildon

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academies in 2011 results have been improving. Despite that Dr Fox has

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resigned. Apparently it is over a difference of opinion with the

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School sponsor about the way the schools are run. Which raises the

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question, who is in charge of an academy? Is it their head or is it

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the sponsor? In a statement the Department for

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The Basildon Academy's head and the sponsor have both declined offers

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to comment. It is inevitable when the school has now got the

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reputation it has, that many parents will be seeking to solve

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the problem by moving their kids to another school. It does mean those

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students whose parents are concerned about their progress have

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gone nowhere else to go, which is crucially important for the

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government to take action now to address these issues.

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Despite exam results improving at the Academy's the row pupils like

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Amaris Northcott he did agree with Dr Fox -- Dr Cox's discipline

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regime that can see pupils being put into isolation for relatively

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minor offences. He fell stressful, I did not want

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to go. I had to go to school but it was really uncomfortable, I can get

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on well. He mother says under the academy

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system he seems there is no way for parents with concerns to go.

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I was astonished how difficult it is as a parent to be heard. I went

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to the welfare officer, everywhere committed try to get somebody to

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listen to the problems going on, and the school were not doing

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anything about it and they wouldn't return your call, speed you.

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Traditionally county councils govern state schools. Under local

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authority control Perez with concerns about a school can have

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them addressed by the Council. However, academies are answerable

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to the education secretary with the schools commissioner set-up to deal

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with issues raised by parents. But confusion is widespread. Not even

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Basildon's MP is aware of the commission's existence.

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Up until this point I have had no need to contact them, but following

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this interview I will find a what the role of the Schools Commission

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is and how it can help facilitate contact. If this body exists, as it

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obviously does, I will be looking at how it can help facilitate

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better communication between schools and parents.

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Parents who are pleased with Dr Fox's progress says the academies

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are unhappy he is leaving. I think it is very sad. City has

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been here the school has come up. It is really annoying to here he is

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going. He has done a brilliantly good job.

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His scenes when it comes to academies whether or not the

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sponsor, governors or trust has a background in education, ultimately

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it is the sponsor's decision whether a head stays or goes.

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We believe the news -- the new head stars this week. Daniel, who should

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be in charge of the school, a sponsor or ahead? I was a chair of

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governors for many years, it ought to be the head teacher. They're the

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experts, the professionals. Having these shadowy private organisations

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that nobody knows how to hold to account is wrong. I am sure some of

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the organisation's will quibble with you calling them shared a week.

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What qualifications should a sponsor have?

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Sponsors go through a rigorous process through the Department of

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Education to be sponsors of academies, to make sure they are

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fit to undertake that role. The problem with what Daniel is

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suggesting is who judges their head teachers. If the head teacher isn't

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doing a good job and her teacher is in charge had we make sure Keith is

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caught improves? There was a full system of accountability. Schools

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are accountable to OFSTED, if offset their good judgment the

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school isn't doing well enough that is a factor. They at a canter more

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through their floor standards. If needs be the Department of

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Education can step in. There is a rigorous process that Academy

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sponsors go through without determining whether or not an

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Academy can sponsor a particular school. The Academy programme has

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had huge benefits for our education system. The whole concept of

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Academy sponsors was introduced and the Labour government side cannot

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quite see why the Labour Party representative is objecting. Labour

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was focusing attention on schools in the poorest areas were they

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really needed a big investment. What this government has rushed

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head lock into converting all schools into academies, and making

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no account of the kind of local accountability his parents are

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talking about. There's talk about the concept of private

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organisations leading academies. You cannot know the conditions of

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every school around this country. If parents are concerned they can

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go to local people. There's talk about Michael Gove. My

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understanding is he is at the top of the tree, that Parma for

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Education has responsibility for answering questions about these

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academies. You have introduced a vast number of academies. How is Mr

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Gove able to cope with administering 2000 schools?

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whole point is through the selection process these we make

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sure the care the responses of fit for purpose it was invented under

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the previous Labour government. We thought was a good idea so we have

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continued and expanded it. The whole concept of the private

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sponsor was the idea of Andrew Adonis, the Labour government

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minister. We support the concept, we have introduced it further. All

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the evidence from systems across the world suggest autonomy is

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really important, so that schools have power over things like

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teachers' pay, the curriculum, how they run and organiser school and

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how these a budget. That has been very successful. In a small number

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of cases where there are problems, there is schools commissioner whose

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role it is to look at those problems within the Department for

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Education. There is a sanction. The whole point is academies a really

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raising the Game of the performance of the education system. Daniel,

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what about this commission and, do you think parents are ill-informed

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enough about their very existence? The have got no idea. The point is

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we have a system where plenty of schools were actually functioning

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extremely well, very high standards in the City and Cambridge, he

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didn't need this organisation. What was needed was the schools that

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were really struggling. That was Labour's approach and the right

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thing to do. This is actually about a mass privatisation of education,

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ultimately to run schools for profit. Their stay with education.

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There is a shortage of places in our primary schools. In some parts

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the fastest-growing region of the country getting a school places

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becoming a real challenge. In Peterborough the council has had to

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create an additional 10 classes for children in their first year at

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school. According to local authority figures we estimate by

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2016 there will be another 42,000 children needing to stop prime we

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schools across the region and there are currently no places for half of

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them. Year 6 pupils in nearby new

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classroom. This extension beasts pupil numbers from 422630. But at

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near by Northampton Vale they are still waiting for their new school

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buildings, some youngsters are taught in mobile classrooms.

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Because Peterborough Leeds City Council is struggling to

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accommodate growing pupil numbers. The City has the second highest

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birthrate outside London and there is a massive inward migration,

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largely from the senior up. We are seeing families that have four

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children under attending for different schools, because we

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simply cannot get them into the local area. About five years ago we

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were taking 2,500 children into reception, this year we are at

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2,800, I expect to be 3,500 him if he is kind. By have schemes on our

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books for about �80 million worth of school extensions, paid for from

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the council tax payer in a local area through the local authority.

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We cannot sustain that going forward, that will not do with the

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increases. We have an acute funding pressure coming. It is not just

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money. There is also a shortage of land to build new schools. Another

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council is looking at the All hospital site and a disused railway

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shed. Elsewhere in Northampton the local authority wants to convert

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this former office block into a new school. The Union says there has

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hardly any play area and the building itself is unsuitable.

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is very difficult to increase the space around the site, so that is

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likely to result in problems with discipline, not be able to have

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told you groups meeting in the hall, at restrictions on productions can

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put on. All those things are important for George and education.

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It is not just about what they're doing in the classroom. Have been a

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different approach around the use of a building like this, over three

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stories, that is not new, we have had that in London, Bristol, for a

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long time. It is just new in this council. Good space outside,

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potentially looking a space on the roof, that has been done elsewhere

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in terms of playground on the roofs of buildings. We also know there

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are parks and things nearby. We just need to think little bit more

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imaginatively. The school would be attached to this primary-school.

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Family said mixed-use. Go for it. Anything that isn't did, why not

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use it? If the office block was in a better place, it is in a very

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busy traffic every year and has not much ground surrounding it for play

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times. I have got into of Abington Vale last year because the put

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extra class indeed reception so it is really disappointing that nobody

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has thought about it sooner to do something about the problem.

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problem was in its secondary schools. Officials describe it as a

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ticking timebomb. The real pressure will come when youngsters that have

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been part of this boom start to make their way through to secondary.

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We have already had a conversation with the secondary head teachers in

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and around Northampton about options. We believe we will have to

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build at least one it you secondary-school. Also we may have

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to look at other buildings such as this, to add to our secretary

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capacity. Council officers say they can see no end to the current

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population boom. It means sites like this could be more, in the

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future. 20 mean out his Councillor Andrew

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Grant, Northamptonshire's Cabinet member for children, learning and

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skills. What is the picture when it comes for places in

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Northamptonshire? How will you cope? We had a problem in January

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were we had a number of late applications after all the

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admissions had been done, add we spent time during the summer

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identifying the number of schools where we could but temporary

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measures, we'll put in plans together to extend his school's

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permanent extensions. We looked at the office block which defeated

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earlier. These are all part of the solutions to meet the rising boom

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in terms of newborn birth and inward migration and we have had a

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late number of more applications from piece -- people from Eastern

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Europe. He pulsate You know how many babies have been born so you

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have for years to make provision. We currently have in September 1956

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1,000 children in our promise course, we are forecasting by 25

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per and 15 42,000 -- and in 20th September 107400 places. Obviously

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that is using all our intended capital the government intends to

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provide. We are a growing county. Whisk the new census figures being

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released we'll finally been able to Pru finally we need the extra money

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we haven't had in the past. What about the role of academies. You

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have no control over their intake. We welcome them. We had a number

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that converted under the previous government, some have continued

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through failing to convert, a number have converted. We have a

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great relationship with the number of schools we are proposing to

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extend which up academies, we are working closely together, and of

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the Sleep we want to continue to provide all other children with the

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best possible education outcomes. Daniel, are you aware of the

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position in Cambridge? It is really that here too. Down the road we

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have got another shambles will we have a new school that has opened,

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the old school site is across the road, we would like to reappear but

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the current government will not let the County Council do, it assisted

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has to be an Academy of free school to the government is making the

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situation worse than need be. Labour got rid of mobile classrooms,

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and discovered is that a mobile classrooms back. What about this

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position academies put local operatives in where they have no

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control? We have provided a further 800 million basic need funding for

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councils were the population is rising. We have seen councils third

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Peterborough and more fun de sure of finding solutions, three schools

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and academies help. -- Northamptonshire. There is a free

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school in Corby which provides extra places. I go the we should

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look at the baby boom as wholly negative, he's a new children

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growing up, some countries are struggling with the birth rate and

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not getting next generation through. We have got an opportunity year,

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lots of young people coming through this is done, I think that is great.

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The thing we haven't talked about here is teachers. The most

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important factor it in a tell dedication isn't the building their

:56:50.:56:54.

run, that is how good the teacher is. What we're doing is providing

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bursaries to get more people into teaching, to attract top graduates,

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and that is what will really make a difference. I don't think we should

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be wholly negative about this. It is a positive thing we have got

:57:06.:57:10.

more young people. There's been a BECTU provision of places, who is

:57:10.:57:14.

going to have an overview of her -- let's bring it back to provision of

:57:14.:57:24.
:57:24.:57:25.

places. The answer is that -- the local authority is responsible for

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sufficiency. The fund deja a working with academies, free

:57:28.:57:34.

schools, to make sure there are enough places Bath Northamptonshire.

:57:34.:57:38.

In my county of Norfolk County Council take a positive attitude

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towards academies, they see there'll a strategic rather than

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trying to Connacht cause, they are making sure there is the

:57:46.:57:56.
:57:56.:57:56.

sufficiency of places available for students. There's give the county

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council's the position where they are understanding the overall

:58:00.:58:08.

changes. Array to bring Councillor Grand beckoned. Is there money to

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pay for all these things? Is there money to provide places for these

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children? There is basically money allocated and we are assuming the

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government will continue to fund that in the next four years, hence

:58:19.:58:23.

why we are planning the places we are. Providing it is maintained we

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will deal with those places. We will also have money that will

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provide additional resources but it is right we make the allegations of

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the money that we get from government going to the best use we

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can, and if that is in the build extensions or looking at

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alternative accommodation, we will get body formally for our taxpayers.

:58:45.:58:49.

Labour induced the ideas of academies. Do you not agree this

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has put local authorities in a difficult position? Going back to

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the point, academies were introduced by Labour for the small

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number of telling just schools which needed a new start, we did

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not take away the structure above them which was needed to allocate

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resources in a sensible way. There is no middle to a stricter in

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education. Basically, it is going to be a free-for-all, and they

:59:11.:59:15.

really fear for what we will see in any of our counties in the East of

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England in the years ahead. We will have to leave their discussion to

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stop that queue for the time. -- thank you for your time. She may be

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out but is she down, it is a jungle Basildon Hospital is facing fresh

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concerns over its standard of childrens' care following a spot

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check by the Care Quality Commission. It is disappointing and

:59:46.:59:50.

people be confident in the fact this hospital can deliver a decent

:59:50.:59:55.

level of care. And caring for our fish stocks

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prompted one MP to call for an end to illegal poaching from our lakes

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and rivers. This is an issue of criminality. If you take fish and

:00:03.:00:08.

don't return them it is theft. A welcome for Bedfordshire's new

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Police and Crime Commissioner, one of eight who have taken up their

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posts this week. And joy from Labour as new MP for

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Corby, Andy Sawford, takes his place in the House of Commons.

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urge all part of the public sector and the private sector as well, to

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consider the case for a living wage of �7.45 per hour.

:00:26.:00:29.

Meanwhile MP Nadine Dorries, leaves the jungle and defends herself

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against the former chief whip. didn't give me permission for the

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sherbety did give me the permission to have the month away. You were to

:00:41.:00:45.

be an MP, would you do that? don't think so. It was poor

:00:45.:00:47.

judgment but she probably did better than the Billington boys

:00:47.:00:56.

would have done. Has she disgraced error office? Well, I think that is

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a Dutchman for her local constituency party. -- judgment.

:01:02.:01:07.

What a would say is I don't envy her time in the jungle, all those

:01:07.:01:10.

rats and dogs looked horrible to me and I have got no intention of

:01:10.:01:14.

going anywhere near it. How are you doing her appearance? There was a

:01:14.:01:22.

lot of MPs watching the show and seen it. She has been away for a

:01:22.:01:26.

while, I think she needs to come back and talk to the parliamentary

:01:26.:01:30.

party. What about the fact that people are saying she has reached

:01:30.:01:35.

at younger people, they'd MPs hip and trendy? Not buy you are not

:01:36.:01:39.

already. I think she has lately demean the Office. Are we allowed

:01:39.:01:44.

to nominate other MPs? I would love to see Michael Gove with the plight

:01:44.:01:49.

of cockroaches? It would be a great picture.

:01:49.:01:52.

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