Email the Scrutiny panel about the decision

It is really important that you write/phone/email and let Councillors on the Scrutiny Committee know what you think about the new admissions system that has been voted through. They will be making a decision about whether to send the vote back to CF&S Committee again.

To remind you of the CF&S meeting, Labour members on that committee all voted for the proposals, as did the Green Party member Richard Mallender. You should note that Kevin Allen (Labour, Preston Park) and Anne Meadows (Labour, Moulsecoomb and Bevendean) spoke out against the new system at that meeting. Moulsecoomb and Bevendean's local councillor, Jack Hazelgrove, voted for the new admissions fixed catchments, including the new catchment for Falmer that ends at Bear Road. The Conservatives, who have a policy of not supporting lotteries, all voted against the proposals, along with Jayne Bennett (Independent, Stanford).

The Scrutiny panel are meeting this coming Monday and need to hear how you feel about the decision made by the Children, Families and Schools Committee on the 2nd February, and also about what you think of the Secondary Admissions Review, and how it was undertaken.

• When did you get to hear about the proposals?
• Did you even hear before the decision was made?
• And what do you think about the consultation with governors and the non-existent consultation with parents?
• Do you think this is fair to "the city as a whole" as so many councillors have said, or do you think it moves the problem to other areas?
• Do you think this is about Labour and Green groups fighting over marginal seats?
• Will you be voting for Labour in the elections in May, and would you have done previously?
• Do you think that the sacking of Juliet McCaffery was a disgraceful act that brought our democracy and the Council into disrepute?
• Do you think that this follows the mandatory requirements of the new code of admissions to secure diversity and increase opportunity in ALL the city's schools?
• Ask them what you should do if Falmer is not the right school for your child. How does this system improve choice for parents, particularly in the single catchments for schools like Falmer, Longhill, Portslade and Patcham?
• Can you trust the Council to make the right decision and consider residents in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean when it comes to the question of the Falmer Academy after the shameful sacking of Juliet McCaffery from CF&S Committee on 2nd Feb?

Have a look at the article on this blog that details some flaws in the process here.


Children & Young People's Overview & Scrutiny Committee Members

Simon Battle (Chair, Labour, Goldsmid)
simon.battle@brighton-hove.gov.uk
01273 291139

Anne Giebeler (Independent, Goldsmid)
anne.giebeler@brighton-hove.gov.uk
01273 294364

Warren Morgan (East Brighton, Labour)
warren.morgan@brighton-hove.gov.uk
01273 294362

Jeanne Lepper (Hollingbury & Stanmer, Labour)
jeanne.lepper@brighton-hove.gov.uk
01273 291169

Georgia Wrighton (Greeen, Hanover & Elm Grove)
georgia.wrighton@brighton-hove.gov.uk
01273 294365

Kevin Allen (Preston Park, Labour)
kevin.allen@brighton-hove.gov.uk
01273 291197

Garry Peltzer Dunn (Wish, Conservative)
garry.peltzerdunn@brighton-hove.gov.uk
01273 291186

Dee Simson (Woodingdean, Conservative)
dee.simson@brighton-hove.gov.uk
01273 291178

Jan Young (Vice-Chair, Central Hove, Conservative)
jan.young@brighton-hove.gov.uk
01273 294361

Write to them:
c/o Kings House, Grand Avenue, Hove, BN3 2LS.