Brent Council and John Kelly Schools

Labour made another attempt to get Brent's Liberal Democrats and Tories to return to their previous policy of a full expansion of the Crest Academies (formerly John Kelly Schools). After a chaotic debate, the Tories and Liberal Democrats voted down our motion to buy more land so that it had greater sports facilities (which Ofsted has identified as the schools' Achilles heel).

Prior to the vote, we were told at great length that Brent is short of school places. As usual the Liberal Democrats blamed the government for not giving enough money without mentioning that Brent has persistently had some of the highest increases in education spend in England (This year, for example, we had the second highest increase).

One of the several reasons for wanting the extra land is that construction would take less than two years rather than the four years planned by the Liberal Democrats. There is some evidence that the school is already seeing parents turning down places. If it becomes a building site for four years, I would think the number of refusals can only increase, and many pupils will be left without a school place. That is one way in which the Liberal Democrat plans for the Crest Academies are stored up a disaster for the future.