Your feedback on what makes an excellent school

In April 2008 we sent a newsletter to households in Tulse Hill, Brixton Hill, Streatham Hill and Thornton, as well as to 11 primary schools in the area surrounding Fenstanton primary school.

The newsletter outlined our proposal to provide a new secondary school on the Fenstanton primary school site and to relocate and rebuild the primary school near-by.

We asked for comments as to what you think makes an excellent school and we have received over 200 responses so far. We would like to thank those who provided us with comments for taking the time to submit your views.

Your feedback so far

We would like to share the feedback we have received so far with you.

The most frequently mentioned comments are outlined below. It should be noted that additional comments were raised by respondents, however here we have focused on the most common themes.

• Good discipline – seen as vital to ensure the safety of pupils.
• Good teaching staff – required to manage and motivate pupils.
• Good outdoor space/sport facilities - crucial for young people’s development.
• Strong leadership/headteacher – essential to motivate staff and pupils, and seen as key to creating a strong school community.
• Good links with the community – school facilities should be made available for after school use by local people.
• Extra curricular activities – can provide an opportunity for pupils to try activities that may not be covered by the curriculum.

Some respondents would prefer Fenstanton primary school to remain on its current site and others would prefer the school not to be an academy. Many of these responses were submitted on pre-printed campaign cards, rather than on the cards provided by Lambeth. The main reasons given for these views were around the unsettling of children and the potential loss of playspace.

Still time to have your say

Please continue sending us your thoughts so we can better understand what you think makes an excellent school. This will help us to plan secondary school provision in Lambeth.

Please use the feedback card in the Building Schools for the Future newsletter to send us your comments. The closing date is 24 July 2008.

Lambeth Council’s Cabinet will take a decision later in 2008 on whether to proceed with developing a new secondary school on the Fenstanton site.