Agenda item

9.10pm – Councillor Sue Macmillan moved, seconded by Councillor Caroline Needham, the special motion standing in their names:

“This Council welcomes the fact that most primary schools in the borough achieved at least 100% value-added in the national key stage 2 school league tables. The Council notes that Sulivan Primary School came top of the list of Hammersmith and Fulham schools.

The Council regrets the actions of the borough’s former Conservative administration in trying to close Sulivan Primary School and the distress this caused to Sulivan’s children, parents, teachers and governors.

The Council pledges to support all the borough’s schools and also congratulates Sulivan Primary School and the Good Shepherd RC Primary School on jointly having the highest number of pupils achieving level 4 or above in the borough.”

Speeches on the Special Motion were made by Councillors Sue Macmillan, Caroline Needham and Alan De’Ath (for the Administration) and by Councillor Steve Hamilton (for the Opposition).

Under Standing Order 15(e) (vi), Councillor Caroline Ffiske moved, seconded by Councillor Charlie Dewhirst, an amendment to the motion as follows:

“Delete all after “This Council” and insert:

“notes that 84% per cent of pupils leaving primary schools in our borough last summer achieved level 4 or above in reading, writing and maths. This is above the national average and is an increase on the 79% who achieved this standard in the previous year. The Council congratulates all those children and their schools.

This Council particularly congratulates Good Shepherd RC Primary School and Sulivan Primary School on jointly having the highest number of pupils achieving level  4 or above in the borough at 97%.  St Stephens Church of England Primary is congratulated on achieving 96%.   The Council also congratulates New Kings School on its score of 93%.

The Council notes that New Kings School plans to become an academy sponsored by Thomas's London Day Schools and wishes this new arrangement every success. It further notes that proposals to merge Sulivan School and New Kings are not proceeding and wishes Sulivan School continued success in the future.

The Council  also congratulates primary schools that saw a dramatic improvement in results for the proportion of pupils reaching Level 4 - with Avonmore Primary School seeing an increase from 63% to 85%, Greenside Primary School from 75% to 89%, Fulham Primary School from 67% to 91%, Lena Gardens Primary School from 78% to 88%, Melcombe Primary School from 82% to 94%, Old Oak Primary School from 74% to 83%, Queens Manor School from 60% to 83%, St Marys Catholic Primary School from 83% to 96%, Sir John Lillie Primary School from 62% to 85% and Wormholt Park Primary School from 73% to 88%.

The Council also notes that Ark Conway Primary Academy is the best performing school in England at Key Stage 1 with 88% of pupils achieving the highest test results by the age of seven, and congratulates the teachers, staff, pupils, and parents just three years after opening.”

Speeches on the amendment to the Special Motion were made by Councillors Caroline Ffiske and Charlie Dewhirst (for the Opposition) and by Councillor Sue Macmillan (for the Administration), before it was put to the vote:

FOR                            19

AGAINST                   25

NOT VOTING            0

The amendment was declared LOST.

Speeches on the substantive motion were made by Councillors Stephen Cowan and Sue Macmillan (for the Administration).  The substantive motion was put to the vote:

FOR                            25

AGAINST                   17

NOT VOTING            0

The motion was declared CARRIED.

9.14pm – RESOLVED:

This Council welcomes the fact that most primary schools in the borough achieved at least 100% value-added in the national key stage 2 school league tables. The Council notes that Sulivan Primary School came top of the list of Hammersmith and Fulham schools.

The Council regrets the actions of the borough’s former Conservative administration in trying to close Sulivan Primary School and the distress this caused to Sulivan’s children, parents, teachers and governors.

The Council pledges to support all the borough’s schools and also congratulates Sulivan Primary School and the Good Shepherd RC Primary School on jointly having the highest number of pupils achieving level 4 or above in the borough.

(Under Standing Order 24 (3), Councillor Colin Aherne moved that the guillotine be extended by 15 minutes which was unanimously agreed.)