More good news on local schools

As we approach the start of the new term, there is more encouraging news about local schools that was released over the holiday period.

Anthony Roper Primary School in Eynsford had its Ofsted inspection in early July. The inspectors' report - released after the school had broken up for the summer holiday - rated ARPS as Good. The school already had a Good rating, though that dates back to 2010, with a different head and a very different inspection regime. The report painted a favourable picture across the board - in pupils' learning, behaviour, the school's teaching, leadership and management - which does credit to Lynda Newton and her staff. Ofsted described the school as

• "a cohesive, orderly and purposeful community in which good teaching is the norm and high standards of behaviour are expected and are met by pupils."
  

Earlier in the year, Crockenhill Primary School under the leadership of Sarah Warshow also retained its Good rating. As previously noted, schools in the Darent Valley with weaker ratings have seen strong improvements. Now only St. Paul's in Swanley Village has a Requires Improvement rating, and that school is showing strong positive momentum.

Coupled with good Key Stage 2 performance across the County, and strong County-wide improvements in Ofsted ratings, especially for primary schools, this means that local schools should return this week with the wind in their sails.

United House

Over the last ten days, Swanley residents have been very much affected by the unauthorised encampment of a traveller group on the United House site. There were strong local concerns about the security of homes and of High Firs school.

The latter issue very much drew me in, as both local County Councillor and with my Education responsibilities. As soon as I was aware of the situation, I contacted KCC's Property team, who arranged for security cover for the school. There had been some break-ins to the school before this was put in place, but it did ensure that the site was secure from last Sunday onwards and much of what was apparently taken from the school appears to have been retrieved.

The owners of the United House site went to court for an Interim Possession Order (IPO), which the court granted them on Wednesday. This gave the travellers until 12:15 yesterday to leave; they did so late yesterday, with the police providing strong support to the bailiffs to ensure that this took place.

At local residents' request, I convened and chaired a meeting between the acting Chief Inspector,  and local residents in Swanley Town Council this morning. Town councillors, town council staff and the deputy head of the school were also present. This gave an opportunity to review all that had happened, and there was agreement to look at ensuring the best possible communication between the police (as well as councils) and local residents, while maintaining the police role as impartial upholders of the law.

All this has meant a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty for local people, as well as for the school staff, whose summer break has been significantly disrupted, and who put a lot of time and energy into ensuring that the school was secure. However, with the illegal encampment ended, hopefully those anxieties can now ease. The site itself, of course, remains the subject of a major planning application at Sevenoaks District Council, albeit one that is, I understand, in the process of revision.

Crockenhill junction project: some big steps forward

The project to enhance safety at the central junction in Crockenhill - where Cray Road, Main Road and Broadway meet - has proved complex and difficult to complete. Quite a lot of progress has been made, notably through the installation of high friction surfacing and an interactive sign. Extra and improved signs and lines have gone in on the hill coming down from Green Court Road into Broadway, along with safety fencing by the green. There has also been a speed and traffic survey in the area, and additional yellow lines are due to be painted.

The big difficulty, as I reported to the annual Parish meeting in the spring, concerns the installation of additional traffic calming and the road closures that this would entail. The Parish Council has long been concerned about the impact of road closures, especially on Green Court Road (which would entail long detours round Crockenhill and Swanley). However, since the annual Parish meeting, there has been a growing view within the village and the Parish Council that some closures are a price worth paying for better control of speeds within the village.

Following a site meeting and further discussions with the Parish Council, we now have a clear way forward. A 20 mph zone will be established in the approaches to the junction; Traffic Regulation Orders to implement this are under way, starting a three month process. I will pay (from my Combined Member Fund) for a series of small granite sets, which use a relatively quick-setting German technology to reduce the length of the road closure needed, that will act as a further reminder to drivers to slow as they approach the junction. The October half term looks to be a likely installation date.

The one outstanding issue is the possible addition of village gateway signs. This will be reviewed when we have a clear picture on the cost of the project that has been agreed, and whether this leaves anything over from what has already been committed in my Combined Member Fund.

Gateway signs for Badgers Mount

An important part of the safety measures proposed for Badgers Mount following a fatal accident in 2012 has been the installation of gateway signs in the Orpington by-pass and Old London Road. This finally took place earlier this month, paid for from my Combined Member Fund.

Much of the safety plan has now been delivered, such as the reduced speed limit on the Orpington by-pass. There are still elements to be followed up, notably the proposal for a footpath alongside the Orpington by-pass which has still to secure Local Transport Plan funding. And residents will quite righty be concerned by those who do not follow the new, lower speed limits. 

Nonetheless, this is a welcome step forward.

Eynsford works: the next test

Plans to ease the congestion around Anthony Roper Prinary School in Eynsford include proposals - which I would pay for from my Member Fund - to extend the yellow lines in the village and to create bays in the road outside Fernbank. These plans have been on the stocks for a long time, and I had hoped that by now we would have been out to consultation.

However, initial surveys threw up a potential problem of BT services being under the pavement; most critically, there might be a cable there. The cost of moving this could be prohibitive, raising questions about the whole scheme, at least in its current form.

Kent Highways (with BT representatives present) will drill some trial holes to test for what is under the pavement. These works will take place next Sunday, 7 June. Residents have been notified. Hopefully we should know soon if it is possible for the scheme to proceed.

Road closure for works in Daltons Road

Daltons Road in Crockenhill has had a series of problems of erosion of the edges of the road, leaving a potentially dangerous dip down into the neighbouring field.

Some time ago, I supported from my Member Fund the installation of some bollards in the worst affected area. Now another section of erosion has opened up. However, Kent Highways have responded quickly to the issue being raised by residents and by Crcokenhill Parish Council. I was able to tell the Parish Council late last week that works are due to take place starting tomorrow (19 May). This will require a road closure, which is likely to last for a couple of days.

Shoreham Village School goes straight to Good

OFSTED has published its report on its most recent visit to Shoreham Village School and it makes for very happy reading.

The school was previously inspected in November last year and found to be making progress towards the removal of Special Measures. It has now gone straight to a Good rating, bypassing entirely the Requires Improvement rating.

While it is not completely unheard of for a school to make such rapid progress while coming out of Special Measures, it is most unusual. The Ofsted visit started as a Section 8 monitoring exercise (which reviews the progress of a school in Special Measures) but morphed into a full inspection as it became apparent to Ofsted that Special Messures were no longer applicable.

The report is also comprehensively favourable, with a Good rating in all areas. This is a great tribute to pupils, staff and governors, and to the galvanising impact of Gillian Lovatt-Young as head teacher. Ofsted says that "her uncompromising drive to raise standards, coupled with good quality training and development for staff, has brought about rapid improvements in teaching and achievement."

As I mentioned before, I was very encouraged by all that I saw on my last visit to the school late last year - it is good to see that the school has made such remarkable progress, to the benefit not only of staff, children and families, but also of the village.