Moves to close Endeavour School put on hold after councillors' protest

HULL: A consultation to close Endeavour School has been put on hold after Hull City Council's cabinet decision to proceed was "called in".

Councillor Colin Inglis, chairman of Riverside Area Committee, said relevant consultation was not carried out which, in his view, should have been.

The call-in has now suspended the cabinet's original decision until the Overview And Scrutiny Management Commission (OSMC) has had the opportunity to consider it.

The OSMC can reject it and order the council cabinet to consider the report again or accept the original decision.

Cabinet members voted to begin consultation on the Beverley Road school on February 28. The report detailed how few parents – just 37 – had chosen the school as the first choice for their children for next year as well as the implications the opening of a free school in Cranbrook Avenue could have on pupil numbers at Endeavour.

Mr Inglis told the Mail he believed there should have been "pre-decision" scrutiny on the report before cabinet were able to vote.

He also believes the Riverside Area Committee should have had a chance to debate the report and feed their thoughts to cabinet.

He said it should have been a "key decision" which would have forced it to be debated before going to cabinet.

Instead, it appeared on the cabinet agenda as a non key decision, meaning it could go straight to cabinet without prior debate. He said: "Riverside councillors should have their opinions in the report and that didn't happen.

"Any decision which affects two areas is a key decision and that has not happened."

The call in request was signed by Myton ward councillors Daren Hale, Colin Inglis, Martin Mancey and Rilba Jones and has been sent to the council.

It stated: "The report to cabinet regarding the decision to consult on the closure of Endeavour High School provided no options but closure.

"Nowhere in the report is there any consideration whatsoever of the ethnic composition of the school or the impact on the BME (Black, Minority and Ethnic) community."

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