Committee Report NSC

North Somerset Council

 

REPORT TO THE Children & Young People Policy & Scrutiny Panel

 

Date of Meeting:  23 April 2008

 

Subject of Report:  Primary School Provision in Long Ashton

 

Town or parish:  Long Ashton

 

Officer/Member presenting:  Director of Children and Young People's Services

 

Key Decision:  NO

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

1.                  that the Children and Young People’s Services Policy and Scrutiny Panel supports the continued investigation of the provision of additional primary school places in and around the village of Long Ashton in the context of the need for new school places as part of the expansion of South West Bristol;

2.                  that officer investigations and findings against the renting or hiring of accommodation within the village of Long Ashton are noted and supported;

3.                  that officer investigations and findings in relation to an expansion of Birdwell Primary School by September 2008 are noted.

 

1.                Summary of Report

 

1.1       The Children & Young People’s Services School Re-organisation Working Group met on 25 February 2008.  The working group was advised that both Long Ashton primary schools can offer up to 30 school places in each of their Reception year groups.  60 children were offered 2008 Reception places across both schools in the first round of place allocations, 50 of whom live locally.  There were, however, 19 local pupils resident in Long Ashton who had requested and been refused a school place within the village. 

 

            The panel asked officers to investigate whether any immediate solutions could be put in place to enable further Reception places to be offered to local residents for the school intake in September 2008.

 

            The Authority has offered school places to those Long Ashton residents seeking places at North Somerset schools.   Seven families are exercising their right to appeal for school places in the village.

           

2.                Policy

 

2.1       The North Somerset School Admission Arrangements for the 2008/9 school year were agreed by the Executive Member for Children & Young People’s Services on 5 April 2007.  

 

2.2       The Local Authority, acting as the Admission Authority for Birdwell Primary and Northleaze CE Primary Schools, considered applications from parents applying for primary school places.   Within these arrangements parents are invited to make up to 3 preferences for school places. All applications for places are considered using the mandatory equal preference system – a new legislative requirement dictated by Central Government. 

 

            The on-time preferences received for the schools were as follows:

 

 

Preferences for 30 places at each school

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

   Birdwell Primary School

34

24

6

64

   Northleaze CE Primary 

   School

48

26

4

78

 

2.3       There were more applications for school places at both schools than there are places available.  Using the Council’s agreed over-subscription criteria, places were allocated to those who had a greater claim to a school place within the agreed admissions scheme.

 

3.                Details

 

3.1.1       The Working Group, on 25th February 2008, asked officers to investigate the following:

 

Q:        If it is the situation that demand for pupil places is to grow, then the Council should consider that the schools could expand should this be physically possible.

 

It is accepted that the demand for school places at both schools has exceeded the numbers of places available.  In following Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) requirements, the school sites at Birdwell and Northleaze CE Primary Schools are not large enough to allow any large-scale extensions.  Whilst logistically difficult at both sites, it could be possible to build extra classrooms on either school fields.  Whilst inadequate play facilities could be rectified by providing an all-weather playing pitch, this form of ‘city solution’ in a rural setting goes against the natural environment and would change the nature of both sites making them more developed.  More importantly however the provision of extra classrooms would not resolve a need for more overall school space in terms of the size of school halls, ICT facilities, circulation space, staff areas and other essential requirements.  Such large-scale building extensions are impossible to progress with children on site.   Changes to both sites could also compromise the education provision of those children already attending both schools. 

 

Primary schools are successfully organised on the basis of 15/30/45/60 children per age group.  Some of the rigour of curriculum monitoring and evaluation becomes problematic, and consistency of learning and teaching approaches more challenging to achieve if schools cannot organise their curriculum delivery into stable single or mixed age-group settings.  Therefore if the Local Authority were to look to increase the numbers of school places within Long Ashton it would need to consider a long-term solution to increase either Northleaze CE Primary or Birdwell Primary Schools to become larger 315-place (11 classroom) or 420-place (14 classroom) schools.   Both of Long Ashton’s school sites are currently physically too small to extend their facilities to provide effectively for more pupils.   

 

Both schools are not full in every year group although it is accepted that the demand for new school places exceeds the numbers of school places available.  Teachers need to be afforded adequate accommodation to enable them to effectively deliver the national curriculum.  This includes not only classroom space, but also areas such as playground space, specialist facilities etc. 

 

The Local Authority has a duty to provide sustainable education for all of the children in its care.  This means providing schools with accommodation and structures that give them sufficient pupils across all age ranges to enable the Governing Body to employ the correct numbers of teachers and support staff for all of their pupils within their formula allocations.  In the case of Long Ashton, the Council must consider the

almost impossible task of considering the needs of local children to access their local school against its obligations to continue to provide highly effective and affordable education to the children already in attendance at schools in the village.  

 

The Net Capacity Assessment used to determine the size of a school often relates to the minimum amount of space needed to provide effective education.  One of the most important factors in providing an exciting and effective curriculum alongside employing the right personal is the provision of appropriate space that is available to deliver it.

           

            Infant Class legislation limits the ratio of pupils to teachers in all Foundation and Key Stage1 classes to 30 pupils to a qualified teacher.  Whilst some may argue that both schools could consider having Reception classes with more than 30 pupils (each with two teachers), again the Council feels that we should not compromise the quality of teaching at both schools by having more than 30 children in a classroom designed for 30 pupils being taught within separate teaching bases in the same room. 

 

The Council published in its draft Core Strategy last year the broad locations for new housing, jobs and other strategic developments between now and 2026.  The strategy looks at population growth, particularly in two urban areas, one of which includes South West Bristol.  There will be new developments around Long Ashton that, if approved, will have major implications for the provision of school places in the area.  In looking into the long-term provision of school places the Council has to consider providing schools that are of a suitable size and in the right location not only for the current school aged generation, but for the future.  We also have to ensure that funding for new school places will be available.   Where new developments are proposed, the Council will be expecting the developers to provide considerable finances to fund the cost of new schools.  If the Council has a surplus of school places, developer contributions are reduced considerably.  The Council has an

obligation, both to residents with school aged children and those without children, to make certain that capital receipts paid to the Council are maximised.  It has to ensure that any local investment does not restrict our ability to claim maximum contributions from those profiting from the provision of new homes.

 

            Until full details of the placement of new residential developments are known decisions as to where new school places should be provided cannot be made.

 

Q:        Officers should consider wider options for change such as temporarily moving the playgroup sited at Northleaze CE Primary School to provide an additional classroom, looking into the possibility of taking over the Children’s Centre site near Birdwell Primary School or looking into the possibility of renting or hiring accommodation within the village of Long Ashton to provide additional school places to meet current demand in the short-term.

 

The Children’s Services Authority has a statutory duty to ensure that there are sufficient childcare places for all 3 and 4 year olds.  Whilst it does not have to provide these directly it must ensure that there are sufficient, high quality places to meet demands within local communities.  The Authority is also charged with the development of ‘wrap around’ childcare at all primary school locations so that parents can access ‘educare’ from 8.00am to 6.00pm as part of the Government’s commitment to making it easier for parents to access employment, education and training.  The Council is committed to providing pre-school facilities in all new primary school buildings.  The pre-school facilities available at Northleaze CE Primary School are not only used by Westleaze Pre-School but also as the school’s Breakfast and After School Clubs.  To change the current arrangements would not only deny the pre-school adequate facilities for up to 42 children, but would also prevent the provision of wrap around care.  Whilst some may argue that wrap around care could still be provided, to prevent a class teacher from accessing their workplace before and after the school day would compromise the education provided to the children of that class.

 

The Early Bird’s Children’s Centre based on Birdwell Primary School’s site was funded by a SureStart grant at a cost of around £385,000 which was specifically allocated to provide pre-school facilities in areas of deprivation.  The funding allocated to this facility would need to be re-paid if there were to be a change of use of this site.

 

Teachers need to be afforded adequate and appropriate accommodation to enable them to effectively deliver the national curriculum.  This includes not only sufficiently sized and appropriately furnished classroom space and access to bespoke child-friendly IT (i.e. interactive whiteboards) but also easily accessed areas such as playground space and specialist facilities.  Access to whole school facilities will not be easily available should pupils be taught off-site.

 

Teacher and pupil support and curriculum delivery are discussed and delivered across a whole school.  To separate one class from the whole school will be detrimental to both the pupil’s integration and interaction with school activities and daily life but also to their learning activities.  Not only will the facilities available in school not be present, but pupils and staff will spend part of their school day travelling between sites – this takes away valuable teaching and activity time.

 

The teacher and support staff of the alternative class may become isolated from the whole school and be less able to access whole school amenities or take part in school-day based planning and delivery of lesson discussions.  In addition, for health and safety reasons, a non-secure site that could have public access places unacceptable risks on the guaranteed safety of the children in a school’s care.

 

Investigations showed that there were no suitable rooms available for sole use within the village during the 2008/9 school year.

 

Q:        Officers should specifically undertake further investigations to expand Birdwell Primary School.

 

Whilst it is generally accepted that the site at Northleaze cannot be extended, officers are in the process of investigating whether it is possible to purchase some of the land that surrounds Birdwell Primary School in order to extend it to become a larger 315-place school.  None of the land belongs to the Council and the costs of any land purchase would need to be factored into any building solutions.  The cost of an extension (modular build) is around £0.5m.  It is anticipated that it would take at least 12 - 18 months to provide the additional classrooms, once and subject to decisions being made/supported through the Council’s Capital Board.   Any additional school places are dependant on external factors such as the purchase of extra land and planning approvals and the financial resources to afford both the purchase of land and the capital costs of any new build, should this be possible.  As both schools are not full the Local Authority has been unable, specifically for Long Ashton, to apply to the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) for money to provide additional school places on the basis of demand (Basic Need Funding).  Further money from any new developments is also dependant on the Local Authority being able to prove that it cannot accommodate any further demand for school places across all age ranges at both schools.

 

The need for additional school places in Long Ashton will need to be assessed against identified needs elsewhere in North Somerset. The Council has limited resources to progress all of its strategic plans for all of its residents. 

 

The processes that would need to be followed to provide additional school places cannot be completed in time to provide extra accommodation and school places for the Reception intake in the 2008/9 school year.

 

4.                Consultation

 

4.1       Officers attended a meeting on 27 March 2008 with some of the parents who had been refused places at Long Ashton Schools.  Cllrs Jeremy Blatchford, Howard Roberts and Bob Cook were also in attendance.

 

5.                Financial Implications

 

5.1             The cost of a classroom only extension at Birdwell Primary School has been estimated to be in the region of £0.5m.  This cost does not include the monies required to purchase additional land, nor does it include the cost of the full option appraisal investigation that would be needed before any potential land acquisitions or full feasibilities assessments are made.  This work would cost in the region of £8,000.

 

5.2       Whilst decisions about the form of home-to-school transport have yet to be made the estimated cost of the transport arrangements based on current information is as follows:

 

Pupils to Crockerne CE Primary  -            

 

a)     use existing 29 seat coach serving St Katherine's - no additional cost;

b)     pay parents 24p/mile allowance (assumes 6 mile total trip) = £2,736.00 per year or over 7 years = £19,152.00 total cost; or

c)      provide 6 new seat taxi route (assumes 6 mile total trip, plus base to start mileage) at a cost per day (cheapest current contractor) = £34.72 or £6,596.80 per year/over 7 years = £46,177.60 total cost (not including any inflationary costs).  (There is scope for negotiation and some reduction in cost of Option 3 via competitive tendering, but this cannot be assured). 

 

Pupils to Westleigh Infant School

 

a)     a taxi at £32.38 per day over 190 days = £6,152.20 , over 7 years = £43,065.40; or

b)     parental mileage of £4.80 per day over 190 days = £912, over 7 years = £6,384

 

Pupils to St Katherine's CE Primary

 

a)     utilise 3090A Minibus solutions with no/negligible cost or a taxi £34.98 per day over 190 Days = £6,646.20, over 7 years = £46,523.40 or

b)     parental mileage of £8.64 per day over 190 = £1,641.60, over 7 Years = £11,491.20.   

 

Members will need to consider whether they want to support local school places for pupils in Long Ashton at a minimum additional cost of around £0.5m or home-to-school transport at an estimated cost (i.e. using existing services or taxis) of around £7K pa.

 

6.                RISK MANAGEMENT

 

6.1       Part 1 of the Education & Inspection Act 2006 (Paragraph 3 (1)) states that where a Local Authority in England receives a representation from a parent asking it to consider the extra provision of school places the authority shall:

 

a)     consider the representation and what action (if any) to take in response to it, and

b)     within a reasonable time provide the parent with a statement setting out –

i)                    any action which the authority proposes to take in response to the representation, or

ii)                  where the authority is of the opinion that no such action is necessary, their reasons for being of that opinion.

 

The Local Authority does have a duty to offer its school-aged residents a school place and this duty has been fulfilled. 

 

6.2.1       The need for additional school places in Long Ashton will be assessed against a variety of factors such as whether there is sufficient land available to site any new accommodation; whether there is long-term demand within the village or its surrounding area; where any new school places (if required) should be located; and whether there are resources available to fund any identified need both in Long Ashton and elsewhere in North Somerset.  This work is ongoing.  The Council has limited resources to progress all of its strategic plans for all of its residents.   Any decision as to whether or not the LA has fulfilled its obligations would need to be determined by the courts.

 

7.                Equality Implications

 

Not applicable.

 

8.                Corporate Implications

 

The Council’s reputation for providing sufficient school places may be compromised if additional school place demand is not met in this area year-on-year.

 

9.                Options considered

 

To undertake no investigations was not an option, although the outcome of all investigations may prove that the provision of extra places cannot be progressed at present.

 

Author

 

Sally Varley

School Organisation & Access Manager

 

Background Papers

 

Scrutiny Working Group Minutes – 25 February 2008