HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

EDUCATION & SKILLS CABINET PANEL

FRIDAY 16 DECEMBER 2011

MEETING THE RISING DEMAND FOR SCHOOL PLACES

Report of the Director Education and Early Intervention

Report Author: Pauline Davis, County Planning Manager

Tel: 01992 555865

Executive Member:Frances Button (Education & Skills)

  1. Purpose of report

1.1To update the Education and Skills Panel on the rising demand for school places, identifying additional primary needs in 2013/14 and the need to formulate a secondary expansion programme. The Panel is also asked whether or not to recommend to Cabinet the approval of funding for two specific secondary proposals.

2.Summary

2.1The Panel was alerted to the need for a significant number of additional school places in December 2009, which was updated in December 2010.

2.2Cabinet agreed a strategy for ‘Meeting the Rising Demand for School Places’ and revenue and capital funding to support the development of a programme to meet the most pressing demand, for reception places in September 2011 and 2012. An update on that primary programme is the subject of a separate report to this Panel.

2.3The Meeting the Rising Demand documentation has been updated in 2011 with the latest forecast of demand. The pressure on primary places has not abated; forecasts have risen in several areas. Any additional needs for 2012 are dealt with in the separate report referred to above.

2.4This report identifies the new demand from 2013/14. Further feasibility work is being undertaken to formulate both a primary and secondary programme.

2.5Recommendations are included in relation to two secondary proposals in Hitchin and Stevenage and a request from YavnehAcademy in Borehamwood.

3.Recommendations

3.1The Panel is asked to note the report and the overall position on meeting the rising demand for primary and secondary school places.

3.2The Panel is asked to recommend to Cabinet the inclusion of the following specific primary expansion projects in the capital programme for 2012/13:

(i)the temporary expansion of the PriorySchool, Hitchin, by 1 f.e. at a cost of £300,000

(ii)remodelling works to the Heathcote school building to provide accommodation for Greenside and Barnwell schools at a cost of £4.6m.

3.3The Panel is asked to note that officers do not recommend the expansion of YavnehAcademy, Borehamwood, at a cost of £4m for 2013/14 at this stage

4.Background

4.1The Panel received advice on the demand for school places and Cabinet approved a strategy relating to this contained in a document entitled ‘Meeting the Rising Demand for School Places’ on 17 and 21 December 2009 respectively.

4.2That document set out Hertfordshire’s strategy for meeting the challenge of planning for rising rolls, explained the action which had been taken and the broad approach the County Council intended to take in the future. It concentrated in particular on primary place planning, where the time available to respond to changes in demand was most limited. Sections were also included on the longer-term challenges in the secondary sector.

4.3Cabinet received an update on the meeting the rising demand document in December 2010 and subsequently approved both capital and revenue budget allocations to support the development of a primary school expansion programme for 2011/12 and 2012/13.

4.4A report on the approved primary expansion programme up to 2012/13 is the subject of a separate report to this Panel. A considerable amount of work has been undertaken, and will continue to be, to ensure that sufficient local reception places are available wherever possible.

4.5The Meeting the Rising Demand documents for primary and secondary sectors have been updated in 2011 with the latest forecast. The primary update, attached as Appendix 1 identifies the areas in which there is a deficit or surplus of between 0-5% forecast from 2013/14, taking into account any determined Published Admissions Numbers (PANs) and local agreements already made as a result of the primary expansion programme (unless stated). The data is accompanied by a commentary on past and proposed action. The secondary update is attached as Appendix 2 and includes all secondary areas showing any deficit or surplus of places for information.

5.Primary

5.1The 2011 update of the Meeting the Rising Demand (Appendix 1) outlines the areas of the county where an absolute deficit of reception places is forecast from 2013/14. Some of these areas are new and some are where forecasts continue to rise in areas where proposals have already been made. (Any additional needs forecast for 2012/13 will be dealt with through the normal ‘hotspots’ process discussed in the separate report on the primary expansion programme update to this Panel.)

5.2In total, taking into account any area with an identified need of 0.5 f.e. and above, approximately 5 f.e. is identified for 2013/14 (Berkhamsted; Borehamwood; Hemel Hempstead East; Hitchin Town; and Letchworth). A further 7.5 f.e is identified in the following year (for Borehamwood; Hemel Hempstead East; Hemel Rural South; Rickmansworth; Stevenage North and South-East; Ware; Waltham Cross; and Watford). Not all areas identified will require similar or permanent building solutions and feasibility work is underway to formulate a programme of specific activity, ready for public consultation where required. This will be presented early in the summer term, when funding allocations are known.

Current proposal

5.3One request for funding has been made for a funding allocation for 2013/14 which was not part of the original primary school expansion programme. The governors of Yavneh academy in Borehamwood, have consulted upon a change of age range in order to allow it to admit 60 (2 f.e.) reception pupils (it is currently a secondary school) from September 2012. The academy has requested that the county council contributes £4m towards meeting the cost of the building project as it considers that the proposal is to meet a local need in Borehamwood. It contends that currently, Jewish families cannot access primary faith education within their locality and a significant number of young children travel into North London to Jewish primary schools.

5.4The governors’ scheme will not be complete by September 2012 and they envisage making temporary arrangements for that year. The governors require a decision on funding from the county council for 2013/14 at this point in order to inform the Secretary of State’s decision making in time for admissions from September 2012. There is a basic need for places in Borehamwood but only from 2013/14, which rises to a total of 1.5 f.e. by 2015/16 (see Appendix 1 page 6). It is difficult to clearly identify whether such provision would fully meet that unmet demand. In those circumstances it is not recommended that a basic need allocation can be made for 2013/14 and it should be reconsidered in the context of the programme for 2013/14 and beyond, when it comes forward next year.

6.Secondary

6.1The Panel has previously been advised that additional secondary school places generally are required in a longer timeframe than those for primary schools.

6.2 Work continues within the context of each of the District’s Local Development Framework (LDF) processes, to ensure that the district planning authorities are aware of future need and associated issues and can plan to support school expansion including, where necessary, the identification of potential sites for new schools. This work is necessary to support both primary and secondary school expansions identified in the medium term as well as potential needs arising from future housing growth for the next 20 or so years.

6.3There is a degree of uncertainty in relation to secondary school planning at this particular point in time.

6.4The progress of LDFs in Hertfordshire is variable with only one of the ten districts having adopted its core strategy. There is also a significant degree of uncertainty with the potential introduction of a new town planning system under the proposed Localism Act and the National Planning Policy Framework. This may well manifest itself in revised policies and housing targets at local or even neighbourhood levels in documents which will replace the Regional Spatial Strategy. It is likely, therefore, that some housing targets will be revisited.

6.5The changes to concessionary travel to school, proposed from September 2012, may have an effect on patterns of attendance and therefore subsequent forecasts.

6.6The government has very recently initiated a consultation on school premises including, among other things, consideration of the level of regulation and guidance on building space and land. It is too soon to anticipate the outcome of that consultation but the stated intention is to create one set of guidance/regulation for all state-funded schools. A response is not due until January and the process of co-ordinating officer views is underway for clearance through the relevant executive members.

Level of need

6.7Assuming the changes on both housing targets and concessionary travel are minimal, it is possible to begin to identify the level of additional need county-wide. The secondary meeting the rising demand update (Appendix 2) identifies the absolute shortages forecast in each year until 2022/23. From this it is possible to identify absolute needs in the short (2012/13-14), medium (2014/15-17), and long term (2017/18 and beyond). This is very approximately 1.5 f.e., 14 f.e. and 30 f.e. respectively. In reality, practical solutions may best be spread across two or more areas or time-frames, e.g. providing whole new schools, to provide more rational and cost-effective solutions. Very early analysis indicates that could suggest providing 1.5 f.e; 29 f.e.; and 15 f.e. in the short, medium and long term.

6.8Clearly further feasibility work will need to continue to establish where the demand is capable of being best met, to enable a specific programme to be formulated.

Current proposals: Greenside, Barnwell and Priory schools

6.9At this point in time, one or two specific proposals for immediate expansions are in process and require a decision on capital funding.

6.10In April this year, Cabinet agreed to allocate the site of Heathcote school to Greenside and Barnwell schools on the closure of Heathcote in August 2012. This was to enable serious deficiencies in the accommodation available to Greenside to be addressed, and also to facilitate the expansion of Barnwell to 10 Forms of Entry from September 2012. This would address the acute accommodation sufficiency issues within both Greenside’s current buildings and external play area – accommodation is less than half by area of what relevant standards and comparators would suggest - and would extend the capacity of Greenside School to meet a wider range of needs. Cabinet was informed that proposals for funding to enable these objectives to be met would be brought forward in the autumn.

6.11The estimated cost of that work is £4.6m and the Panel is asked to recommend to Cabinet the insertion of a scheme in the capital programme. Appendix 3 sets out the case for the proposals in more detail, in terms both of need and a description of what is proposed. Works to Heathcote have been developed as a part of a plan which would have addressed building condition and other needs at both the Heathcote site, at Barnwell itself, and at the former Collenswood site. This latter was in the context of the proposed UniversityTechnicalCollege, which is now unlikely to proceed. The future for Barnwell site and former Collenswood will now need to be reconsidered in that light, and an assessment made of the value for money of seeking to consolidate provision on only one of the two sites (i.e. Barnwell). Building condition in these schools as well as across Stevenage is poor due to the lengthy freeze on repairs whilst it was expected that Building Schools for the Future (BSF) would provide a full replacement.

6.12The Priory school, in Hitchin, is undertaking a school based project which is to start in the near future. It has offered to incorporate four additional classrooms in the scheme at a contribution of £300,000 which would provide the opportunity of a fixed term increase of 1 f.e. to help to meet immediate needs as and when required. Such expansion potential would be helpful at an appropriate point in time; the forecast for 2013/14 identifies a small surplus of places only and a deficit from 2014/15 (see Appendix 2 page 15). This is a cost effective way of securing a temporary 1 f.e. of places within that timeframe as it is around the cost of a double mobile, i.e. £220,000. The school requires a decision in order to incorporate it into its scheme.

6.13The Panel is therefore asked to recommend to Cabinet the insertion of a scheme for £300,000 in the capital programme.

7.Priority Schools rebuilding programme

7.1In the context of meeting the cost of additional school places, the Panel should be aware of government’s priority schools rebuilding programme. Primarily, the programme is to enable the rebuilding of schools in the worst condition. Local Authorities were asked to bid on that basis, in conjunction with schools, for PFI projects. Schools had to agree to meet the ongoing revenue commitments associated with PFI schemes. Bids have been made for 5 rebuilding schemes.

7.2The opportunity was available and was taken to bid for funding to expand two of those schools at the same time, to access additional funds.

7.3The opportunity was also present to identify areas where there was a case for completely new schools to meet basic need. Bids were included for new secondary schools in Watford/Rickmansworth, St. Albans and Stevenage, and for a primary school in Stevenage.

7.4An announcement of the first stage of approvals is anticipated in late December 2011/early January 2012.

  1. Financial implications

Revenue funding

8.1Feasibility work for secondary school expansions is greater than for primary schools. It is particularly so for new school options, where the compulsory purchase of a site and/or green belt town planning issues are likely to arise. For example, pursing a Compulsory Purchase Order on a green belt site for the development of a new secondary school is anticipated to cost in the order of £1m, over two to four years.

8.2Revenue budgets have been approved to support feasibility work. They need to cover both primary and secondary requirements. Careful monitoring will be necessary to ensure an appropriate level of feasibility work can be undertaken within the timescales required to secure provision.

Capital funding

8.3In the short term, the Panel is asked to recommend to Cabinet the inclusion of the following specific primary and secondary projects in the capital programme:

(i)the temporary expansion of the PriorySchool, Hitchin, at a cost of £300,000

(ii)remodelling works to the Heathcote school building to allow future use by Greenside and Barnwell schools at a cost of £4.6m

8.4The costs of the expansion to Priory would be met form the recently announced additional DfE capital grant for schools expansion of £12.35m. Costs of the work to Heathcote could be met either from the same source or from uncommitted DfE capital grant for maintenance of schools in 2011/12. £4.87m of this is included within the IPP.

8.5Officers do not recommend the expansion of YavnehAcademy, Borehamwood, at a cost of £4m for 2013/14 at this stage.

9.Equalities

9.1The expansion of school premises will enable additional school places to be made available as close as possible to the demand for them. In that way they will improve access to school places to all sectors of the communities in which they are located.

Background Papers

None.

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161211 Education & Skills Cabinet Panel Report