Consultation on the proposal to amalgamate Riders Infant School and Riders Junior School with Park Community School, Havant
Open until
This consultation will run from Friday 27 June to Monday 28 July 2025.
Background
This consultation is in response to a formal approach by the governing bodies of Riders Infant School and Riders Junior School and also Park Community School for the County Council to consider their amalgamation to become an all-through 4 – 16 years school, following discussions over recent months regarding low pupil numbers and the future of both the infant and junior school.
The pupil forecasts indicate that there is a reduced demand for places in the locality compared with recent years. This has led to capacity issues at the infant and junior schools, creating significant operational difficulties.
Following those discussions over recent months, and on receipt of the formal approach by the governing bodies, it has been agreed that the best way forward is to re-organise the schools into a single all-through school. The proposed amalgamation to create an all-through school presents a better opportunity to secure an improved education provision with a more settled pupil number intake and organisational structure.
This approach would result in one governing body overseeing the school, rather than separate governing bodies for The Federation of Riders Infant and Junior School and Park Community School as currently exists. There are many advantages to bringing Riders Infant School, Riders Junior School and Park Community School together, some of which are listed below:
- Greater continuity in planning the curriculum across the stages of education so that pupils make the best possible progress in learning.
- Removes the need for parents to apply for a junior school place and transfer at the end of key stage 1 (infant to junior transfer)
- Gives children the opportunity to work with or alongside younger or older pupils allowing them to put their own learning in context and develop important social skills.
- Removes potential disruption to children’s education when transferring from infant to junior schools.
- Economies of scale - shared resources and bulk purchasing
- Reduced operational costs – administrative efficiency, maintenance and upkeep
- Financial stability – increased funding opportunities, enhanced budget management
- Pupils benefitting from consistent educational values and ethos
- Teachers can track and support long term academic and personal development
- Long-term relationships built up between the school and families, and an opportunity to develop stronger parental relationships and engagement as the children will be at the school for twelve years as opposed to seven or five.
- Park Community School has a high persistent absence rate. Attendance in key stage 3 and 4 could be improved leading to an improvement in overall KS4 outcomes as the amalgamation will enable proactive attendance work to continue seamlessly throughout transition points. There would be coherence and congruence for children as they move through each key stage which will positively impact the final outcomes and attendance rates at Park.
- Leadership and mentoring opportunities for staff will also be enhanced
- Cost savings on staff workload – shared staff and more efficient use of expertise
The proposal
To make the proposed changes to the organisational structure of the school, the County Council has to follow a statutory procedure. To do this, the County Council are proposing to close Riders Infant School and Riders Junior School and extend the age range of Park Community School.
Should the proposal be implemented, and subject to school admissions processes being agreed, the school will have a Year R PAN of 30 (age 4+) and a separate Year 7 PAN of 160 (age 11+).
The new all-through provision would only require either the infant school building or the junior school building to accommodate the primary provision at 1 form of entry. No decision has yet been taken on which building will be used, but capital works will be required to either building to ensure that it is suitable for both key stage 1 and key stage 2 pupils.
Five year groups will continue to be taught at the current Park Community School site, up to Year 11 (age 16) as they are now.
The proposal will not involve any relocation of the schools.
The change will be at the leadership level, where there would be one headteacher, and one senior leadership team, as determined by the governing body as the responsibility for the leadership team structure is theirs. If the proposals are agreed, there will be one governing body overseeing the one school, rather than the current two separate governing bodies overseeing three schools.
If approved, this proposed change is expected to take effect no earlier than 1 September 2026.
Additional Details
Consultation - we want to hear your views
We would like to hear your views on this proposal. We are therefore consulting with you and other interested parties over the coming weeks.
Two drop-in sessions have been arranged where you will have an opportunity to discuss the proposals with representatives of the governing bodies and Hampshire County Council officers. Please see the table below for details of the drop-in sessions:
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Wednesday 16 July 2025 | 3:15pm to 6pm | Riders Infant School Kingsclere Avenue Leigh Park Havant PO9 4RY |
Thursday 17 July 2025 | 4pm to 6pm | Lecture Theatre Park Community School Middle Park Way Leigh Park Havant PO9 4BU |
This consultation will run until Monday 28 July 2025.
Officers will then take into consideration all the consultation responses before deciding whether the proposal should continue to the formal publication stage.
If the proposal does progress, a statutory Public Notice will be published setting out Hampshire County Council’s intent to close Riders Infant School and Riders Junior School and extend the age range of Park Community School. It is anticipated that this will be published late Autumn 2025.
After the date of publication, there will be a period in which any representations can be made. After the conclusion of this period, the County Council will decide whether or not to proceed with the proposal. If approved, it would be implemented no earlier than 1 September 2026.
Further information
If you are unable to attend the drop-in session detailed above and wish to make a comment, please write to Francesca Godden, Strategic Development Officer, Children’s Services Department, EII Court, Winchester, SO23 8UG or e-mail [email protected] by Monday 28 July 2025.