Archived decisions

Contact: Bob Eardley, Strategic Planning Manager, 01962 846275

1. Summary

1.1 The following decisions are sought:

1. That, subject to the approval of the Executive Member, Policy and Resources:

(a) funding in the 2004/05 capital programme as shown below be used to support allocations under the Seed Challenge scheme:

(i) 14-19 Agenda £ 0.094m

(ii) School Workforce programme £ 0.200m

(iii) Seed Challenge 2003/04 unallocated £ 0.040m

(b) the allocation of Seed Challenge grant be approved for the schemes listed below:

School	£'m
All Saints CE Junior, Fleet	0.041
Ashford Hill Primary	0.066
Denmead Junior	0.066
Durley Primary	0.045
Hawley Primary	0.056
Henry Cort Community, Fareham	0.113
Hordle CE Primary	0.097
Hurstbourne Tarrant Primary	0.062
Limington House, Basingstoke	0.043
Mark Way, Andover	0.035
Marnel Junior, Basingstoke	0.060
Meadowlands Infant, Cowplain	0.042
Merton Junior, Basingstoke	0.058
Minstead Study Centre	0.165
Mountbatten, Romsey	0.135
New Milton Infant	0.066
Riverside Community Special, Purbrook	0.067
Silchester Primary	0.069
St Bernadette's RC Aided Primary, Farnborough	0.042
School	£'m
St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Aldershot	0.066
St Thomas' Infant, Woolton Hill	0.058
Wallisdean Junior, Fareham	0.049
Westfields Junior, Yateley	0.060
Woodlea Primary, Bordon	0.060

(c) that the contribution to the refurbishment of Minstead Study Centre be increased by £0.035m from the 2004/05 capital programme contingency, to a total of £0.211m;

(d) that £0.100m is made available from the capital programme contingency to fund enabling works at Chiltern Primary School, Basingstoke;

(c) that resources of £0.330m be added to the 2004/05 capital programme to fund development of a Children's Centre at Sharps Copse Early Years Centre, Havant;

(e) that a major project to refurbish the community wing at Sharps Copse Early Years Centre, Havant be added to the 2004/05 capital programme, at an estimated cost of £0.330m;

(f) that a major project to carry out access improvements at Brookfield Community School, Sairsbury at an estimated cost of £0.375m be added to the 2004/05 capital programme.

2. That approval be given for the applications for planning permission until 31 May 2008 for a temporary classroom to be located at Salterns School, Totton.

3. That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Executive Member, Policy and Resources, that the application for temporary classroom accommodation listed in Recommendation 2 is approved until 31 May 2008.

2. Reasons

2.1 To approve variations to the capital programme.

3. Other options considered and rejected

3.1 None.

4. Conflicts of interest declared by the decision maker or member or officer consulted

4.1 Not applicable.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee

5.1 Not applicable.

6. Reason(s) for the matter being dealt with if urgent

6.2 Not applicable.

Approved by: Date of decision:

Councillor D. Allen

Contact: Bob Eardley, Strategic Planning Manager, 01962 846275;

email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The 2004/05 Education Capital programme was approved by County Council on 25 February 2004. Since the programme was approved a number of issues have arisen. These are:

· allocation of Seed Challenge grant to specific schemes;

· making provision for enabling works at Chiltern primary School, Basingstoke;

· allocation of funds under the Schools Access Initiative;

· the need for a temporary classroom at Salterns School.

1.2 The proposals in this report support Aim 1 of the Corporate Strategy (Maximising life opportunities) by proposing allocations of funding to improve the learning environments of Hampshire schools.

2. Seed Challenge Scheme

Background

2.1 As reported in January 2004, 2004/05 is the fifth and final year of the Seed Challenge scheme, which provides grant to match schools' resources to fund capital projects. The County Council's allocation for 2004/05 is £1.286m, £0.027m higher than in 2003/04.

2.2 Whilst the original Seed Challenge initiative was intended to encourage external funding contributions (known as "new money") for school capital projects aimed at raising educational standards and addressing the backlog of repairs on school sites, the qualification criteria set by the Department for Education & Skills (DfES) for 2003/04 and 2004/05 include some types of work that do not require matched funding from external sources.

2.3 This relaxation of the requirement for "new money" applies to projects which:

· support schools causing concern, particularly those in challenging circumstances, where well-planned capital investment, linked to other improvement measures, can impact strongly on raising standards;

· support the school workforce programme, e.g. improvements to staffroom and administration accommodation;

· support the development of a broader, more flexible curriculum for 14-19 year olds, in line with the proposals in the DfES Green Paper, e.g. conversion of accommodation to facilitate programmes of work with nearby further education colleges;

· improve science laboratories;

· expand successful schools;

· support the inclusion agenda, including measures to improve behaviour and projects for improved facilities for children with Special Education Needs, e.g. creation of group/tutorial spaces.

2.4 For projects which support these priorities, the matched funding element can come from any source, including other government funding such as schools' devolved formula capital. It can also include "new money" in any proportion, if it is available. For projects not meeting any of these criteria, the "new money" element of matched funding is still required.

2.5 Contributions from schools to Seed Challenge schemes are on the following basis:

	Minimum School ratio	Maximum grant ratio
Primary and Special	1 (50%)	1 (50%)
Secondary	2 (67%)	1 (33%)

2.6 The maximum amount of grant for any one scheme is £0.200m. For projects that do not meet the criteria set out in paragraph 2.3 above, and which therefore require "new money", at least 75% of the school's contribution must consist of "new money" and the remainder can be from a school's own resources, e.g. balances or devolved capital allocations.

Measures to reduce over-subscription of funding

2.7 Seed Challenge applications in 2003/04 exceeded the available funding by some 400%. In January2004, it was agreed to vary the terms of the local scheme for 2004/05, with the intention of reducing the number of applications, particularly in the context of the increasing amounts of devolved formula capital available to schools.

2.8 In previous years, a de minimis regime was imposed on Seed Challenge applications, principally to exclude smaller projects. This had to be made more stringent in 2003/04 after applications had been received, because of the significant over-subscription of available funding. In order to try to avoid having to do this again, 2003/04 applications were analysed and a revised de minimis regime was approved for 2004/05, which it was hoped would match applications more closely to the available funding. The proposal was based on minimum project values and is summarised below. The table also shows the total of three years' allocations of devolved capital for typical schools in each sector:

Type of school	Minimum project value £m	Devolved capital for three years for typical schools £
Primary	0.100	0.070
Secondary	0.400	0.259
Special	0.080	0.072

2.9 Adopting these minimum project values was intended to take account of the following issues:

· devolved formula capital allocations are now at levels significantly higher than in recent years;

· schools' ability to use this funding for schemes in the same categories as those for which Seed Challenge bids can be submitted. Projects that would previously have been unachievable can now be financed from this source;

· Seed Challenge resources are intended to be applied to projects which will have a significant impact on raising educational standards.

Submissions received from schools

2.10 In January 2004 schools were invited to make submissions for allocation of Seed Challenge grant. Forty-eight projects were submitted and the total of grant sought was £3.435m, representing two and a half times the budget available. The types of projects proposed were a mixture of those requiring and those not requiring "new money". Appendices 1 and 2 list the schemes for which bids have been received. Appendix 1 lists those schemes which are recommended for grant; Appendix 2 lists those schemes that are not recommended for allocation, either because they did not meet the basic qualifying criteria, or were eliminated at the various stages of the prioritisation process.

2.11 The process of prioritising projects to reach recommendations for allocation of funding is set out below.

Framework for prioritisation

Stage 1 - setting a minimum project value/previous Seed Challenge bids/possibility of being funded through other programmes

2.12 As stated in paragraph 2.8 above minimum project values are as follows:

· For primary schools: a project value of £0.100m

· For secondary schools: a project value of £0.400m;

· For special schools: a project value of £0.080m.

2.13 Of the total number of projects submitted there were:

· 10 projects, requiring £0.550m of grant, that did not qualify on the minimum project value criteria or have the "new money" readily available; these are listed under category A in Appendix 2;

· 7 projects, requiring £0.489m of grant at schools which had had a previous Seed Challenge allocation; these are listed under category B in Appendix 2;

· 4 projects, requiring £0.311m of grant have the possibility of being funded through other resources in the capital programme, subject to further discussion with schools; these are listed under category C in Appendix 2.

2.14 It is proposed, therefore, that these 21 projects, requiring £1.350m of grant should be excluded from further consideration.

Stage 2 - assessment of links to Asset Management Plans, curriculum and raising standards

2.15 The remaining 27 projects were assessed to ensure that they:

· meet the government priorities set out in paragraph 2.3;

· address Asset Management Plan priorities;

· have links to the curriculum;

· will impact on raising educational standards.

All 27 projects met these criteria.

Stage 3 - prioritisation by category of work

2.16 The next stage was to prioritise the projects by category of work, as listed in Appendix 1. In summary they are as follows:

No "new money" projects
Priority	Category	Number of projects	Grant required £m
1.	Schools in challenging circumstances	2	0.119
2.	School workforce programme	8	0.863
2a.	Schools workforce programme and Inclusion Agenda	10	0.708
3.	Improve Science Laboratories	0	0.000
4.	14-19 Agenda	2	0.094
5.	Expand Successful Schools	0	0.000
6.	Inclusion Agenda	3	0.174

"New Money" projects
Priority	Category	Number of projects	Grant required £m
1.	Capital repair and maintenance	0	0.000
2.	Re-designation of surplus accommodation through building alterations	1	0.060
3.	Library provision	0	0.000
4.	ICT provision	1	0.066
5.	Specialist accommodation in secondary schools	0	0.000
6.	Toilet refurbishment	0	0.000
Totals		27	2.084

Stage 4 - prioritisation of individual schemes

2.17 The requirement of these 27 projects for £2.084m is £0.798m above the available funding of £1.286m.

Additional funding

2.18 There are two categories of funding in the 2004/05 capital programme which correspond to Seed Challenge priorities: these are to support the School Workforce programme (£0.250m) and the 14-19 agenda (£0.300m). To allow the remaining 27 Seed Challenge projects to receive an allocation, it is proposed that resources from these headings are used to increase the funding available. Support totalling £0.200m is proposed from School Workforce provision and £0.094m from 14-19 provision.

2.19 Seed Challenge grant totalling £0.040m from the 2003/04 allocation is unspent, largely from the Seed Challenge specific contingency. It is proposed that this amount is added to the current year's provision.

2.20 These proposed changes would increase the amount of available funding to £1.620m, as shown below, and would reduce the shortfall in resources from £0.768m to £0.464m.

	£m
14-19 Agenda	0.094
School Workforce Programme	0.200
Seed Challenge 2004/05	1.286
Seed Challenge 2003/04 unallocated	0.040
Total available funding	1.620

Final prioritisation steps

2.21 The following are proposed as final steps to bring allocations in line with available funding:

· not to approve the three projects in the no "new money" category 6 (Inclusion agenda), costing £0.174m, as these are in the lowest priority group;

· to approve in full the two no "new money" category 1 projects, at a cost of £0.119m, as this would support two schools in challenging circumstances and would address concerns expressed by OfSTED. The high priority of these projects is considered to justify 100% funding;

· to approve in full the two "new money" projects, at a cost of £0.126m, as these projects meet the original criteria of the Seed Challenge initiative.

2.22 This would leave a demand for the remaining 20 projects requiring £1.665m against a remaining budget of £1.375m. In 2003/04, when a similar situation arose, it was agreed that bids would be funded at 80% of the amount sought rather than 100%. Repeating this approach for 2004/05 would require allocations at 82.5% of the amounts sought and this approach is recommended. The effects are summarised in the table below and the details are shown in Appendix 1.

No "new money" projects
Priority	Category	Number of projects	Total grant sought £m	Proposed grant allocation £m
1.	Schools in challenging circumstances @ 100%	2	0.119	0.119
2.	School workforce programme @ 82.5%	8	0.863	0.712
2a.	Schools workforce programme and Inclusion Agenda @ 82.5%	10	0.708	0.584
3.	Improve Science Laboratories	0	0.000	0.000
4.	14-19 Agenda @ 82.5%	2	0.094	0.078
5.	Expand Successful Schools	0	0.000	0.000
6.	Inclusion Agenda	3	0.174	0.000

"New Money" projects
Priority	Category	Number of projects	Total grant sought £m	Proposed grant allocation £m
1.	Capital repair and maintenance	0	0.000	0.000
2.	Re-designation of surplus accommodation through building alterations @ 100%	1	0.060	0.060
3.	Library provision	0	0.000	0.000
4.	ICT provision @ 100%	1	0.066	0.066
5.	Specialist accommodation in secondary schools	0	0.000	0.000
6.	Toilet refurbishment	0	0.000	0.000
Balance/contingency		-	-	0.002
Totals		27	2.084	1.621

2.23 The schools concerned have agreed to this approach, which means that, for 19 of them there will be a need to off-set the additional expenditure against anticipated future devolved formula capital allocations. The amounts involved range from £0.007m to £0.028m. As 2005/06 is the last year for which the DfES has confirmed devolved capital allocations, there will not be a guarantee that the sums can be repaid. The risk is very small, as devolved capital is unlikely to cease.. If it did cease, however, the cost, estimated at £0.150m, would need to be under-written from a future year's capital programme.

2.24 An exception to this arrangement is Minstead Study Centre, which does not receive a devolved capital allocation. An allocation of 82.5% of the Centre's bid would result in a shortfall of £0.035m. The overall cost of the project is £0.999m, which is being funded by contributions from the New Opportunities Fund, the capital programme, New Forest District Council and £0.100 from the Centre's own resources and fund-raising. The Centre has been approached to see whether an additional contribution could be made, but this is not possible, given the tight margins on which the Centre operates and the loss of revenue which will occur during the building works. Given the value of this project to a large number of Hampshire schools, and the need to take advantage of a once only New Opportunities Fund contribution, it is recommended that the shortfall of £0.035m be met from the contingency. This would take the total capital programme contribution to £0.211m.

3. Amendments to 2004/05 capital programme

Chiltern Primary School, Basingstoke

3.1 On 23 May 2003, the School Organisation Committee approved the closure of Worting Infant and Junior schools, Basingstoke from 1 September 2004 and their replacement by a new 1.5 f.e. primary school based on the Worting Junior School building. Design work on the project to extend and adapt the buildings to form Chiltern Primary School is well advanced and a project appraisal report is being submitted elsewhere on this agenda.

3.2 The estimated cost of the work (£1.85m) is being met from the planned sale of the infant school site for residential development. Planning consultants have been appointed to progress the sale; Secretary of State's consent for the disposal has been sought and is well advanced. It is planned to start the main building contract in March 2005. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council have been approached for a view on the proposed development and have raised no objections of principle.

3.3 A planning application is expected to be submitted in July 2004 and an estimate of the amount of the receipt will be made once planning consent has been received. To enable the project to be added to the capital programme, it will be necessary to seek the formal approval of the Executive Member, Policy and Resources to borrowing under the Prudential Code for Capital Finance in advance of the capital receipt. It is proposed to do this later this year, when the planning position is clear.

3.4 In the meantime, it is necessary to carry out some enabling works during the summer holidays, consisting of laying a mains cable with external lighting and a path linking the junior and the infant school buildings, re-routing and upgrading of the electrical feed, reorganisation of the existing school entrance area and possible installation of incoming new ICT. The estimated cost of these works is £0.100m and it is recommended that this sum is met initially from the capital programme contingency, to be reimbursed once Prudential Borrowing approval is obtained.

Schools Access Initiative

3.5 There is provision of £2.144m in the 2004/05 capital programme for projects under the School Access Initiative (SAI). Appendix 3 lists the projects proposed to be carried out under this heading; all are minor works, except for the scheme at Brookfield Community School, Sarisbury. The estimated cost of this project is £0.375m, funded by £0.250m from the current year's programme and £0.125m carried forward from 2003/04. A detailed accessibility study had been carried out by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services, which has identified that the installation of lifts, additional accessible WC and inclusion spaces to be used for hygiene, therapy and special education needs are required. These works will form phase 1 of a continuing programme of works aimed at making the school fully accessible to all pupils and other users. It is recommended that the project be added to the 2004/05 capital programme as a named scheme.

Sharps Copse Early Years Centre, Havant

3.6 The children's centre concept was promoted in the Interdepartmental Childcare Review report Delivering for children's and families published in November 2002, and reinforced in the Green Paper Every Child Matters.. Children's centres will serve children and families, particularly in disadvantaged communities and through an integrated approach will provide holistic support for children's development, support to families with young children and will facilitate the return to work or study of parents who are currently unemployed. Children's centres will bring together locally available services and integrate management and staffing structures but will not necessarily be developed on one site. All children's centres must offer access to the following integrated core services:        

· early education integrated with childcare

· family support and outreach to parents

· child and family health services.

3.7 Hampshire County Council's allocation to take forward the children's centre initiative is as follows:


Total indicative revenue funding for 2004-2006:       £0.210m       
Total indicative capital funding for 2004-2006:         £0.791m       

3.8 The County Council has submitted a strategic proposal for 9 children's centres, building on existing Sure Start local programmes, Neighbourhood Nurseries and Early Excellence Centre initiatives. The development at Sharps Copse Early Years Centre (EYC), Havant, builds on a new neighbourhood nursery, integrated with the maintained nursery, to provide 90 places for children aged 0-5 years. Funding of £0.330m for the refurbishment of the community wing has been identified as part of the children's centre submission. Implementation plans for all projects are currently being considered for approval by the Minister for Children, whilst awaiting confirmation of the capital approval process. Initial feedback from officers within the Sure Start Unit about Hampshire's strategic plan, including the Sharps Copse EYC project is positive. A funding allocation for the Sharps Copse project is expected to be announced before 13 May 2004 and, subject to this being made, it is recommended that £0.330m be added to the resources for 2004/05 and that a major project to refurbish the community wing at Sharps Copse Early Years Centre, Havant be added to the 2004/05 capital programme.

4. Temporary classrooms

Salterns School, Totton

4.1 Salterns School, Totton, which caters for pupils with severe learning difficulties from age 4 to 18, has a high number of pupils with severe challenging behaviour. The headteacher and staff of the school are committed to managing such pupils and minimising exclusions. Two pupils are being referred to the school from September, both of whom present severe challenging behaviour: one is moving from another special school, where the placement has broken down because of behaviour and the other has been excluded from an independent special school.

4.2 Salterns School has agreed to take these pupils, but has asked for provision of dedicated accommodation, in the form of an additional small temporary building of 29m², comprising two small teaching spaces and a withdrawal space. This would enable the pupils to be removed temporarily so that staff can address their behaviour effectively.

4.3 Approval was given on 16 October 2003 for funding for provision of a temporary withdrawal space at the school in permanent build and work is due to start on this shortly. The proposal in this report is in addition to this space, but is recommended for approval to assist the school in managing very difficult situations, which are disruptive and have potentially dangerous implications for staff and pupils.

Recommendations

1. That, subject to the approval of the Executive Member, Policy and Resources:

(a) funding in the 2004/05 capital programme as shown below be used to support allocations under the Seed Challenge scheme:

(i) 14-19 Agenda £ 0.094m

(ii) School Workforce programme £ 0.200m

(iii) Seed Challenge 2003/04 unallocated £ 0.040m

(b) the allocation of Seed Challenge grant be approved for the schemes listed below:

School	£'m
All Saints CE Junior, Fleet	0.041
Ashford Hill Primary	0.066
Denmead Junior	0.066
Durley Primary	0.045
Hawley Primary	0.056
Henry Cort Community, Fareham	0.113
Hordle CE Primary	0.097
Hurstbourne Tarrant Primary	0.062
Limington House, Basingstoke	0.043
Mark Way, Andover	0.035
Marnel Junior, Basingstoke	0.060
Meadowlands Infant, Cowplain	0.042
Merton Junior, Basingstoke	0.058
Minstead Study Centre	0.165
Mountbatten, Romsey	0.135
New Milton Infant	0.066
Riverside Community Special, Purbrook	0.067
Silchester Primary	0.069
St Bernadette's RC Aided Primary, Farnborough	0.042
St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Aldershot	0.066
St Thomas' Infant, Woolton Hill	0.058
Wallisdean Junior, Fareham	0.049
Westfields Junior, Yateley	0.060
Woodlea Primary, Bordon	0.060

(d) that the contribution to the refurbishment of Minstead Study Centre be increased by £0.035m from the 2004/05 capital programme contingency, to a total of £0.211m;

(e) that £0.100m is made available from the capital programme contingency to fund enabling works at Chiltern Primary School, Basingstoke;

(f) that resources of £0.330m be added to the 2004/05 capital programme to fund development of a Children's Centre at Sharps Copse Early Years Centre, Havant;

(g) that a major project to refurbish the community wing at Sharps Copse Early Years Centre, Havant be added to the 2004/05 capital programme, at an estimated cost of £0.330m;

(h) that a major project to carry out access improvements at Brookfield Community School, Sairsbury at an estimated cost of £0.375m be added to the 2004/05 capital programme.

2. That approval be given for the applications for planning permission until 31 May 2008 for a temporary classroom to be located at Salterns School, Totton.

3. That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Executive Member, Policy and Resources, that the application for temporary classroom accommodation listed in Recommendation 2 is approved until 31 May 2008.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

Letter of 19 December 2003 from DfES to County Education Officer: Capital Investment in Schools 2004/05.