Archived decisions

PRESCRIBED INFORMATION

CLOSURE OF A SCHOOL

Note: Not all the required information can be provided on the face of this pro forma; copies of consultation documents, list of schools, a map of the location of schools etc will also be required, as detailed within.

This information is to be regarded as in the public domain and may be shown to interested parties without further notification.

PLEASE PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING STATUTORY INFORMATION (typewritten):

1. What are the objectives of the proposal?

Closure of Ampfield Primary School.

2. Please give details of what consultation has taken place. Copies of:

a. consultation documents, and

b. the views and responses of the persons consulted

should be attached.

Full details are given in the attached reports, considered by the Education Policy Review Committee on 12 October 2004.

3. Please provide a map showing the location of the school and all other community, voluntary and foundation schools within the relevant radius of the school (two miles for primary, three for secondary)

This is attached

4. Please provide a list of all schools within the relevant radius of the school, stating which of such schools are maintained by a different local education authority, together with the following information in respect of each such school for the current school year, and (except for the information specified in sub-paragraph d) the previous school year:

a. the admission number for each relevant age group

b. the number of year groups

c. the capacity of the school; and

d. the number of pupils at the school

and a forecast of the matters specified in sub-paragraphs b to d for each of the subsequent five school years

Details are given in the attached table

5. Please provide the following information relating to the school for the current school year and (except for the information specified in sub-paragraph d.) the previous school year:

a. the admission number for each relevant age group

b. the number of year groups

c. the capacity of the school; and

d. the number of pupils at the school.

Details are given in the attached table

6. Please provide the following information relating to the accommodation at the school:

a. the location of the accommodation

b. whether the school occupies a single or split site; and

c. details of general and specialist accommodation.

The school is located in Ampfield village and occupies a single site. There are no playing fields, so the school relies on use of local community facilities. The school has three general classrooms, a library and ancillary facilities, but does not have a hall.

7. Please provide details of proposals for pupils who are currently at the school to transfer to other schools together with any appropriate transitional provisions.

Pupils currently attending Ampfield CE School come from a wide area; in September 2004 only 7 of the 23 children on roll lived in the catchment area. It is therefore inappropriate to name a single school as the transfer school. If Ampfield School closes in August 2006, parents will have been given individual advice the previous summer based on their particular circumstances to enable them to express preferences as part of the following year's admission round.

If the school closes, the Ampfield catchment area is likely to be allocated to one or both of Braishfield Primary School (NOR 94) or John Keble CE School, Hursley, (NOR 108), the two schools nearest to Ampfield. Only four of the existing catchment pupils will be on roll in the summer term 2006. Information provided in October 2004 to the Education Policy Review Committee gave details of the number of places in CE schools within the area although there is no evidence that all parents with pupils currently attending the school will necessarily seek another CE school for their child. Transport will be provided for pupils living in the current Ampfield catchment area if they attend a newly designated school and the journey exceeds the national walking distance.

8. Please provide an assessment of the quality of any schools to which it is proposed that such pupils may transfer

Braishfield School was inspected by Ofsted in 2003 and judged to be an effective school; John Keble School was last inspected in 1999 and judged to be a school with significant strengths, far outweighing its minor weaknesses. A map was presented to the EPRC in October 2004 showing the approximate location of current pupils' addresses. This map showed the catchments of 27 Hampshire primary schools. Although the map was originally included to give EPRC members an indication of pupils' addresses, it is reasonable to make reference to it in relation to this issue. None of the schools has been identified by Ofsted as having serious weaknesses or needing special measures. This coincides with Hampshire's own assessment of standards which are regularly monitored as part of the LEA's school improvement programme.

9. Please provide a statement as to whether the school has been inspected under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 during the last three years and, if it has, the date of the inspection and details of the outcome.

The school was last inspected in November 1998.