Archived decisions

Contact: Chris Holt, Education Officer (Primary)

01962 845673; [email protected]

Peter Colenutt, Assistant Education Officer (School Review)

01962 846157; [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1. This report provides details of the outcome of consultations following the review of primary school provision in the Hedge End, West End and Botley areas and sets out the background and issues affecting the schools identified in the report.

1.2. The report puts forward proposals for the future pattern of primary school provision in Hedge End, West End and Botley, representing a strategy designed to improve primary school provision and investment in the local community to match local need. This would be achieved through the establishment of a new school, to cater for increased demand in the north of the area, and capital investment at other schools in the area to rationalise and improve teaching and learning facilities through the provision of specialist accommodation and the replacement of temporary classrooms.

1.3. The following appendices are included in the report:

· Appendix 1: notes of meetings held with the governing bodies of Berrywood Primary, Botley CE Primary, Freegrounds Infant, Freegrounds Junior, Kings Copse Primary, Shamblehurst Primary, St. James' CE Primary schools.

· Appendix 2: LEA commentary on school performance for each of the schools.

· Appendix 3: a map of the area under consideration.

· Appendix 4: a list of correspondence received.

1.4. Members have visited the area and all those schools where the rationalisation of accommodation is proposed (section 10 refers).

1.5. In addition to the consultations with school governing bodies, the views of Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC), Local Strategic Partnership, Parish Councils and the Church of England and Roman Catholic Dioceses have been sought (sections 7 - 9 refer).

1.6. Members are asked to advise the Executive Member for Education of their conclusions on the outcome of consultations, so that decisions may be made about the strategy to manage primary school provision in the Hedge End, West End and Botley areas.

1.7. The proposals contained within this report support the County Council's Corporate Aim 1: Maximising life opportunities, and Aim 5: Improving services. These are achieved through the provision of a new school to serve a new development in the area, the rebuilding of an existing school, the replacement of temporary classrooms with permanent accommodation, and the rationalisation of primary school accommodation to improve teaching and learning facilities.

1.8. Correspondence made up of 8 letters is on deposit in the Members' Room during the week prior to the Education Policy Review Committee meeting on 15 March 2005, and will be available for perusal in the Council Chamber from 9.00am on the day of the meeting.

2 Strategic Implications

2.1 The County Council has a statutory duty to plan the provision of school places and to secure an appropriate balance locally between supply and demand. Needs change in response to population movements and birth rate variations. In many areas of the county the child population is declining, in other pockets housing developments are giving rise to the need for additional school accommodation. The population changes mean that schools may go through periods when there is pressure on places and others where there is surplus.

2.2 Hampshire County Council's School Organisation Plan draws attention to the rising number of primary surplus places in Hampshire and the need to ensure that this situation is effectively managed. The overall level of surplus, which was 9% in 2004, is forecast to rise to 14% in 2009. This is above the 10% level considered a reasonable upper level by the Audit Commission.

2.3 The proposals set out in this paper would serve to reduce the level of surplus primary places in the Hedge End, West End and Botley areas from 12.3% to 9.4% and at the same time improve teaching and learning facilities at schools in the area. The proposals represent a significant investment designed to optimise capital resources in partnership with Eastleigh Borough Council.

3 Background and proposals

3.1 On 9 December 2004, the Executive Member for Education authorised local consultations with schools in the Hedge End, West End and Botley areas which are currently served by seven primary schools (see Table 1). In January 2010 surplus places, based on current capacities, within these seven schools will amount to 12.3% of capacity.

3.2 Table 1 - Hedge End, West End and Botley primary schools - Accommodation and pupil numbers

* A single temporary classroom (30 places) has been located at this school to cope with a specific bulge in numbers and will be removed in 2009. This is not included in the net capacity figure in Table 1.

( ) figures in brackets denote temporary accommodation and are included in the net capacity figure.

Note: Pupil numbers exclude the new development at Dowds Farm.

3.3 Planning consent has recently been granted by Eastleigh Borough Council for 765 dwellings on land in the north of the area, known as Dowds Farm (see map at Appendix 3). The development is located within the catchment area of Berrywood Primary School. It is expected that the first houses at Dowds Farm will be occupied in 2006. Given the number and type of dwellings, it is forecast that the development will generate around 190 primary age children.

3.4 There is sufficient capacity in primary schools in the area to accommodate this number of children but not in a school within easy reach of the Dowds Farm development. In keeping with planning applications of this nature and scale, land has been earmarked at no cost to the County Council within the new development site to provide a 210 place, one form entry (1fe), primary school. In addition a substantial contribution towards the cost of building a new school has been secured, through negotiations between the County Council, Eastleigh Borough Council and the developer.

3.5 Consultation proposals were based upon the County Council's policy, as set out in the School Organisation Plan, to provide new primary schools within major new developments where possible, and also to take steps to reduce surplus provision in areas where pupil numbers are declining. Proposals were also designed to maximise the benefit from developers' contributions and to maximise opportunities to generate capital receipts from the sale of surplus land for reinvestment to improve and rationalise existing schools.

3.6 School governing bodies and other interested parties have been consulted on a proposal to build a 210 place primary school at Dowds Farm to serve the new development. Views have also been sought on the establishment of additional early years education places and special educational needs resourced provision for visually impaired (VI) primary aged children (see sections 4 and 5).

3.7 Feasibility studies of the seven schools in the area, designed to compare present day provision with the primary school building brief, together with a review of planned admission numbers and associated organisation and management challenges for schools, led to the following proposals:

· Freegrounds Infant School - to replace the double temporary classroom with a purpose-built music/drama room and general teaching space.

· Shamblehurst Primary School - to reduce the capacity of the school from 462 to 420 places (2fe) through the replacement of the double temporary classroom with a one class extension. At the same time accessibility issues throughout the school would be addressed.

· Kings Copse Primary School - the original feasibility study resulted in the proposal to reduce the capacity of the school from 254 to 210 places (1fe) to provide music/drama and ICT spaces, and to improve SEN facilities.

The school occupies one of the largest primary school sites in the county. A more strategic approach would be to dispose of part of the school site for residential development and to reinvest the capital receipt to improve primary provision at Kings Copse Primary and other local schools.

Closer inspection, taking into account the location of the present school buildings on the site, the cost of works referred to above, and lifecycle building costs has led to proposals to relocate Kings Copse in entirely new buildings on its present site as a 210 place primary school. This would maximise the capital receipt from land disposal.

4 Early Years

4.1 There is a surplus of early years education places in the south of the Hedge End area. The Dowds Farm development will generate increased demand for early years education places in the north of the area. Discussions are taking place with EBC to determine how the need for additional early years facilities in the Dowds Farm area could best be met.

5 Special Educational Needs (SEN)

5.1 The County Council aims to ensure that good quality provision for children with SEN is maintained and, wherever possible enhanced, and to provide appropriate facilities for pupils with a disability in new or adapted school buildings. Building two new schools in the Hedge End area of Eastleigh will offer an opportunity to provide accommodation which is accessible to pupils with physical disabilities. There is also a need for a resource base in this area of the county to serve the needs of primary age pupils with significant visual impairment. Whilst there is a relatively low incidence of this need, some children require access to specialist teaching, support and equipment. A relatively new primary school in Basingstoke serves this need in the north of the county. Hedge End/West End/Botley would be a suitable location for a similar provision which is accessible to children living in the south of the county.

6 Review of responses to consultation

6.1 The following paragraphs summarise responses to consultations. Schools are listed in alphabetical order. Full notes of the consultation meetings are attached at Appendix 1.

Berrywood Primary

6.2 Governors referred to the potential additional early years education places identified for the area and wished to express their interest in establishing such provision at Berrywood School. Governors also raised the point that Wildern Secondary School is full and that the additional housing will have a further impact on Wildern's numbers. Clarification was sought regarding catchment area changes if a new primary school were to be built at Dowds Farm. Reference was made to the year on year oversubscription for places at Berrywood and the impact which this had on staff time in dealing with appeals against the reluctant decisions to refuse admission. The point was made that failure to build a new school at Dowds Farm would result in a considerable escalation of this problem.

Botley CE (Controlled) Primary

6.3 The governors expressed some concern about the decline in pupil numbers at the school and in particular the effect a new school at Dowds Farm could have on this issue. Questions were also raised about whether Botley children would find it difficult to gain admission to Wildern Secondary School. Governors wished to make the point that they were disappointed that improvement works had been identified at other schools but not Botley. It was pointed out that Botley has a good reputation for meeting the needs of children with SEN. There was some discussion about the potential for the school to reduce capacity to 210 places (1fe). Dependent upon future decisions regarding the school's capacity, governors felt that Botley could accommodate the provision for VI children referred to in the report. The governing body's stated preference was for the proposed new school at Dowds Farm not to be built. If the decision was taken to build the school, the governing body would reserve its position as to the best way forward for Botley CE Primary School.

Freegrounds Infant and Junior

6.4 Governors of the Junior School expressed some concern about the proposed new school at Dowds Farm and pointed out that the junior school admits a high proportion of children from out of catchment. It was also pointed out that there was sufficient capacity within schools in the area to accommodate children from the Dowds Farm development without the need for a new school. Some governors felt that the most equitable way of spending the money earmarked for the Hedge End strategy would be by spreading this across all schools in the area. Governors pointed out that it was the County Council's policy to replace temporary classrooms and that the proposed replacement of the building at the infant school should be undertaken irrespective of the Hedge End strategy. Concern was expressed by a governor that, should funding for the strategy fall short of expectations, the replacement temporary classroom project at Freegrounds Infant School could be jeopardised. It was pointed out that the forecast decline in pupil numbers at the junior school would result in mixed age classes. A question was asked of officers at the meeting as to whether the closure of Kings Copse School had been considered, with the Freegrounds schools extended to cater for four forms of entry. Governors stated that when Eastleigh Borough Council first consulted local schools about the proposed new housing development at Dowds Farm, local headteachers were opposed to it. A view was expressed that the new primary school at Dowds Farm School was a "done deal" and that to turn down the proposal would reflect badly on the County Council. A number of governors stated that the strategy put forward for Hedge End as a whole was a sensible way forward for the area and that parents at Dowds Farm would want their children to go to a school serving their specific local community.

Kings Copse Primary

6.5 Governors were excited by the development option proposed for a new school and noted the fact that the disposal of part of the school site for housing would generate additional pupils. Governors were keen to explore the opportunity of accommodating the specialist resourced provision for visual impairment (VI) referred to in the December consultation report. Governors referred to the issue of secondary school places and pointed out that Wildern School is currently over- subscribed. In summary, governors said that the proposed strategy represented welcome and positive news for investment in the south of Hedge End and that they looked forward to continuing to work with the Local Education Authority in progressing the development options.

Shamblehurst Primary

6.6 Governors expressed the firm view that, having worked closely with officers from the LEA over the last two years towards an overall development strategy for the school, they would not wish to see their admission number greater than 60. A governor said that it was important to understand that the consultation was not about whether the new housing should be approved at Dowds Farm, as this was already agreed, but rather about the strategy for primary school provision in the wider area. Failure to provide a new school at Dowds Farm would lead to chaos for Shamblehurst Primary. Governors sought clarification about catchment areas and how the proposed school could have an impact on existing catchment areas. The point was made that capital funding had been identified for the new school; a governor queried where the new school's revenue budget would come from. In general, governors were supportive of the strategy and saw it as an overall benefit for primary children in the whole area.

St. James' CE (Controlled) Primary

6.7 Governors pointed out that St. James' CE Primary School was the only school identified in the December consultation report with numbers forecast to rise in excess of its capacity. It was pointed out that, whilst in terms of the curriculum, the school meets the primary brief, there is an issue in respect of the school toilets which were badly in need of capital works. Governors were disappointed that the proposed strategy could mean new school buildings for Kings Copse with St. James' being left in an older building and felt that the school was being penalised for having invested in its buildings over recent years. A concern of governors related to secondary school places and the fact that St. James' is the furthest from Wildern, its linked secondary school, and therefore it is likely to be St James' children who would be refused a place if the numbers of applications were to exceed Wildern's admission number. A governor expressed the view that if future parents of St. James' School did not think they would obtain a place at Wildern, they would be likely to make a decision to move house. Reference was made to the potential new provision for visually impaired pupils, and governors queried whether this could be located at Kings Copse School. Governors expressed the view that the consultation report should have specifically mentioned West End and not just Hedge End. Governors were of the general opinion that all schools in the area should benefit from some capital investment. In summary, the chairman of governors pointed out that there were two main issues for St. James' CE Primary School, one being the supply of secondary school places at Wildern and the other related to the fact that governors wished to see some further capital investment in their school buildings as part of any agreed strategy for the area.

7 Parish, Borough and City Councils: review of responses to consultation

7.1 The following parish, borough and city councils were consulted:

a) Botley Parish Council

The Parish Council's Policy and Resources Committee met to discuss the 9 December consultation report and, in summary, are in support of the proposed strategy to build a new 210 place primary school at Dowds Farm to serve the new development, with consideration being given to establishing SEN resourced provision and provision for pre-school age children, together with a review of investment needs at other schools in the area. The Parish Council stressed that Botley CE Primary School is an integral part of Botley village life, featuring as a specific and highly valued part of the community. The Parish Council also pointed out that future demographic changes in Botley will feature lower cost housing with an expected increase in young families. The issue of catchment areas was raised and it is the Parish Council's view that Botley CE Primary School's catchment area should be coterminous with the parish boundary. Concern was expressed that mainstream pupils in Botley have (and will have) difficulties in gaining places at Wildern School.

b) Hedge End Parish Council endorse the view expressed by Eastleigh Borough Council (section 8 refers).

c) West End Parish Council endorse the view expressed by Eastleigh Borough Council (section 8 refers).

d) Southampton City Council responded by stating its confidence that places would be available for any Southampton children who, as a result of changes to the current pattern of provision, might find it more difficult to attend a Hampshire school.

8 Eastleigh Borough Council: review of response to consultation

8.1 The Borough Council welcomed the opportunity to participate in the review of primary school provision. The response to the consultation document had been agreed by the Borough Council's Local Area Committee for Hedge End, West End and Botley. This committee has devolved responsibility from the Borough Council to manage local services in order to meet the needs of the local area.

8.2 The Borough Council recognised the pressure on the County Council to reduce surplus places. It further recognised that, without change, there would be an increasing surplus of places in the south of Hedge End, whilst in the north of Hedge End and in West End there was already a shortage of places, even before taking account of the Dowds Farm development. A similar pattern with regard to early years education places was also noted. EBC recognised that new investment could create the opportunity for appropriate special educational needs resourced provision.

8.3 Eastleigh Borough Council expressed its support for the proposed strategy and would welcome joint working between each of the schools in the area and the County and Borough Councils to maximise investment in education in the Hedge End, West End and Botley area. EBC stated its commitment to assisting the County Council and schools in the area to implement the proposed strategy.

9 Diocesan View

9.1 Winchester Diocesan Board of Education has declared an interest in being the provider for the new school to serve the development.

10 Members' Visits

10.1 On 3 and 9 February 2005, Members were given the opportunity to visit Freegrounds Infant, Kings Copse Primary and Shamblehurst Primary schools and to familiarise themselves with the location of the other schools. Issues raised are dealt with in section 12.

11 Local County Councillors

11.1 The County Councillor for Botley and Hedge End considers the proposals to represent an innovative management plan designed to address the appropriate supply and demand of primary school places within the area, together with improved accommodation at local schools. He welcomes the opportunities which the plan presents for improved community facilities in the area, including Early Years provision.

11.2 The County Councillor for Fair Oak and West End endorses the comments made in 11.1 above, and welcomes the fact that the proposed strategy, including the provision of two new schools, which will provide an asset to the community.

12 Issues raised during consultation

12.1 The following general comments are given on the main issues arising from the consultations:

Secondary School Provision

12.2 The focus of the consultations was primary school provision. However, the pressure in recent years on places at Wildern Secondary School was raised by a number of governors.

12.3 Current forecast figures for Wildern which take into account the increasing popularity of the school, indicate that there will be a period of around five years when applications from within its catchment area will exceed the current school net capacity of 1,800 places by up to 100 children.

12.4 Discussions have taken place with headteachers of local secondary schools to develop a strategy which will address the temporary shortfall in secondary places. No permanent expansion will be required, as the underlying reduction in numbers is predicted to exceed the growth from Dowds Farm from 2010 onwards. Dowds Farm falls entirely within Wildern School's catchment area and one option is to provide temporary accommodation at the school, with some investment in the infrastructure to cater for increased pupil numbers in the short term. The temporary buildings would be removed when the bulge in numbers has passed. Discussions are on-going.

Special Educational Needs

12.5 Section 5 of this report refers to the need for specialist VI provision in the south of the county and the options which the proposed strategy presents. During consultations, questions were asked as to whether it was the intention that any such provision be located at a new Dowds Farm school. Whilst it is likely to be more cost effective to include this provision in a new build, the location of such provision in an already established school needs to be fully explored, in keeping with the views expressed by some governing bodies.

School Buildings Improvement Works

12.6 The consultation exercise with governing bodies focused on the overall benefits of this strategy for primary school provision (and hence primary age children) across the area. Some governors were disappointed to note that capital works were not identified for their schools. Accommodation needs at each of the primary schools in the review area were considered against the primary school building brief and proposals have been put forward to meet any identified shortfalls, together with proposals to replace temporary classrooms in keeping with County Council policy.

12.7 Some specific issues, such as the refurbishment of pupil toilets, were raised and governors were advised that such capital works issues were an appropriate call against schools' devolved capital allocations. It was also pointed out that, where applicable, there was an expectation that all schools benefiting from capital investment as a result of this strategy would contribute to the schemes from their devolved capital allocations.

Catchment Areas

12.8 School catchment areas in relation to parental preference and geographical anomalies were raised by a number of governing bodies. Given the relative close proximity of schools in the Hedge End, West End and Botley areas there is already considerable movement across catchment areas. Catchment areas are largely irrelevant until a school is oversubscribed, and the redrawing of a line will not, of itself, alter parents' expression of preference. Should a new school be built at Dowds Farm it will be necessary to define a catchment area for the school from within the existing area served by Berrywood Primary. At the same time the LEA would take the opportunity to consider some of the present catchment area anomalies which have been brought to its attention during consultations.

Forecast Pupil Numbers/School Capacities

12.9 Considerable discussion centred upon future numbers of children in the area and schools they might attend. Forecast pupil numbers shown in Table 1 and Table 3 take into account all planned new housing, including type and tenure, and are based upon small area population forecasts which detail the number of 0-4 year olds in an area.

12.10 The proposed strategy entails a reduction in the total capacity of existing schools of 86 places (42 places at Shamblehurst and 44 places at Kings Copse Schools). A new one form entry primary school would create an additional 210 places, with the Dowds Farm housing forecast to generate 190 primary aged pupils. In total the proposed strategy represents a forecast net reduction in surplus places of 86, reducing surplus school capacity in the area to below 10%. (Table 3 refers).

Early Years

12.11 There is an identified need for early years education places in the north of the area, generated by the additional number of three and four year old children in families expected to take up occupancy of new housing at Dowds Farm. Discussions are under way with Eastleigh Borough Council regarding the potential for early years education places to be provided within community facilities on the Dowds Farm site. Alternatively, and subject to sufficient capital funding being available, there is the possibility that space for early years provision could be included in the brief for a new primary school at Dowds Farm. With the same proviso, early years education places could be provided at Berrywood Primary School (subject to the necessary feasibility study being undertaken) a development which the governing body of the school would very much welcome.

Traffic/Walking Routes

12.12 A number of governors commented on the present volume of traffic in the area and the fact that the Dowds Farm development will further exacerbate the situation. The County Council's School Organisation Plan states that new primary schools should, where possible, be within reasonable walking distance from the homes of all pupils in the area to be served by the school. The site identified for the proposed new school at Dowds Farm is centrally located within the development, with walking and cycling routes specifically planned to enable safe and easy access to the proposed new school.

Diversity of Provision

12.13 Local communities are diverse. Schools serve local communities and are therefore themselves diverse in nature. The notion of local management is well established in Hampshire and this also contributes to diversity in the way schools operate and develop. The County Council's School Organisation Plan, approved by the School Organisation Committee in 2004, states its policy to maintain the existing proportion of places in church schools in partnership with the dioceses. In January 2001 there were 26,730 pupils at 128 church primary schools and 73,335 pupils in 297 community primary schools. In January 2005 there were 129 church primary schools with a total of 26,514 pupils and 69,124 in 298 community primary schools. This shows an increase in primary pupils in church schools from 26.7% to 27.7% over this period.

13 Capital Strategy

13.1 Funding for the capital works proposed in this report is available from a number of sources. Paragraph 3.4 refers to a developer's contribution for Dowds Farm, which totals £2.268m; in addition, there is provision of £1.289m in the 2006/07 capital programme for primary school provision in the Hedge End area from a previous developer's contribution and from the provision for new pupil places. The sale of surplus land in the Hedge End area available for housing development is estimated to achieve receipts of up to £5.2m, subject to completion of feasibility studies and the grant of appropriate planning consents by Eastleigh Borough Council and to the approval of the Secretary of State for Education and Skills of the sales. To maximise this major investment in education provision in the area, Eastleigh Borough Council should be requested to relax their normal planning obligations and associated financial contributions that would usually be imposed on residential development sites when considering planning approvals. Contributions from the devolved capital allocations of the schools benefiting from refurbishment are also anticipated.

13.2 The cost of providing two new one form entry primary schools is estimated at £7.250m (including furniture and equipment), with a further £0.225m for provision for visually impaired pupils. The cost of providing a new school at Kings Copse is estimated at £3.5 m compared to an estimated £2.1m for refurbishment and adaptation of the existing building, which would in addition require estimated expenditure of some £0.7m on major maintenance projects over the next 15 years. Although the cost of providing a new school is thus some £0.7m greater than the refurbishment option, it would allow a more effective use of the site, which would allow a significantly larger capital receipt to be achieved. In cost benefit terms, therefore, the new school option is the more attractive.

13.3 Improvements at Shamblehurst Primary School, mainly to reduce surplus provision and remove temporary classrooms, and the replacement of temporary classrooms at Freegrounds Infant School and associated work, are estimated to cost £1.200m.

13.4 Anticipated resources and expenditure are summarised in Table 2. At this stage estimates, particularly for the capital receipts, are broad, but the table demonstrates the affordability of the proposed strategy. Approval by the Executive Member, Policy and Resources will be needed to retain 100% of the capital receipts. It is likely that the funding anticipated through capital receipts will need to be provided through prudential borrowing in advance of the sales, which will require a similar approval.

13.5 Table 2 - Anticipated capital resources and expenditure for Hedge End primary schools

Resources	£m	Expenditure	£m
Anticipated capital receipts	5.200	New schools
Developer's contribution, Dowds Farm	2.268	Dowds Farm Primary School	3.400
Capital programme 2006/07	1.289	Kings Copse Primary (rebuild)	3.500
Schools' devolved capital	0.200	Visual impairment provision	0.225
		Furniture and equipment	0.350
		Improvements to existing schools
		Freegrounds Infant	0.600
		Shamblehurst Primary	0.600
		Contingency	0.282
Total	8.957	Total	8.957

Note: Figures based on price base fourth quarter 2006.

14 Revenue Implications

14.1 The annual cost to the County Council of opening a new 1fe primary school is in the region of £75,000. This is the cost of all flat rate funding within the LMS formula and is intended to cover those costs which are likely to be incurred by all schools irrespective of their size (e.g. the basic cost of a headteacher, administrative officer, telephone rental etc). It does not include premises generated funding e.g. that allocated on the basis of floor area because of the assumption that the total building requirements for schools in the area will be the same, regardless of the number of schools. Neither does it include pupil led funding because, irrespective of how many schools are built, the same number of children will need to be educated.

14.2 Furthermore, there will be setting up costs, in the first two years totalling £85,000. This allows for the appointment of the headteacher two terms before the school opens and the diseconomies of scale in the first two years of operation.

14.3 In addition to the costs mentioned above, there will be revenue costs in respect of the visually impaired provision. In the first year of operation there will be a setting up allowance of approximately £2,000. Resourced provision for special educational needs is funded through an agreed place number (APN). The annual allocation to the school in which the resourced provision is established is expected to be approximately £75,000 (at 2004/2005 costs). This development will be funded through the school's delegated budget and will not cause central expenditure to rise. Pupils placed in the provision will normally have been attending a mainstream school, supported at the "School Action Plus" level of the SEN Code of Practice or with a statement of SEN, funded through the SEN Audit element of the County's LMS scheme and mainstream schools Discretionary Exceptions Budget for SEN. The additional cost of the APN will, therefore, be offset in part by a reduction in the SEN funding at each pupil's alternative school.

15 Process and Timescales

15.1 If the Executive Member for Education decides to publish notices proposing the establishment of a new school at Dowds Farm, the notices would run for a period of six weeks. Any objections would be considered by the School Organisation Committee. It is anticipated that the earliest date the new school could open would be September 2007.

15.2 It would be the intention that any proposed works at the other schools identified in this report would also be undertaken to a similar timescale. The potential benefits of linking the procurement and implementation of the proposed works will be determined to ensure best value and economies of scales are maximised.

16 The Way Forward

16.1 The County Council needs to take strategic decisions which are in the best long term interests of children aged 3 - 11 in the communities subject to this review.

16.2 Both Botley and Kings Copse Primary schools' governing bodies have expressed an interest in housing SEN resourced provision for visually impaired children. The establishment of such provision in a school with a proven track record of meeting the needs of children with special educational needs has a number of advantages. Providing the appropriate physical environment to meet the needs of children with visual impairment is a very important factor which impacts upon the whole school, particularly in terms of design layout, materials and decoration. There would be advantages in housing such provision in a new school specifically designed for that purpose.

16.3 The present combined capacities of the schools in the Hedge End, West End, Botley areas are sufficient to provide for children from the Dowds Farm development. However, Berrywood, the nearest school to Dowds Farm is full and is expected to remain so. In order to secure a primary school place in the area, parents and children would be travelling past one, sometimes two or even three schools. Without new school places surplus capacity at schools in the area would be less than 3% (this excludes any additional children which may be generated from land disposal at Kings Copse). Such a small margin of flexibility within school place provision in an area of this size would likely lead to the inability of some parents living in the Hedge End, West End, Botley areas to secure a place for their child in a local primary school.

16.4 The provision of a new school on the Dowds Farm development, together with a reduction in the capacities of Kings Copse and Shamblehurst Primary schools, would match school places to local demand. At the same time this would provide a better balance between the overall supply and demand of school places, through a reduction of surplus places in the area from 12.3% to 9.4%.

16.5 The proposed strategy would provide improvements to teaching and learning facilities through the provision of two new school buildings and through the replacement of temporary classrooms with permanent build, all of which would serve to support higher standards of achievement.

16.6 The effects of the proposed strategy on the supply of school places in the Hedge End area are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 - Impact of Proposed Strategy on Primary School Provision

School	Net Capacity	PAN	Pupil Numbers	Number of surplus places	% of surplus places
			Jan 10	Jan 10	Jan 10
Berrywood Primary	630	90	620	10	1.6
Botley CE (Controlled) Primary	300	45	248	52	17.3
Freegrounds Infant	270	90	210	60	22.2
Freegrounds Junior	359	90	322	37	10.3
Kings Copse Primary	210	30	147	63	30.0
Shamblehurst Primary	420	60	366	54	12.9
St James' CE (Controlled) Primary	420	60	450	-30	-7.1
Dowds Farm Primary	210	30	190	20	9.5
Total	2,819	495	2,553	266	9.4

Note: Pupil numbers do not take account of any additional housing resulting from the disposal of surplus land at Kings Copse.

16 County Council Policy Requirements

16.1 Legal implications - the proposals comply with the statutory framework for planning school places.

16.2 Financial implications - sections 13 and 14 refer.

16.3 Personnel implications - none.

16.4 Impact assessment - a race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

Recommendations

To advise the Executive Member for Education on the following proposals:

1. That public notices be published for the establishment of a new one form entry community primary school at Dowds Farm, Hedge End with effect from September 2007.

2. That the catchment area for the new school at Dowds Farm be defined to serve the new development.

3. That land surplus to requirements at Kings Copse School be released for disposal and a replacement one form entry primary school be built on the Kings Copse site.

4. That part of the capital receipts arising from the sale of land at Kings Copse be used to rationalise and improve the teaching and learning facilities at Freegrounds Infant School and Shamblehurst Primary School.

5. That discussions continue with Eastleigh Borough Council and the developers of the Dowds Farm site, and discussion be entered into with Berrywood Primary School's governing body, in respect of future early years provision in the area.

6. That discussions take place with Botley CE Primary School governing body and Kings Copse Primary School governing body to inform a decision regarding the location of SEN resourced provision for visually impaired primary age children in the area.

7. That discussions take place with Eastleigh Borough Council in respect of the proposed land disposals regarding planning obligations and associated financial contributions, with a view to maximising investment in education provision in the area.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

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.

None