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

email: [email protected]

1 Introductory

1.1 This report sets out proposed changes to the 2006/07 and 2007/08 capital programmes and proposals for planning consent for temporary classrooms, following decisions made by the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services on 2 April 2007.

1.2 The proposals in this report support the Corporate Strategies "Maximising well-being" and Enhancing our quality of place" by proposing allocations of funding to improve the learning environments of Hampshire schools.

2 Recommendations

a) That resources totalling £0.046m be added to the 2006/07 Children's Services capital programme to reflect additional grant from the Department for Education and Skills through the Youth Capital Fund.

b) That the following projects and their resources be carried forward from 2006/07 to 2007/08:

(i) Baycroft School Gosport, major refurbishment project at £0.440m;

(ii) Staunton Community Sports College, sports hall refurbishment at £0.250m;

(iii) minor works at £0.153m.

c) That the following variations to the 2007/08 Children's Services capital programme be approved:

(i) in respect of Bell Vue Infant School and Newport Junior Schools, Aldershot:

(a) the addition of resources of £0.350m of capital grant;

(b) the addition of a major improvement project at £0.350m;

(ii) in respect of Swanwick Lodge Secure Unit:

(a) the addition of resources totalling £0.854m of capital grant;

(b) the addition of a major project for improvements and refurbishment at an estimated cost of £0.874m;

(iii) the addition of resources of £0.200m of capital grant to reflect specialist school allocations of £0.100m each to Dove House School, Basingstoke and Samuel Cody School, Farnborough

d) That the application for planning permission for temporary classrooms at the following locations be approved until 31 August 2012:

(i) one double unit at Oakwood Infant School, Hartley Wintney to house the Oakwood Playgroup;

(ii) one double unit at Yateley Infant School to house the Yateley Community Pre-School;

(iii) one double unit at Elvetham Heath Primary School, Fleet;

(iv) one double and one single unit at Brughton Hill Community College, Basingstoke;

(v) one double unit at Dove House School, Basingstoke;

(vi) one double unit at Wildern School, Hedge End.

3. Children's Services capital programme 2006/07

Youth Capital Fund - resources

3.1 The 2006/07 capital programme includes an amount of £0.468m Government grant to fund improvements to Youth Service buildings. Notification has recently been received that the amount available in 2006/07 has been increased by £0.046m to £0.514m and it is recommended that this additional allocation is added to the 2006/07 cash limit.

4. Projects to be carried forward from 2006/07 to 2007/08

4.1 It will not now be possible to start a number of projects in the 2006/07 and it is recommended that they are carried forward with their resources to 2007/08. The projects are listed in Table 1.

Table 1

Project	Estimated cost £m
Baycroft School, Gosport	0.440
Staunton Community Sports College, Havant	0.250
Minor works	0.153
Total	0.843

5. Children's Services capital programme 2007/08

Specialist Schools allocations

5.1 Notifications have been received of capital allocations for two schools which have been awarded specialist school status. These are listed in Table 2. The allocation for each school is £0.100m.

Table 2

School	Specialism	Funding source
Dove House, Basingstoke	Mathematics and computing	Grant
Samuel Cody, Farnborough	Sport	Grant

5.2 It is recommended that £0.200m is added to the provision for secondary special school improvements to reflect these allocations.

Targeted Capital Fund allocation for school federation

5.3 An allocation of £0.350m has been made by the DfES to Belle Vue Infant and Newport Junior Schools, Aldershot, which are federating. Resources are made available following bids against a discrete budget to fund capital costs arising from federation. These are principally to cover ICT expenditure, but can also be used to fund adaptations to improve the schools' environments and in particular staff facilities. It is recommended that resources of £0.350m and a major project at Belle Vue Infant and Newport Junior Schools, Aldershot are added to the 2007/08 capital programme.

Swanwick Lodge Secure Unit

5.4 On 12 October 2006 an indicative allocation from the DfES of £0.505m was reported for refurbishment and improvement works at Swanwick Lodge Secure Unit. This allocation has now been confirmed. Approval was given on the same date to a County Council contribution of £0.020m.

5.5 Two further allocations have recently been received. The first is £0.150m, made up of professional fees of £0.085m on the allocation referred to in paragraph 4.25 and £0.65m for a new young persons' telephone system and family meeting room. The second allocation totals £0.199m and is for the following works:

· a new CCTV system throughout the building to include modern digital monitoring and recording equipment;

· provision of new powered security gates to the admissions compound;

· modifications to the five-a-side court security fence to bring it in line with the latest Home Office requirements.

5.6 It is recommended that:

· resources totalling £0.854m are added to the 2007/08 capital programme;

· a major project for improvements at Swanwick Lodge Secure Unit is added to the 2007/08 capital programme at an estimated cost of £0.874m.

6. Temporary classroom renewals

6.1 Temporary classrooms housing playgroups at Oakwood Infant School, Hartley Wintney and Yateley Infant School are proposed for replacement form a specific government allocation to improve buildings occupied by early years providers. To enable the services to continue to be provided it is recommended that the continued location of a double temporary classroom at each of these schools is approved.

7. New temporary classrooms

Elvetham Heath Primary School, Fleet

7.1 This school provides 420 places with a current published admission (PAN) number of 60 and is situated on the Elvetham Heath development, which is yielding significant numbers of pupils in excess of the current planned admission number, a trend that is expected to continue for the medium term. An additional temporary classroom was provided in the summer of 2006 as a result of successful admission appeals by parents leading to additional numbers in Year R.

7.2 A strategic review of forecast pupil numbers has identified the need for a permanent extension to the school to increase its size to three forms of entry (PAN 90, capacity 630 pupils) from September 2009. A major project to provide the extension is included in the 2007/08 capital programme. The land needed for the extension is not owned by Hampshire County Council and discussions are taking place with Hart District Council and the housing developer to agree how the permanent extension can be achieved. To meet the continuing demand for pupil places it is proposed that a double temporary classroom is provided from September 2007, allowing the school to take 90 pupils in Year R in September 2007 and again in September 2008. It is recommended that the siting of a double temporary classroom at Elvetham Heath Primary School, Fleet until August 2012 is approved.

Brighton Hill Community College, Basingstoke

7.3 The school has a net capacity of 1,240 but has a PAN of 255, which gives a maximum number within the college of 1,275 if all year groups are full. The college has been regularly oversubscribed for several years and the current number on roll is 1,283. This exceeds the figure of 1,275 due to successful admissions appeals and full participation by the college in the Hard to Place Protocol and the Managed Move Protocol, both of which are "blind" to numbers on roll.

7.4 The college uses its current accommodation very effectively. Its average space utilisation rate is 84% (the standard expected is 75%), although it is much higher in some subject areas. In certain areas of technology for example it is close to 100%. The fact that the utilisation rate is higher than the notional 75% in the net capacity calculation does not create extra spaces in the college. It reflects the deliberate intention of the net capacity calculation to allow educational establishments the flexibility to plan the curriculum and teaching group organisation at optimum levels.

7.5 To improve the position and enhance curriculum delivery it is proposed that a double and single temporary classroom are provided from September 2007. It is recommended that the siting of a double and single temporary classroom at Brighton Hill Community College, Basingstoke until August 2012 is approved.

Dove House School, Basingstoke

7.6 Dove House School caters for pupils aged 11-16 with learning difficulties, including pupils with autism. The school provides 115 places and its current number on role is 119. The school is very popular and the demand for places has increased in recent years. There are over 50 requests for places in Year 7 for September 2007 with the normal admission limit being 24. The transfer of pupils from feeder special schools will provide 25 pupils for September 2007, together with additional demand from specialist provision within mainstream schools. It is very likely that a number of appeals will be made by parents who wish their children to attend the school, which will lead to special need tribunals considering the cases. While the case will be made that additional pupils should not be admitted because of the shortage of accommodation, it is likely that, as in the past, appeals will be upheld and pupils will need to be placed at the school.

7.7 The current school accommodation consists of 11 tutor spaces, being a variety of specialist and general teaching rooms. In order to accommodate a rise in pupil numbers in recent years an additional temporary classroom was provided to accommodate pupils with autism, who need specialist teaching. With the increase in pupil numbers being admitted into the school in September an additional double temporary building is required. A continued rise in pupil numbers is expected over the next few years which may mean that further additional temporary buildings are required. A strategic review of accommodation is about to be undertaken and any opportunities that exist for replacing temporary buildings with permanent accommodation will be pursued.

7.8 It is recommended the siting of a double temporary classroom at Dove House School, Basingstoke until August 2012 is approved.

Wildern School, Hedge End

7.9 Owing to a growth in the number on roll at the school (from 1,811 in the 2006/07 academic year to a projected number of 1,910 for 2011/12) because of an increase in in-catchment demand, there is a need to provide the school with an additional science laboratory and drama space. In order to meet these needs it is proposed that a temporary unit, already owned by the County Council, is placed on site for September 2007 and are fitted out to provide these specialist facilities. Pupil numbers are forecast to fall from 2012 onwards.

7.10 It is recommended that the siting of a double temporary classroom at Wildern School, Hedge End until August 2012 is approved.

8. County Council Policy Requirements

8.1 Legal implications - The proposals support the County Council's statutory duty to provide school places and comply with central government accommodation requirements and guidance.

8.2 Financial implications - These are set out in the report.

8.3 Personnel implications - None directly arising from this report.

8.4 Community cohesion, inclusiveness and partnership working - Most of the capital projects proposed in this report support these aims.

8.5 Crime prevention issues - None directly arising from this report.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have 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