Contact: Chris Holt, Head of School Organisation

Telephone: 01962 845673, e-mail: [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek authority to consult on the proposal to close Oak Farm Community School with effect from August 2010 and for pupils to transfer to a neighbouring school.

1.2 Pupil numbers at Oak Farm Community School have been in decline for a number of years (a reflection of a combination of falling pupil numbers in the area and parental preference) resulting in an excessive number of surplus places at the school and calling into question the school's viability.

1.3 At the same time extended and community services provided at the school through partnership with a number of agencies and authorities offer a wide and varied menu which are well used and appreciated by the local community and beyond. Recent and ongoing developments in the secondary curriculum, in particular at Key Stage 4, have seen Oak Farm Community School playing an important part in the development of an innovative and flexible curriculum designed to help meet the diverse spread of needs of young people in the wider area of Rushmoor Borough and Hart District.

1.4 It is proposed that, as part of the consultation process, options are explored to consider how some education provision, extended services and community learning might continue in the event of the school closing.

1.5 The issues raised in this report reflect the County Council's corporate strategy:

- Maximising well-being through the securing of an accessible, broad and balanced curriculum for secondary age pupils and through the exploration of opportunities to build on and enhance extended and community services.

1.6 It also supports the following outcomes of the Children Act:

Being healthy: (enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle) - by maintaining the opportunity for pupils to attend a school within a reasonable walking distance.

Staying safe: (being protected from harm and neglect) - by having access to a secure learning environment.

Enjoying and achieving: (getting the most out of life and developing the skills for adulthood) - by providing the facilities and support to offer a high standard of education for pupils and larger peer groups which offer wider opportunities across the curriculum.

Making a positive contribution: (being involved with the community and society and not engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour) - by safeguarding friendship and neighbourhood groups by continuing to provide secondary education within a reasonable distance of pupils' homes.

Economic well-being: (not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their full potential in life) - by providing access to a high standard of education offering pupils the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge to aid them in securing gainful employment and the future ability to provide for themselves and their families.

2 Recommendations

That the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education)

a) approves consultations taking place during the summer term 2008 with parents, staff, governors, pupils, Rushmoor Borough Council, local schools and other interested parties on the proposal to close Oak Farm Community School.

b) agrees that options be explored to consider how community learning and education provision might continue to operate on the present Oak Farm site in the event of the school's closure.

c) agrees that a report on the outcome of the consultations be prepared for submission in autumn 2008.

3 Numbers on roll at Oak Farm Community School

3.1 Table 1 below charts the school's declining pupil numbers since 2004/05. Of particular concern are the very low numbers in the current Years 7 and 8. Such low numbers make the delivery of a broad and balanced curriculum extremely challenging and, with admission numbers forecast to remain at a similar level in future years, the challenge will become even greater as low cohorts feed through the school.

3.2 Table 1

4 Strategic implications of surplus places

4.1 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. The need for school places changes in response to population movements and birth rate variations. In most areas of the county the secondary school population is declining, a reflection of the general decline in the primary school population which is now feeding through into the secondary sector. In some areas, new housing developments are maintaining the number of secondary age pupils at present levels and, in a very few cases, creating the need for additional secondary school places.

4.2 The number of schools with 25% or more surplus places is an element of the County Council's Comprehensive Performance Assessment. The present number of secondary schools in this category stands at ten. Forecast pupil numbers indicate that this number is set to rise to fifteen by 2012/13 if management measures are not taken.

4.3 Surplus places in secondary schools are an important factor in determining a local authority's (LA's) readiness to deliver the central government's "Building Schools for the Future" (BSF) programme (a multi-million pound investment programme designed to transform education for secondary age pupils through the provision of 21^st century learning environments). LAs are expected to manage surplus places to an acceptable level of no more than 8% within defined BSF project areas.

5 Pupil numbers and schools'

5.1 Table 2 below shows schools' capacities, present and forecast numbers on roll at Oak Farm and other secondary schools in the area as at January 2008.

5.2 Table 2

5.3

* pupil number forecasts are not capped in line with schools' capacities.

6 Catchment area movement.

6.1 An examination of schools' inflow (non-catchment area children attending the school) and outflow (catchment area children attending other Hampshire schools) data reveals considerable movement of children across catchment areas as shown in Table 3:

6.2 Table 3

Figures based on September 2007 Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC)

6.3 An analysis of schools' inflow/outflow data in Table 4 below identifies the numbers, also shown as percentages, of pupils in schools' catchment areas attending their catchment school.

6.4 Table 4

Figures based on September 2007 Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC)

7 Pupil Achievement / School Performance 2007

7.1 Table 5 sets out pupil achievement / school performance at Oak Farm and neighbouring schools, as measured by General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and Key Stage 3 (KS3) results.

7.2 Table 5

8 Special Educational Needs

8.1 Oak Farm Community School houses one of six resourced provisions in the county for secondary age pupils with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia). Pupils placed in the provision by the authority attend most of the mainstream classes but have access to intensive literacy programmes, homework classes and other support to meet their individual needs. There is a need for this provision to remain within the area.

9 Community and Extended Services

9.1 Oak Farm became a pilot extended school in 2005 and is now an integral member of the emerging Rushmoor Extended Services partnership. The school offers an extensive, varied and much valued programme of learning opportunities for its community and beyond in partnership with other educational establishments, agencies and authorities, including the County Council.

9.2 Recommendations within this report refer to the need to consider carefully the impact school closure might have on community and extended services and how, in the event of any decision to close the school, such provision may continue.

10 Rushmoor and Hart 14 - 19 strategy group

10.1 Recent and ongoing developments in the secondary curriculum at Key Stage 4 have seen Oak Farm playing an important part in the evolution of an innovative and flexible curriculum designed to help meet the diverse spread of needs of young people in the wider area of Rushmoor Borough and Hart District.

10.2 As part of its proposals to improve secondary, further and higher education, the Government is introducing specialised diplomas. The Rushmoor and Hart 14 - 19 Strategy Group has been leading the Rushmoor and Hart Consortium, which comprises all schools, special schools and colleges in the travel-to-learn area, towards ensuring the entitlement for all young people to the 17 new diplomas is met. In March 2007 Rushmoor and Hart 14 - 19 Consortium was successful in gaining approval to develop the IT Diploma from 2008, with the award of significant funds towards developing a joint IT infrastructure in the schools and colleges in the consortium to make the sharing of information and curriculum resources a reality. Oak Farm Community School is earmarked as a diploma delivery school and as a pilot institution for functional skills. In the second round of awards, announced on 19 March 2008, Rushmoor and Hart Consortium was also successful in gaining three further diploma lines: Construction and the Built Environment from 2009, with Engineering and Creative and Media tentatively approved for delivery from 2010.

11 Consultation

11.1 If consultations are authorised, meetings with Oak Farm Community School's governing body, staff, parents and the wider Oak Farm community will be arranged. Pupils at the school will be consulted along with local schools and other educational establishments, local councillors, the Teachers Liaison Panel, Unison, Rushmoor Borough Council, parish councils, the local Hampshire Action Team, the Learning and Skills Council, the appropriate church dioceses, the local MP and other interested parties.

12 Legal implications

12.1 None.

13 Financial implications

13.1 None.

14 Personnel implications

14.1 None.

15 Impact assessment

15.1 A full impact assessment will be undertaken, in conjunction with any authorised consultation process.

16 Crime prevention issues

16.1 Consideration of crime prevention issues will be undertaken in conjunction with any authorised consultation process.

17 Views of the Local County Councillor

17.1 The local County Councillor is aware of the recommendations in this report and his views on the possible closure of Oak Farm Community School and the related issues will be sought as part of any authorised consultation process.

18 Conclusion

18.1 Present and forecast pupil numbers at Oak Farm Community School pose a significant challenge for the school and its ability to offer pupils their entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum, and ultimately call into question the school's viability.

18.2 Existing provision at the school for community learning and extended services is valued, and important consideration needs to be given as to how such provision might be continued in the event of the school's closure.

18.3 Similar consideration needs to be given as to how innovations in Key Stage 4 curriculum provision might continue to be developed and operate on the Oak farm site as part of the Rushmoor and Hart Consortium offer.

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.

None.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

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