Archived decisions


	Hampshire County Council
	Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education)		Item 5
	24 July 2008
	School Places Plan 2008
	Report of the Director of Children's Services

Contact: Ian Lawson, School Organisation Officer; telephone 01962 846350; e-mail [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 It is recommended that approval be given to the publication of the School Places Plan 2008, taking account of comments received in response to consultation on the draft plan.

2 Recommendation

That the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) approves the publication of the School Places Plan 2008.

3 School Places Plan

3.1 The 2007 revision of the School Places Plan (SPP), which replaced the School Organisation Plan, was approved by the Executive Member for Education on 11 October 2007, following consultation with schools and other interested parties.

3.2 A revised plan has been prepared with January 2008 data, to cover the period 2008/09 to 2012/13.

4 Outcome of consultation

4.1 The draft 2008 SPP was published on Hantsnet at the beginning of May 2008. Notifications that the draft was available were sent to all county councillors, other county council departments, each district and borough council in Hampshire, adjoining local authorities and organisations such as the local learning and skills council. A communication was also sent to all headteachers and chairs of governors inviting comment. A closing date of 16 June was given for responses to be submitted.

4.2 Fifteen responses were received during the consultation period. Details are given in Appendix 1 to this report, along with suggested revisions where appropriate. The opportunity has also been taken to make a few minor corrections.

4.3 The revised text of the plan is attached as Appendix 2. All changes made following consultation are shaded. If approved, the plan will be published on the County Council's web-site. All those originally consulted will be notified that it is available, along with other interested parties and organisations, including parish councils in Hampshire.

5 Corporate aims and objectives and the five outcomes

5.1. This decision supports the following Hampshire County Council priorities "Maximising well-being" and "Enhancing our quality of place" - by proposing policies for the effective management of the supply of school places.

5.2 The five outcomes specified in the Children Act are set out below, with a summary of how the plan contributes to their achievement:

· being healthy (enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle) :- by considering options which will maximise opportunities for children to walk to school, thus increasing opportunities for exercise and reducing car dependence;

· 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 a high standard of education for children in suitable buildings, where possible within their own community;

· 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 allowing for education to be provided as close to pupils' homes as reasonably practicable;

· economic well-being (not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their full potential in life) :- by ensuring that proposals will not disadvantage children and will protect equality of opportunity

6 Legal implications

6.1 None.

7 Financial implications

7.1 None.

8 Personnel implications

8.1 None.

9 Impact assessment

9.1 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

10 Crime prevention issues

10.1 The County Council's legal obligation under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to consider the impact of all the decisions it makes on the prevention of crime has been borne in mind and no issues identified.

11 Views of Local County Councillors

11.1 All county councillors were given the opportunity to comment on the draft. Responses received are summarised in Appendix 1.

12 Conclusions

12.1 As no fundamental issues were raised in the course of consultation on the draft, it is recommended that the School Places Plan 2008 be approved and published.


LINK(S) TO CORPORATE STRATEGY
	Yes	No
Hampshire safer and more secure for all		_

Maximising well-being	_

Enhancing our quality of place	_

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.

Responses from consultees, as listed in Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Draft School Places Plan 2008

Responses to consultation

Summary of comment	Suggested response
Head of Planning Policy and Development, Fareham Borough Council Suggested update to wording of text relating to Fareham.	Amendments made to page 35.
Councillor Nigel Clarke (Ringwood and Sopley) Made observations on the problems of forecasting pupil numbers deriving from projected household formation rates and general demographic trends.	Comments noted, and will be borne in mind as the forecasting model evolves. No changes to the plan needed.
Principal Policy Planner, East Hampshire District Council Suggested update to wording of text relating to East Hampshire.	Amendments made to page 31.
Councillor Jackie Porter (Itchen Valley) Comments on accuracy of numbers on roll, and the impact of parental preference. Suggests that consideration be given to requirement for a possibility of a new school in the city area. Asks that more information be given relating to "education other than at school" and special school provision.	Numbers on roll checked and confirmed as accurate. Detailed local issues are the subject of ongoing discussion with Councillor Porter. No changes to plan needed, but comments concerning EOTAS and special schools will be borne in mind when the draft 2009 plan is prepared.
Head Teacher, Copythorne Primary School Raised query about capacity of school.	Capacity quoted checked and confirmed as accurate. Explanation given to head teacher. No changes to plan needed.
Headteacher, Western Primary School, Winchester Concern about the impact of housing development in the school's area on future numbers and consequent pressure on admissions.	Concerns being discussed with the headteacher. The situation regarding forecast increases in primary numbers in the Winchester area is the subject of detailed consideration by officers. Conclusions will be shared with the schools involved and will be fed into 2009 revision to the plan.
Headteachers and chairs of Governors of Peel Common Infant and Junior Schools, Gosport Suggest that Peel Common schools should be the designated schools for the Daedalus development in Lee-on-the-Solent.	Suggestion will be discussed with the schools. No changes to the plan needed at this stage.
Planning Policy Section, Gosport Borough Council Suggested update to wording of text relating to Gosport.	Amendments made to page 37.
Strategic Planning Section, Winchester City Council Suggests that the plan should take more account of proposals in the South East Plan and the City Council's emerging Core strategy. Concern about pressure on primary school places in central Winchester. Some update to wording required.	Amendments made to page 49. Details will be discussed with City Council officers as part of consultation on Core strategy options.
Maria Miller MP (Basingstoke) In relation to development in Basingstoke, requests details of the assessment made of whether the capacity of schools will ensure that a local school is accessible to families based on where they will live in the future.	Detailed response sent. No change to plan required.
Councillor Karen Barratt (City Councillor for St Paul Ward) Concern at impact of development in area served by Western Primary School.	Comments as for Councillor Jackie Porter.
Spatial Strategy Group, Environment Department Suggests updates to text in Section C to take account of the current position with the Structure Plan and the South East Plan.	Amendments made to text on pages 15 - 18.
Planning Policy Section, Havant Borough Council Detailed comments relating to emerging Core Strategy and suggests changes to text to clarify some issues.	Amendments made to text on page 41. Other issues will be discussed with Borough Council officers as part of the consultation on the Core Strategy.
Fareham Borough Council (Executive) a) Account should be taken of proposals in the South East Plan and latest land availability assessment in forecasting the need for school places. b) The County Council should continue working jointly with Fareham and Winchester to identify sites for additional primary schools and a new secondary school to serve the Whiteley area c) The County Council should seek developers' contributions for housing that would add to the requirement for additional school places, especially at Whiteley. d) In view of continuing reliance on schools in Sarisbury, Park Gate, Locks Heath and Titchfield Common to serve Whiteley, it is premature for the County Council to dispose of land at Heath Road that is currently designated for a school. e) Imbalance of distribution of secondary provision in the Borough results in unsustainable travel patterns, and concern about size of Brookfield school.	No changes to plan needed. a) This is dealt with in section C1 (page 15 ff). b) Initial discussions have already taken place. Opportunities will be assessed as detailed proposals emerge. c) This is dealt with in section A4 (page 11). d) There is no requirement for an additional primary school in this area. Disposal is for the Executive member (Policy and Resources) to consider. e) This will be considered as part of the strategy for Building Schools for the Future.
Councillor Carol Leversha Comments concerning the omission of reference to school performance, numbers of surplus places in schools of different category, and the number of SEN pupils at each school. Clarification sought about references to hearing impairment review, post-16 numbers, consultations about the future of Basingstoke School Plus and provision for children with Aspergers Syndrome.	A response to each comment has been given. Some minor changes have been made to the plan, particularly to clarify the change in the number of sixth forms.

Minor amendments suggested by officers	1. Corrections made to January 2008 numbers on roll of The Arnewood and Oaklands Schools (to include sixth form numbers), and consequent changes to totals quoted in New Forest and Havant areas. 2. Section B (page 13) amended to record statutory proposals published or approved since the consultation draft was published.

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