Statutory!Consultation! Report! February!2015!
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! ! Stakeholder!Engagement!and!Statutory!Consultation! Report! February!2015! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Contents! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Pages! ! Executive!Summary!! ! ! ! ! ! 3! ! Key!Findings! ! ! ! ! ! ! 4! ! Recommendations! ! ! ! ! ! 4!%!5! ! Introduction! ! ! ! ! ! ! 6! ! Background! ! ! ! ! ! ! 7! ! Consultation!Methodology! ! ! ! ! 8!%!11! ! Outcomes!of!the!Consultation!! ! ! ! 12!%!15! ! Appendices!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 16!%!30! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2! ! Executive!Summary! The! consultation! process! for! Deer!Park!School!commenced!on!Monday!19th!January!2015! and!concluded!on!Monday!16th!February!2015.! A!total! of!21!consultation!responses!were!submitted.!! Two!drop%in!Consultation!Events!were!held!on:! • Wednesday!4th!February,!2015:!3.00pm!–!5.00pm!! • Tuesday!10th!February,!2015:!5.00pm!–!7.00pm!! ! Both!Consultation!Events!were!held!at!The!New!Pavillion,!Dancer!Road!in!Richmond.!! ! The!two!meetings!attracted!a!combined!total!of!thirty%seven!attendees.!! A! repeated! statement! made! by! local! parents! during! the! Statutory! Consultation! (who! supported!the!establishment!of!Deer!Park!School)!was!that!it!would!give!them!more!choice.!! A!repeated!statement!made!by!local!residents!during!the!Statutory! Consultation!period! was!that!–!in!their!opinion!–!the!London!House!site!was!unsuitable!due!to!its!proximity!to!a! main!road,!and!that!there!was!no!evidence!that!a!new!primary!school!was!needed!in!the! North!Richmond!area.!! Ultimately! 60%! of! the! responses! to! the! statutory! consultation! supported! Bellevue! Place! Education!Trust!entering!into!a!Funding!Agreement!with!the!Secretary!of!State!for!Education! for!Deer!Park!School.! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 3! ! Key!Findings! Throughout!the!period!of!Statutory!Consultation!for!Deer!Park!School,!respondents,!who! were!parents,!expressed!their!support!for!the:! • Proposed!vision!and!ethos!of!the!school!! • Motivation!of!the!proposer!group:!Bellevue!Place!Education!Trust!! Key!Findings!from!the!Statutory!Consultation!are:! 1. Support!and!demand!for!the!establishment!of!Deer!Park!School!was!evidenced!by! parents!who,!during!the!consultation!period!in!early!2015,!expressed!their!support! for!the!establishment!of!the!new!school!–!including!through!their!attendance!at!two! Consultation!Events.!! 2. Local! residents,! in! particular! those! who! live! on! Raleigh! Road! which! is! situated! behind/to!the!north!of!the!proposed!site:!London!House,!have!been!opposed!to!the! establishment! of! the! school! –! on! that! site.! Their! repeated! reasons! and! concerns! have!been:! • The!Lower!Mortlake!Road!is!a!“very&busy”!road!which!raises!safety!concerns;! • (In! their! opinion)! there! is! no! evidence! that! the! school! is! needed! in! that! particular!vicinity!of!the!London!Borough!of!Richmond%upon%Thames;! • The!traffic!volume!and!parking!requirements!at!pick%up!and!drop%off!times! will!lead!to!an!increase!in!pollution.! 3.! Certain!local!residents!and!(to!a!lesser!extent)!parents!questioned!why!the!school! was! being! established! in! the! North! Richmond! ward! as! ‘Deer! Park! School’! rather! than,! as! was! originally! reported! in! 2014:! in! the! St.! Margarets! ward! as! ‘Richmond! Bridge’!Primary!School.!! 4.! Certain!local!parents!and!residents!enquired!whether!the!school!had!“the!backing”! of!the!London!Borough!of!Richmond%upon%Thames.!! ! Recommendations!! Bellevue!Place!Education!Trust!should!actively!seek!to!assure!members!of!the!immediate! community,!particularly!those!who!live!close!to!the!proposed!site!%London!House,!that!it! would!take!account!of!specific!concerns!about!a!potential!increase!in!traffic!volume!that! could! arise! due! to! the! establishment! of! the! school! in! a! Travel! Plan.! This! will! include! considerations! made! in! the! Traffic! Impact! Assessment! that! will! be! carried! out! in! partnership!with!the!EFA,!as!part!of!the!remodeling!of!the!London!House!site,!which!would! help!to!clarify!any!concerns.! ! 4! ! Bellevue!Place!Education!Trust!should!plan!to!work!in!partnership!with!local!residents!in! order! to! demonstrate! how! they! will! ensure! that! the! demand! for! parking,! during! school! drop%off!and!pick%up!times!will!be!appropriately!managed!and!monitored.!! Bellevue! Place! Education! Trust! –! in! partnership! with! the! London! Borough! of! Richmond% upon%Thames!could!consider!promoting!–!including!through!social!media!–!how!there!is!a! statistically! proven! need! for! more! primary! school! places! in! the! North! Richmond! area,! comparable!to!that!in!the!St.!Margaret!ward/vicinity.!! Bellevue! Place! Education! Trust! should! encourage! the! local! authority! to! demonstrate! –! including!through!social!media!–!that!it!is!a!proactive!supporter!and!advocate!of!Deer!Park! School.!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 5! ! Introduction! ! All! proposed! Free! Schools! which! move! into! their! pre%opening! phase! are! obliged! to! undertake!a!period!of!Statutory!Consultation!–!the!key!aims!of!which!are:! • To!ensure!stakeholders!are!informed!about!the!Free!School!proposal;! • To! gauge! support! from! all! audiences! by! highlighting! the! distinct! offer! of! the! Free! School;! • To!ensure!all!identified!stakeholders!receive!information!about!the!Free!School;! • To!offer!all!stakeholders!a!range!of!opportunities!to!feed!back!their!views;! • To! reassure! stakeholders! that! the! introduction! of! the! Free! School! will! have! a! positive!impact!on!pupils,!and!the!wider!community.! This!consultation!must!comply!with!The!Academies!Act!2010!and!The!Equality!Act!2010.! ! Deer! Park! School! will! initially! open! with! two! Reception! classes! in! September! 2015.! The! school!will!then!grow!organically!to!its!full!capacity!of!420!pupils.!! London!House,!situated!on!Lower!Mortlake!Road!in!North!Richmond,!has!been!secured!by! the! Education! Funding! Agency! on! behalf! of! Deer! Park! School! and! will! be! redeveloped,! subject!to!planning!permission,!to!offer!a!high!quality,!safe!learning!environment!with!state% of%the%art!facilities!for!its!pupils.!! Figure!1!–!London!House!–!situated!on!Lower!Mortlake!Road!in!North!Richmond! ! Bellevue! Place! Education! Trust! plans! to! open! Deer! Park! School! in! temporary! accommodation,! as! close! as! possible! to! London! House.! A! temporary! site! is! currently,! in! February! 2015,! being! explored! by! the! Education! Funding! Agency! on! the! school’s! behalf.! Ultimately,!it!is!intended!then!that!by!Autumn!2015,!Deer!Park!School!will!be!completely! open!to!the!community!it!serves!and!will!seek!to!share!its!resources!with!others!within!the! broader!South!West!London!community.!! ! 6! ! Essentially,!it!will!seek!to!create!relationships!with!its!neighbouring!schools,!sharing!learning! and!teaching!resources!where!possible.! ! Background!! Demographic! projections! published! by! the! GLA! in! 2013! indicated! that! between! the! years! 2014! –! 2017! the! population! of! 0! –! 14! years! olds! was! projected! to! increase! by! 5%! in! the! North!Richmond!ward!(where!the!proposed!site!for!Deer!Park!School!is!located).!During!the! same!period!the!population!of!5!–!9!year!olds!was!projected!to!increase!by!almost!10%!in! that!particular!ward.!! In!January!2015!the!Richmond!and!Twickenham!Times!reported!how!the!London!Borough!of! Richmond%upon%Thames! were! looking! at! permanent! solutions! to! address! the! localised! pressure!for!school!places,!including!through!“the&expansion&of&some&schools&and&the&free& schools&programme”.&! Councillor!Paul!Hodgins,!the!cabinet!member!for!schools,!was!quoted!as!stating:! "It&is¬&enough&simply&to&move&from&year&to&year&adding&temporary&classes&when&they&are& needed&=&we&need&to&find&permanent&solutions”.! A!report!in!the!same!publication!in!2014!(the!year!in!which!the!application!for!Deer!Park! School! was! submitted)! outlined! how! a! third! of! the! borough's! primary! places! are! at! its! sixteen! church! schools,! thirteen! of! which! were! evidently! oversubscribed.! It! was! reported! that!this!over%subscription!was!particularly!severe!in!areas!including!Mortlake.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 7! ! Consultation!Methodology! The! consultation! process! for! Deer!Park!School!commenced!on!Monday!19th!January!2015! and!concluded!on!Monday!16th!February!2015.! A!project!team!worked!to!identify! a!full!list!of! stakeholders,! including! local!primary!and! secondary!schools,! local!community! groups,!faith!groups!and!officers/elected!members! from!the!London!Borough!of!Richmond%upon%Thames!(see!Appendix!B!–!page!17).!!! The! consultation! process! utilised! a! wide! range! of! strategies! and! deliverables! to!ensure! that!each! target! audience! had! a! number! of! opportunities!to!see! information!about!the! school!and!were!able!to!respond!in!a!range!of!ways.!For!example,!copies!of!a!consultation! booklet!were!distributed!electronically!to!key!stakeholders!including!local:!! • Primary!and!secondary!schools;! • Colleges!and!Universities;! • Daycare!establishments;! • Community!groups;! • Faith!groups;! • Teaching!Unions;! • Ward!councillors!and!local!MP’s.!! The!consultation!booklet!was!also!delivered!to!the!following!residential!households/streets! which!surround!the!proposed!site,!London!House:!! • Lower!Mortlake!Road! • Raleigh!Road! • Windham!Road! • Stanmore!Gardens! • St.!Paul’s!Road! • Pagoda!Avenue! • Crofton!Terrace! • Sheendale!Road! • Victoria!Villas! • Dee!Road! • Trinity!Road! • Stanmore!Road! • Dancer!Road! • The!southern!vicinity!of!Sandycombe!Road! • The!southern!vicinity!of!North!Road! • The!western!vicinity!of!Lower!Richmond!Road!