Eastern High Consultation Document 2013/14 12 December 2013 - 22 January 2014 This document can be made available in Braille or audio format. Information can also be made available in other community languages if needed. Please contact us on 029 2087 2720 to arrange this. Introduction Cardiff Council will be constructing a new build 11-16 Eastern High school. It is intended that this will take place in conjunction with the construction of post 16 facilities. The post 16 provision will be delivered by Cardiff and Vale College (CAVC) and potentially other providers such as St David’s College. Driving up standards in education across the city is a central priority for the Council and delivering a new build Eastern High school in a suitable location is a key element of that. The Council aims to provide children and young people with the best possible learning facilities and a state of the art new build Eastern High school co-located with post 16 provision will transform opportunities for young people. This consultation is an opportunity to learn about the site options for the new build school, to ask questions and make comments that will be considered when the Council decides how to proceed. A range of individuals and groups will be asked for their views about the proposal. Those the Council is consulting with as part of this process include the following: • Children and young people at all English-medium community schools within the proposed catchment area of Eastern High • Parents/carers of pupils attending all English-medium community schools within the proposed catchment area of Eastern High • School staff at all the English-medium community schools within the proposed catchment area of Eastern High • School Governing Bodies • Local residents • Elected Members (local Councillors, AMs and MPs) • Church in Wales and Catholic Diocesan Authority Directors • Neighbouring local authorities • Schools within a two mile radius of the current Eastern High school site • Estyn • Welsh Ministers • Police & Crime Commissioner • Regional Educational Consortium • Regional Transport Consortium • Trade Unions • Cardiff & Vale College • St David’s College • Communities First Your Views Matter Your views matter and we want you to tell us what you think. You can do this by attending one of the meetings above, and/or by completing the Consultation Response Form which can be found on page 17 of this document. How can you find out more and give your views? Meetings and drop-in sessions have been arranged where the proposal will be explained. These are provided so you can ask questions and make comments that will be recorded. You may also provide your views in writing. Eastern High Consultation Consultation High Eastern 2013/14 Document In addition, workshop sessions will be arranged with secondary and primary age children attending English-medium community schools within the proposed catchment area of Eastern High to provide an opportunity for pupils to ask questions and learn more about the proposal and give their views. 2 Details of the consultation meeting dates are given below: Nature of Consultation Date/Time Venue Public Meeting 08 Jan 2014 6.30 – 8pm Eastern Leisure Centre Drop in session 17 Dec 2013 1 – 3pm St Mellons Library Drop in session 18 Dec 2013 2 – 4pm Llanrumney Library Drop in session 19 Dec 2013 11 – 1pm Rumney Library Drop in session 07 Jan 2014 5 – 7 pm Eastern Leisure Centre Drop in session 09 Jan 2014 5 – 7pm St Mellons Library Drop in session 13 Jan 2014 5 – 7pm Rumney Library Drop in session 15 Jan 2014 5 – 7pm Eastern Leisure Centre Drop in session 17 Jan 2014 11 – 1 pm Llanrumney Library Drop in session 18 Jan 2014 10 – 1pm Eastern Leisure Centre Background to the proposal On the 18 January 2013 the Council published a statutory notice to: • Discontinue Llanrumney High School, Ball Road, Llanrumney from August 2014 • Discontinue Rumney High School, Newport Road, Rumney from August 2014 • Establish a replacement 8FE 11-16 high school (initially) on the Rumney High School site, Newport Road, Rumney from September 2014 Additionally the Council Cabinet requested that officers undertake a full analysis of the potential sites available for the construction of a new school. No objections to the Statutory Notice were received and on 11 April 2013 the Council Cabinet approved implementation of the proposal. On the 15 May 2013 the Welsh Government Minister for Education & Skills announced that he would be formally instructing the Council to close Llanrumney High School from August 2013. In response to this instruction arrangements to close Llanrumney High school were progressed and all pupils, other than any who applied for and accepted places elsewhere, transferred to Eastern High (formerly known as Rumney High School) in September 2013, a year earlier than previously approved by the Council Cabinet with the remainder of the proposal still to be implemented as planned. Cardiff Council will be constructing a new build 11-16 Eastern High school. It is intended that this will take place in conjunction with the construction of post 16 facilities. The post 16 provision will be delivered by Cardiff and Consultation High Eastern 2013/14 Document Vale College (CAVC) and potentially other providers such as St David’s College. The 11-16 school would replace the existing facilities for Eastern High currently located on the site formerly known as the Rumney High School site. It is also proposed to demolish the existing CAVC facilities and construct new post 16 facilities to be managed by CAVC. 3 Site options for the new build school Two sites have been selected as suitable options on which to consult. These are (in alphabetical order): • Cardiff and Vale College site located at Trowbridge Road, Rumney • The site of the former Llanrumney High School located at Ball Road, Llanrumney The target date for the new premises opening is September 2016. How were the two sites for consultation selected? A list of all potential sites in the proposed catchment area for the new school were identified and the following list of potential sites was prepared: • Llanrumney High School site • Rumney High School site • Cardiff and Vale College site • Land between Crickhowell Road and Willowbrook Drive, St Mellons • Land at areas 9-12, St Mellons • Trowbridge Mawr (Land west of Trowbridge Road, south of Greenway Park and north of Wentloog Road) Information regarding these potential sites was shared with Members, schools, parents, council officers and trade unions via a letter which included a map identifying the sites. This information was also shared with the wider community through a series of exhibitions and public drop in sessions where officers were available to answer questions. Details of the sites, evaluation criteria and scoring methodology were also published on the Council’s website. Pre-scoring The sites were assessed against a number of pass/fail criteria that had been developed by a professional multi- disciplinary team led by Council officers. This included overall size of the site, appropriate zoning for a school and recreational value to the public. Failing any single criterion was considered to preclude the site for development for the new buildings. The site known as Land between Crickhowell Road and Willowbrook Drive, St Mellons was excluded at this stage. While the site is of sufficient size to accommodate a school of the size proposed there is insufficient space to accommodate the required playing fields and a lack of a suitable alternative within close proximity of the site apart from other sites that themselves were being considered for potential development of the new buildings. Scoring Sites passing the pre-scoring assessment were then interrogated and scored on a number of criteria determined by Eastern High Consultation Consultation High Eastern 2013/14 Document the team and considered to contribute to the likely success or failure of the project. These criteria are broadly grouped into seven categories: • Physical considerations • Social considerations • Financial, Legal, Strategic considerations 4 • Access considerations • Environmental considerations • Aesthetic/Design considerations • Servicing considerations Each category was made up of a number of questions scored from 0 to 4 and each question was given a weighting depending upon how important to the success of the project it was considered. For example a question relating to the electrical servicing of the site was weighted less heavily than a question concerning the proximity to pupil population, as electricity can be provided on a site relatively easily while greater travel distances for pupils might not be so easily overcome. The scoring exercise was both broad and technical with the purpose of establishing which sites were appropriate for further consideration. The exercise concluded that the following three sites (listed in alphabetical order) could reasonably be considered as potential options for the new build school and post 16 facilities: • CAVC site • Llanrumney High School site • Rumney High School site Evaluation When considering which of these three site(s) should be the subject of consultation it was suggested that the Cabinet gives particular consideration to the following factors (listed in alphabetical order): • Access to/impact on the use of off-site playing fields, required for all three sites if the school is to grow to 11FE • Disruption to sites that would be occupied during construction • Net cost, taking account of estimated capital receipts, and thus affordability • Potential for future development including possible co-location of other community facilities • Proximity to pupil population Concerns around the use of the Rumney Recreation Ground for off site playing field provision if the new build school was on the Rumney High School site and the net cost of building the school on the Rumney High School site being in excess of resources available were considered to be disadvantages of such significance as to recommend not including it as an appropriate option for consultation.