Culham Consultation Report

In the case of the closure of a rural primary school, prior to publishing a statutory notice and proposal proposers must, under section 16(1) of EIA 2006, carry out a consultation. DfE Statutory Guidance on Opening and closing maintained schools sets out who must, and who should, be consulted. This consultation was held from 10 June to 22 July 2019, and met the requirements of the Guidance.

The consultation attracted 23 responses. The county council and school took into account the issues raised in that consultation in developing the proposal.

Comment OCC response Negative impact on the local community Small village schools are The Europa bilingual school is also based in important to their communities. Culham, and is continuing to attract young Without a school, future parents families to the village due to the specific type of will not want to move to the education it provides, although it is recognised village, which will become a that this may not suit all children. dormer village. The closure of Culham Parochial CE Primary School may therefore deter some families from moving to Culham. However, Clifton Hampden CE Primary School will remain to serve both villages. In addition, Culham village is in the catchment of Sutton Courtenay School. The village has no other (non- The Culham school building is owned by a church) meeting place. It has no charitable trust (Diocesan Trustees Oxford Ltd), village hall, post office, pub or and so the decision on whether to keep the shop. The school is a building open to the community would be made community hub and a focus for separately to this consultation process. the community. The proposed merger of the two The majority of pupils at Clifton Hampden schools will place more pressure School (as with Culham School) do not live in on Clifton Hampden as a the school’s designated area and so travel from community. outside the village to the school. While there will be an increase in pupils attending and travelling to Clifton Hampden School, the school has adapted its accommodation to increase its capacity so that children on roll at Culham School can be educated at Clifton Hampden School from September 2019 (while the statutory proposal is being consulted on). A School Travel Plan is also being developed by the Executive Headteacher of Culham and Clifton Hampden Schools (in consultation with OCC Transport staff) to effectively manage transport arrangements and safety in preparation for the additional children who will be educated at the school from September. Parents are being reminded to park considerately in Clifton Hampden at school drop off and pick up times. Negative impact on educational standards in the area Achievements are lower at The proposed merger would improve Culham than Clifton Hampden, educational opportunities and standards of which may affect standards at children living in this area. The Thames Bridge the latter. There are also Church of England Federation would be able to children with SEN and additional concentrate resources in one school rather than needs at Culham, which may spread them across two separate schools. This have an impact on teachers and would improve outcomes for pupils at both children at Clifton Hampden. existing schools. While pupil numbers would rise at Clifton Just because a school is small Hampden, it would remain a much smaller than does not mean it should be average primary school. closed. Some children cope Class sizes are higher than has been the case better in small schools. previously at the two schools, but still in line with other primary schools, and compliant with Class sizes at Clifton Hampden class size legislation. Currently, the combined would increase, which would schools’ pupils are grouped flexibly for different lower educational standards. activities. In most cases class sizes are lower than 30, but for some Key Stage 2 topic work, pupils are in classes of 31 or 32, staffed with two teachers and teaching assistants. The closure of Culham Nursery The Nursery did not attract sufficient pupils to has resulted in a lack of free be financially viable. Parents living in Culham early years provision in Culham, who have concerns about accessing their free with parents who cannot drive entitlement should contact the Oxfordshire unable to access the free Family Information Service entitlement. ([email protected]), who can provide advice and support on finding early years provision in the area. How pupils will be accommodated - concerns Clifton Hampden does not have An assessment of the Clifton Hampden School the physical space in site has been carried out by the OCC Property classrooms or the school team following reconfiguration of the school’s building to accommodate accommodation, and the school’s capacity has Culham pupils, and does not been assessed as suitable for 105 pupils have the facilities to meet the (equivalent to a 0.5 form entry school). This is needs of children with SEN. sufficient to accommodate the pupils from Culham School who will be educated at Clifton Hampden School from September 2019 pending the outcome of the statutory consultation. Clifton Hampden has a Special Educational Needs Coordinator who works closely with all the staff to provide effective support for all pupils, including those with additional needs and EHCP’s. All schools by law are required to provide this support and Clifton Hampden does this effectively. There would be increased All teachers can be expected to teach and pressure on teaching staff at deliver the curriculum effectively in line with The Clifton Hampden. Staff to Teachers Standards and legislation regarding student ratios should be class sizes. In the first instance, all staff will be maintained, and Culham staff redeployed to Clifton Hampden but in the longer redeployed to Clifton Hampden. term, as with all schools, staffing structures will need to be reviewed regularly to ensure correct ratios for teaching and other activities. There will be fewer after school This is not the case. activities and classes at Clifton Hampden. There is limited space on the Neither a temporary classroom nor an Clifton Hampden site to expand. extension is required at Clifton Hampden A temporary classroom would School as the reconfiguration of the school’s mean that playground/PE space existing accommodation has been completed to would be reduced or removed. provide the necessary additional capacity to There may also be issues with accommodate the additional Culham pupils who seating for lunch and the will be taught at Clifton Hampden School from breakfast club. September. An extension would be required. There may be logistical issues will this in relation to building ownership and planning permission. Traffic / transport / parking issues Closing the school will lead to The majority of children currently attending more traffic in Clifton Hampden, Culham School live outside the village, mainly and transporting children to in Berinsfield, Sutton Courtenay and Abingdon, school will be difficult for so it is not expected that closure would lead to parents. a significant increase in either travel distances for most children or the use of cars to travel to school. Some children may transfer to other schools closer to their homes, which would reduce traffic, while other children will need to travel further, so the net effect is therefore The route from Culham to uncertain. Clifton Hampden or other From September 2019, children attending schools in the area is too Culham School will be educated at Clifton dangerous to walk. There may Hampden School, and will be given the option also be safety issues with more of free bus travel from Culham to Clifton children walking and crossing Hampden at the beginning and end of the the road near Clifton Hampden school day. school. If Culham School is closed, pupils currently on roll who transfer to Clifton Hampden will be provided with free home to school transport until they leave the school. Longer term, free transport will be provided for children under 8 who have to travel more than 2 There is limited parking at miles and children of 8 and over who have to Clifton Hampden School. This travel more than 3 miles to the nearest school presents a safety risk for with places, or if there is no safe walking route. parents, children and local When there are issues raised over the possible residents, and makes safety of a walking route the Admissions Team transporting children to school will arrange for an initial assessment by the more difficult. Additional parking Integrated Transport Unit and if necessary a full is required. risk assessment by Road Safety. The Executive Headteacher of Culham and Clifton Hampden Schools is working with OCC Transport staff to develop a School Travel Plan, in order to ensure the safety of travel arrangements to and around Clifton Hampden Using more buses and cars to School. Parking for Clifton Hampden School is transport children is not available at the village hall (located opposite the environmentally friendly and school) and at the social club (a short walk sets a bad example. away from the school). There is a pedestrian crossing near the school to help pupils cross the road safely if walking from the social club or elsewhere in the village. Parents have been informed of these parking options and have been reminded not to park near local residents’ driveways when taking their children to and from school. Alternatives to closure Culham’s problems are short The difficulties with low numbers have been term and can be overcome. sustained. Although pupil numbers grew in the Standards could be improved, mid-2010s, at no point in the last 10 years has and numbers are likely to the school been more than 80% full, and on increase going forward. Further average it has been less than 2/3 full. Culham work is needed to determine the received a ‘Requires Improvement’ rating at its school’s financial outlook and last two Ofsted inspections (in February 2017 whether this would support and May 2019), and although improvements ongoing provision. were noted in the recent Ofsted, the Federation responsible for both schools considers merger would help to sustain higher standards. Due to declining birth rates, pupil forecasts do not suggest a significant increase in demand for places in the future. While the draft SODC Local Plan proposes large-scale housing developments in the surrounding area, this is not yet confirmed, and there is no timescale for significant local housing growth. Without an increase in pupil numbers, the school’s financial viability is unlikely to improve. More could be done to advertise The school’s details are listed on the Council’s the school. public website, along with all other state schools in the county, and parents are able to access this information when selecting their school references and submitting their school application. Instead of closure, Culham and Merging the schools on split sites would have a Clifton Hampden could be negative impact on the financial viability of both merged on split sites (so schools, as by becoming one school only one creating ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ lump sum payment would be due, however two schools, or teaching different sites would need to be maintained and staffed. subjects at different sites). This is therefore not considered to be a feasible alternative to closure. Culham’s catchment area could As the majority of current pupils at Culham live be increased. outside the designated (‘catchment’) area of the school, it is not considered that increasing the designated area would attract significantly more pupils. Any increase in pupils that did occur due to a change in designated area would potentially have a destabilising effect on other nearby schools. Culham could merge with a Culham and Clifton Hampden schools are larger school in Abingdon, or it already federated as part of the Thames Bridge could join a Multi-Academy Church of England Federation. They currently Trust. share a headteacher and a number of activities are carried out jointly between the two schools. Merging Culham School with a different, larger school would therefore be impractical, and would be lead to more upheaval for pupils. As pupil numbers in the area are not expected to grow significantly, conversion to academy status is unlikely to increase demand for places at Culham school. Academy sponsors are likely to be unwilling to take on a school with a sustained budget deficit. The school could remain Keeping the school site ‘dormant’ on a long- ‘dormant’, and the building used term basis would require continued by the community, and re- maintenance costs without the per pupil funding opening the school becomes currently received by the school, so would not viable. be a financially viable solution. Pupil forecasts demonstrate that numbers in the area are unlikely to increase significantly in the future. The school building is owned by a charitable trust and they, rather than the Council, would be responsible for the final decision on the future of the school building and site as a community facility. Opening a nursery or private Culham school hosted a pre-school for many pre-school at one or both years and subsequently offered their own schools could improve their nursery places for two years but this did not financial viability. prove permanently viable. The Council offers advice to schools wishing to consider opening nursery provision and this would cover a range of factors including staffing, accommodation and whether there is a shortfall in provision locally. Funds for expansion to accommodate an extra year group are extremely limited. More work could be done with The potential for additional provision in the Europa School and village by Europa School and Kiddylinguistics Kiddylinguistics to better could be an option in future, however this does integrate these two schools. not have a direct impact on the current statutory proposal to close Culham School, as Europa provides specialist bilingual education and this style of learning may not be suitable for all children. Wider school organisation and capacity of good schools in the area to accommodate displaced pupils - concerns about capacity There is limited capacity at other There is sufficient spare capacity at other local schools in the area schools, including Clifton Hampden, Sutton Courtenay CE Primary School, Abbey Woods Academy in Berinsfield and Dorchester St Birinus CE Primary School, as well as a number of schools in Abingdon itself. As of May 2019, there were 24% spare primary school places overall in the Abingdon East planning area (which comprises Culham Parochial CE Primary School, Clifton Hampden CE Primary School, Abbey Woods Academy, Dorchester St Birinus CE School and Europa School). The proposed merger of the two schools would reduce this to 22% spare capacity, still a significant surplus of places. Wider school organisation and capacity of good schools in the area to accommodate displaced pupils - other schools in the area should accommodate pupils Culham pupils should be Parents of children at Culham will have the accommodated between other choice of which school to send their children to. schools in the area, rather than There is no requirement for all children to move moving all children to Clifton to Clifton Hampden. OCC Admissions staff will Hampden. Europa, Sutton support parents in finding an alternative school Courtenay and Dorchester St for their child in the event of closure. Birinus should be considered. The Europa School provides bilingual Resources should not be education, and as a result may not be suitable invested in expanding Clifton for all children, particularly older children Hampden when there are without a bilingual background who would be schools nearby with spare joining the school in a later year. places. Following reconfiguration of the accommodation at Clifton Hampden, expansion of the school is not judged to be necessary. Viability of school(s) Will the Clifton Hampden A separate consultation into altering the catchment area be changed to designated area of Clifton Hampden CE incorporate Culham in the future Primary School to incorporate Culham will be to ensure long-term viability? carried out in autumn/winter 2019/20. A decision on the future catchment area will be made in February 2020, by which time the outcome of the proposal to close Culham Parochial will be known. Any change in catchment would apply for the 2021 admissions round. Currently, Culham village is also included in the designated area for Sutton Courtenay CE Primary School.