Report to Cabinet

Secondary Education Provision – Proposal to expand North School

Portfolio Holder: Cllr A Chadderton, Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years

Officer Contact: Andrew Sutherland, Director Education and Early Years

Report Author: Paula Green, Education Provision Manager Ext. 3158

23 April 2018

Reason for Decision

Oldham Council has a statutory duty to provide sufficient school places within its area. There is a forecasted shortfall in the secondary sector from September 2019. In order to meet this demand it is envisaged that the following project will be needed;

 One secondary school expansion

Recommendations

It is recommended that Cabinet;

 Agrees the scheme for expansion outlined in this report; proposal for expansion at .

 Notes the programme of expansion will be funded by the Education Basic Needs funding allocated to Council.

 Delegates authority to the Director of Education and Early Years to develop, consult, procure and arrange for the execution by the Director of Legal Services of any relevant contracts and incidental and ancillary documentation, in accordance with the agreed school expansions programme.

Cabinet 23 April 2018

Education Provision

1 Background

1.1 There continues to be an increase in demand and significant pressure on school places in the borough. This is as a result of an increasing birth rate, new housing developments and a growing number of families moving into the borough, including high numbers of International New Arrivals.

1.2 As a result of the increase in primary numbers from 2011 onwards, there is now a significant shortfall of secondary school places across the borough as of September 2019 and continuing in to future years.

1.3 In September 2017, secondary demand has been met with a number of short term expansions of year group sizes in a number of schools and a bulge cohort provided by Oasis and accommodated at the former UTC building.

1.4 In September 2018 Oasis Leesbrook Academy is due to open at the former UTC building providing 150 year 7 places.

1.5 School capacity and future projections information is submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) annually. The information on this return determines the basic needs funding allocation calculated by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) annually. The EFA has allocated sums of £15.4m for 2017/18, £22.8m for 2018/19 and £10m for 2019/20 (a total of £48.2m) for providing capital works programmes to satisfy the need for school places under the Basic Needs Funding Programme.

1.6 The process for identifying school/settings expansion projects has been followed as set out in The Education Provision Strategy that was agreed by Cabinet in August 2016.

1.7 There are a number of schemes that have been discussed at the Education Provision Group (EPG), which seek to address the pressure and satisfy demand in the borough, ensuring our statutory duty of providing sufficient school places is adhered to. It is now necessary to establish and work towards delivery of a structured programme of works and identification of possible sites. This will give the greatest certainty over the Council’s ability to deliver the required number of places. The schemes for recommendation have been chosen due to their priority on the decision making matrix (appendix 20.3) (as per the Education Strategy that is a background paper to this report).

2 Current Position

2.1 In the secondary sector there is current place pressure in Key Stage 3 (Year 7-9). In Year 8 only The has vacancies and in Year 9 only has vacancies. There are sufficient places in Year 10 and Year 11 across the borough.

2.2 Expansions have already been agreed at The Oldham Academy North (60 additional places per year group) and Crompton House C of E Academy (112 additional places per year group). These expansions will be complete during the academic year 2019/2020.

2.3 will open in a newly built school on the former Breezehill School site in September 2020 and provide a total of 1500 school places (300 places per year group).

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2.4 In addition to already approved expansions, forecasts show that by September 2019 an additional 110 places will be needed in year 7 and subsequently across all other year groups. By 2022 there will be 150 places needed in year 7 and subsequently across all other year groups. In total this means another 5 forms of entry is needed in the secondary sector by 2022. This does not include any surplus places (government recommends 3-5% surplus places).

2.5 The opportunity to expand existing secondary schools has been evaluated using the Secondary Schools Priority Matrix. Using the matrices criterion the potential schools for expansion are the following in priority order; North Chadderton, The Radclyffe and Hathershaw College.

2.6 North Chadderton is a good school and has a planned admission number (PAN) of 240. There is possibility to expand on land there. The cost for an additional 30 places per year group would cost circa £3.4m.

2.7 The Radclyffe is an outstanding school and although it has a PAN of 300 already, there are some areas of developable external space. The cost for an additional 30 places per year group would cost circa £3-3.5m.

2.8 Hathershaw College is a good school and has a PAN of 210. The site has large playing fields that could be used for expansion but many buildings on the school site require refurbishment which would increase the capital costs. The cost for an additional 30 places per year group would cost circa £3-3.5 (plus costs for refurbishment of existing buildings).

2.9 All other secondary school sites are too small for expansion and have limited external developable space (or are already being expanded on; The Oldham Academy North and Crompton House C of E Academy.)

3 Options

3.1 Option 1: Do nothing – this will mean that the LA is in breach of its statutory duty to provide sufficient school places across the borough.

3.2 Option 2: Approve the school expansion as proposed above at North Chadderton School. North Chadderton Secondary School is the number 1 priority for expansion on the expansion matrix taking in to account oversubscription, site feasibility and cost effectiveness.

4 Preferred Option - Option 2

4.1 Agree the scheme for expansion at North Chadderton School.

5 Consultation

5.1 The above option has been developed in discussion with the Education Provision Group.

5.2 The following consultation process has been followed according to statutory legislation;  A consultation process has been carried out for four weeks from 19 February 2018 – 19 March 2018 seeking views of all mandatory stakeholders and interested parties.

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 A fast track application has been made via the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC).

6 Financial Implications

6.1 Capital Implications

6.1.1 The cost of the expansion of North Chadderton School will be capital expenditure and will be a charge against the Economy, Skills and Neighbourhoods capital programme. The total costs of the works are currently estimated at £3.4m and will be financed from the Council’s Basic Need Grant Allocation.

6.1.2 The Council has a total Basic Needs Grant allocation of £48.1m for the period 2017/20 (£15.4m 2017/18, £22.8m 18/19 and £9.9m 19/20). The allocation of £25.527m (including this proposal) and the remaining amount of £25.570m are shown in the table below:-

Capital Project Basic Needs Grant Allocation (£m) Crompton House 8.000 Oldham Academy North 5.000 Feasibility Costs 0.100 Greenfield CP 1.862 and Crompton 5.000 Holy Trinity 0.250 Oasis Academy – Dining Room 0.575 Oasis Academy – UTC adaptations 0.350 Kingfisher (Expansion) 0.750 (Laurel Bank) 0.240 North Chadderton Expansion 3.400 Total Allocated 25.527 Total Grant 48.097 Amount Available for Allocation 22.570

6.1.3 The ESFA may use a portion of the remaining Basic Needs funding to cover the cost of building the new Oasis Free School (Oasis Leesbrook). The exact amount for the build costs and initial fit out of the school are not currently known. However, there will be ongoing negotiations with the ESFA and the impact on the Council’s available Basic Need funding will be reported once known.

(James Postle)

6.2 Revenue implications

6.2.1 The revenue funding of the school expansion will have to be met from the Dedicated Schools Grant.

6.2.2 The LA will not receive any additional funding in the Dedicated Schools Grant for the estimated increase of 30 pupils in 2019/20 as the DSG settlement will be based on the October census and will not be re-determined in the financial year.

6.2.3 The cost for 30 new pupils for September – March will be £0.069m. This will be funded from the growth fund which has £369,823 in 2018/19 still to be allocated in future years.

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6.2.4 As part of the DfE continuing work on the national funding formula for schools, they are developing the growth factor, to allocate funding to enable local authorities to respond to significant in – year pupil growth. For 2018/19 the growth factor has been allocated to Oldham on the basis of what Oldham planned to spend on its growth from its 2017-18 dedicated schools grant, because it assumes future growth will follow the same pattern as historic growth. The allocation for Oldham is £1.141m.

6.2.5 The DfE are considering options for funding growth in 2019//20 and beyond, therefore at this stage we do not know how much funding will be received after 2018/19. The table below assumes future growth funding will be allocated as it is currently but this may change following the review of growth funding in the National Funding Formula.

6.2.6 Although there appears to be £229k surplus funds in 2019/20, after the allocation of the current agreed basic need growth of £0.843m (£0.912m with the inclusion of this growth at North Chadderton) as advised above the assumed funding allocation of £1.141m may be reduced significantly. In such circumstances the allocation of growth as outlined in the table would be unaffordable. It would therefore be essential to review the method by which growth funding is allocated to schools within the available resources.

6.2.7 The table overleaf shows the estimated cost of growth funding.

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Additional Cost Cost Cost Cost Cost School Places 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 £ £ £ £ £ Existing Approved Growth

Yew Tree 30 48,778 0 0 0 0 Greenfield 10 16,259 0 0 0 0 East Crompton St Georges 30 48,778 48,778 48,778 0 0 Mills Hill 30 48,778 48,778 48,778 0 0 Propps Hall 10 16,259 16,259 16,259 0 0 Watersheddings 15 24,389 24,389 24,389 0 0 Oasis Academy Limeside 30 48,778 48,778 48,778 48,778 0 St Herberts 5 8,130 8,130 8,130 8,130 8,130 Holy Trinity Dob Cross 5 8,130 8,130 0 0 0 Blue Coat 47 107,738 107,738 0 0 0 Crompton House 28 66,477 0 0 0 0 North Chadderton 30 68,769 0 0 0 0 10 22,923 22,923 22,923 22,923 0 Oasis Leesbrooke 65 106,428 0 0 0 0

Greenfield School 30 0 48,778 48,778 48,778 48,778 Crompton House 112 0 323,215 323,215 323,215 323,215 Oldham Academy North 60 0 137,538 137,538 137,538 137,538 10 22,9230 0 0 0 0

To be allocated in future 346,900 years Anticipated adjustment from Education and Skills Funding 131,037 Agency Total Estimated Cost 280 1,141,475 843,434 727,566 589,362 North Chadderton 60 0 68,769 68,769 68,769 68,769 TOTAL 512 1,141,475 912,203 796,335 658,131 586,430

Allocated Growth assuming same allocation 1,141,475 1,141,475 912,203 796,335 658,131

as 18-19

Surplus 0 229,272 115,868 138,204 71,701

(Liz Caygill)

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7 Legal Services Comments

7.1 The Council has a statutory duty to ensure that there are sufficient places to provide for appropriate education.

7.2 Legal Services will provide legal advice and support as and when required to do so to support the proposed expansion programme and will advise on the consultation process to mitigate any risk of legal challenge.

7.3 Legal Services will provide legal advice in relation to the procurement of the contractors and the drafting of relevant contractual documentation. (Colin Brittain)

8. Co-operative Agenda

8.1 A co-operative council delivering good value services to support a co-operative borough.

8.2 The provision of sufficient numbers of quality school places is a statutory service and contributes to the Council’s outcome around Getting the Basics Right. (Dominic Coleman)

9 Human Resources Comments

9.1 There are no HR implications from a statutory perspective. Formation of new schools and expansion of existing provision will provide valuable employment opportunities in the borough. Any new provider will be encouraged to adhere to the principles outlined in the Oldham Academies Policy. (Andy Collinge)

10 Risk Assessments

10.1 By implementing a scheduled and robust programme of capital works and expansions the risk of running short of school places will be reduced and the likelihood of creating high quality places will be increased. (Mark Stenson)

11 IT Implications

11.1 Not applicable. (Alison Heneghan)

12 Property Implications

12.1 The proposed project is planned to deliver spaces in the most economic manner and represents an efficient utilization of the existing site. (David Rhodes)

13 Procurement Implications

13.1 Any works associated with school expansions are to be carried out in line with EU Regulations and Oldham Council’s Contract Procedure Rules.

13.2 It would be prudent to ensure that the proposed recommended options, including the expansion proposals are aligned with the council’s overall commercial strategy in relation to school expansions. (Darren Judge)

14 Environmental and Health & Safety Implications

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14.1 The availability of sufficient high quality school places will reduce the likelihood that parents will have to travel beyond a reasonable walking distance in order to take their children to school. This will in turn have the effect of reducing the number of car journeys as parents make every effort to get their children to school and keep them safe.

14.2 Following agreement to the expansion of North Chadderton School, compliance with health and safety legislation must be ensured. Health and Safety should be considered initially during the procurement of any contractors straight through to construction phase. (Laura Smith)

15 Equality, community cohesion and crime implications

15.1 Admission authorities have a legal duty to comply with parental preference wherever possible. Consequently, Oldham’s school place planning approach takes account of identified demand for places. In terms of equality, the proposal will positively increase the supply of school places in the borough.

15.2 The LA makes every effort to ensure that parents are not only aware of which schools are available in their local area and beyond but that the information that is published is clear and concise so that parents and young people are able to make informed choices about which school they would like to attend. The level of satisfaction in terms of the availability of places at the preferred school contributes directly to community cohesion.

16 Equality Impact Assessment Completed?

16.1 Yes on 08.02.2018.

17 Key Decision

17.1 Yes

18 Key Decision Reference

18.1 EEY-02-18

19 Background Papers

19.1 Education Provision Strategy

20 Appendices

20.1 A - Current Capacity in Secondary

20.2 B - Secondary pupil projections

20.3 C – Secondary Matrix

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Appendix A.

School Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 The Blue Coat -3 -3 -2 -6 -4 Crompton House -2 -6 -5 -8 -5 Failsworth School 8 2 1 18 7 Hathershaw College -2 -6 -6 -3 0 North Chadderton -5 -4 -8 -1 2 Oasis Academy 46 10 -2 40 6 Oasis Middleton 54 0 0 0 0 Oldham Academy North 11 42 1 19 60 Royton & Crompton 8 4 13 14 15 Saddleworth School -4 -4 -3 0 -2 The Radclyffe -2 -2 -3 1 -1 Waterhead Academy 16 7 76 27 86 Total 112 38 60 101 165

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Appendix B.

Secondary Year 7 places available V predicted demand Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Total Places 3262 3343 3415 3359 3531 3681 3681 3681 3681 3681 3681 3681 Total Demand/Projected Demand 3107 3365 3440 3425 3609 3695 3733 3794 3693 3869 3902 3891 Demand +3% surplus 3528 3717 3806 3845 3908 3804 3985 4019 4008 Shortfall/surplus 155 -22 -25 -66 -78 -14 -52 -113 -12 -188 -221 -210 Shortfall with 3% surplus -169 -186 -125 -164 -227 -123 -304 -338 -327 Total places include 150 at Oasis Leesbrook in 2019, 60 at TOAN in 2019, 112 at CHS in 2019, 30 at N Chad in 2019 and 150 at Oasis Leesbrook in 2020

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