Proposed Amalgamation of Killigrew Infants and Nursery School and Killigrew Junior School

Agenda Item No.

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL 3

EDUCATION CABINET PANEL TUESDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2007 AT 2 PM

PROPOSED AMALGAMATION OF KILLIGREW INFANTS’ AND NURSERY SCHOOL AND KILLIGREW JUNIOR SCHOOL

Report of the Director of Children Schools and Families

[Authors: Paul Wray, Planning Manager Tel: 01992 555860 Janet Rees, Planning Officer Tel: 01992 555813]

Executive Member: Keith Emsall (Education)

Local Member: Aislinn Lee (St Stephens)

1. Purpose of report

1.1 To inform the Education Cabinet Panel of the proposal to amalgamate Killigrew Infants’ and Nursery School and Killigrew Junior School in Chiswell Green, from September 2008. The 6-week consultation will finish on 9 November 2007, and an analysis of the outcome of this consultation (Appendix 3) will be forwarded to members of the Panel prior to 13 November 2007.

Options

Option 1: To amalgamate Killigrew Infants and Nursery School and Killigrew Junior School from 1 September 2008. Option 2: To remain as separate Nursery & Infant School and Junior School

1.2 For the Panel to make any comments and recommendations to Cabinet, so that Cabinet can decide on 17 December 2007 whether to:

(i) accept Option 1 and authorise the Director to publish statutory notices; (ii) take no further action; or (iii) initiate fresh consultation on any alternative suggestion(s)

071113 Education Cabinet Panel Item 3 – Amalgamataion of Killigrew 1 2. Summary

This report provides the information regarding the proposed amalgamation, and further information from the consultation process will be provided at a later stage. It is organised in the following way:

Section Page 1 Purpose of the Report 1 2 Summary 2 3 Conclusions 2 4 Background – explaining the process and timescale of the 2 consultation 5 Results of Consultation and Commentary 4 6 Financial implications 5 (a) revenue (b) capital 7 Governance & Staffing 6

3. Conclusions

This is an excellent opportunity to undertake an amalgamation and form a potentially stronger school, well-placed to maximise opportunities for raising achievement.

3.1 Options

A Public Consultation was held between 28 September and 9 November 2007, on the following options:

Option 1: To amalgamate Killigrew Nursery & Infants’ School and Killigrew Junior School from 1 September 2008. Option 2: To remain as separate Infants’ School and Junior Schools

4. Background

4.1 Context

At present, Killigrew Infants’ & Nursery School and Killigrew Junior School are two separate schools which have shared the same site for approximately 50 years. There has been close liaison, particularly with pupils in transition from Key Stage 1 to 2. However, some instability occurred during long term illness of the Junior School Headteacher, which was remedied when the Infant School Head also took on the role of Acting Headteacher of the Junior School. The single leadership for the two schools has been so successful that both Governing Bodies wish to formalise the arrangement and form one primary school.

071113 Education Cabinet Panel Item 3 – Amalgamataion of Killigrew 2 The two governing bodies have therefore asked Hertfordshire County Council to undertake consultation on the possibility of the schools amalgamating to form a 2FE Primary School from September 2008.

The Published Admission Number for both schools is currently 60. This would remain unchanged if the schools amalgamate, and therefore the overall school size would remain unchanged. Current pupil numbers on roll at the two schools are as follows.

Yr Capacity R 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total PAN (PAN of 60 NOR x no of yr groups) Killigrew 58 57 60 175 60 180 Infants’ Killigrew 53 61 57 57 228 60 240 Junior Total 403 420 (Source: green form data September 2007)

In addition to the above, there are 35 children in the Nursery.

Benefits to pupils include:  easier transition from Key Stage 1 to 2  no transfer from the Infants’ to the Junior School, with pupils attending the new Primary School from reception through to Year 6  parents would not need to apply for a place in the Junior School  whole school policies could be developed for core subjects and other areas of the curriculum  more continuity of interaction between staff and pupils of all ages

Amalgamation means closing both existing schools and opening a new one on the same site. Under the Education & Inspections Act 2006, the running of a new school would normally be subject to open competition. However, the Secretary of State has granted an exemption in this case and has agreed to the publication of the proposals without the need to consult other potential providers (Appendix 1).

4.2 Process and timescale

4.2.1 Public consultation on the proposals started on 28 September 2007 and closed on 9 November 2007.

4.2.2 Consultation documents were sent to all parents/carers, governors and staff of the schools affected, as well as to other schools in the area and to all other statutory consultees. Documents and posters were also sent to local libraries and CABs in the area, giving details of the public meeting and how to obtain further copies of the consultation document. The document and response form were also available on HCC’s website. A copy of the consultation document is attached as Appendix 2. 071113 Education Cabinet Panel Item 3 – Amalgamataion of Killigrew 3 4.2.3 A public meeting was held at Killigrew Junior School on 8 October, which was attended by approximately 40 people in total.

4.2.4 Following this meeting of the Panel, Cabinet will decide on 17 December whether or not to authorise the Director of CSF to publish statutory notices to proceed with this proposal. If the decision is to publish, the statutory notice(s) would run for six weeks during which time comments and objections may be made. Following this, because the opening of a new school is involved, new regulations mean that a final decision must be made by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.

4.2.5 If agreed, the current Infants’ and Junior Schools would close on 31 August 2008, and the new Primary School would open on 1 September 2008.

5 Results of Consultation and Commentary

5.1 Responses to the consultation

At the time of writing this report (1 week before the end of the consultation period, which finishes on 9 November) there have been a total of 85 responses to the consultation. These comprise of 68 responses from parents, 14 from members of staff, two from Headteachers of neighbouring schools, and one from a County Councillor who is also governor of a neighbouring school. Copies of all responses received will be available in the Members’ Room from 9 November. A summary is as follows:

Option Agree Don’t Total know 1: to amalgamate Killigrew 77 0 77 Infants’ and Junior Schools to create a primary school with a nursery class 2: to remain as separate 8 0 8 infants’ and junior schools

A final update on all responses will be provided on the day that the consultation finishes, 9 November, and distributed to Education Panel members before the meeting on 13 November (Appendix 3). Copies of all responses will be available in the Members’ Room.

5.2 Key issues raised

At the time of writing this report, 91% of respondents are in agreement with Option 1 to amalgamate. The following issues have been raised:

 the current Infants’ School Headteacher is a strong leader and is doing an excellent job running both schools  One headteacher has the opportunity to raise standards in both Infants’ and Juniors concurrently

071113 Education Cabinet Panel Item 3 – Amalgamataion of Killigrew 4  the amalgamation will benefit smooth transition from Key Stage 1 to 2  the amalgamation will help staffing issues  it must be ensured that the Infants’ continue to have strong leadership to ensure that educational requirements are not a lower priority to Junior education  the quality standards of the Infants’ should be transferred to the Juniors  a 2FE school is the most viable financial model  there would be no need for parents to apply for a place in the Juniors  there are advantages in shared resources  there would be less duplication  better consistency of approach  greater professional opportunities for staff  complete unity might be difficult to achieve, as the two schools will remain in separate buildings  concerns about the total size of the school  One correspondent (a member of staff) voiced the following concerns: - Despite the Headteacher’s hard work, the school suffers from a lack of visible management which would not change with amalgamation - concerns whether a senior member of staff would be available, should an incident occur - staff retention in the Junior school could be affected negatively  Three correspondents questioned whether the amalgamation is a money-saving exercise

6. Financial implications

6.1 Revenue

The following table summarises the estimated revenue implications of the amalgamation of Killigrew Infants’ and Junior schools.

Schools 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 Long Budget Term £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Redundancy 31 9 9 9 9 0 & Pensions School Budget 0 0 (23) (63) (80) (80) Shares

Total Schools 31 9 (14) (54) (71) (80) Budget

No redundancies are anticipated for September 2008. However, the above figure is included for redundancy and pension purposes should this be needed.

071113 Education Cabinet Panel Item 3 – Amalgamataion of Killigrew 5 The future years' savings relate to reductions in lump sum funding in school budget shares, resulting from the amalgamation, based on the operation of the HCC funding formula. The changes are likely to result in abnormally high levels of protection funding under the Government's Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) which would offset the savings shown. It has been assumed that, where such anomalies arise, the Schools Forum would agree to exceptions in the normal operation of the MFG. If the Forum does not agree, the savings shown in the table would not be achievable.

Under DCSF rules, resources from school budget share savings have to be redirected elsewhere in the Schools Budget. Therefore they cannot generally be used to offset the costs of reorganisation. However, one exception to this rule concerns redundancy costs, which may be charged to the Schools Budget if the revenue savings that will be achieved are greater than the costs incurred, and if the Schools Forum has agreed. In view of the potential savings from the reorganisation, it is expected that the redundancy/pension costs could be charged to the Schools Budget.

6.2 Capital

There is no capital cost associated with this amalgamation, as the two schools currently share a site and will continue to use their two buildings.

7 Governance and Staffing

7.1 Before any new primary school can open, the law requires that a temporary governing body be appointed to set up the new school. This would be formed mainly from governors of the existing schools and would choose the size and composition of the permanent governing body of the new school. It is envisaged that the temporary governing body will be established in the summer term 2008.

7.2 It is expected that the headteacher of the infants’ school and the deputy headteachers of both the infants’ and junior schools would be offered equivalent posts in the new primary school. This process would involve a professional discussion with a representative from the Local Authority and interview with the temporary governing body, probably in the summer term 2008. No staff redundancies are anticipated for September 2008.

071113 Education Cabinet Panel Item 3 – Amalgamataion of Killigrew 6 LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1 – Letter from DCSF granting exemption from competition rules

Appendix 2 - Public consultation document

Appendix 3 - Updated analysis of responses to consultation (to be provided on 9 November)

071113 Education Cabinet Panel Item 3 – Amalgamataion of Killigrew 7