Agenda Item 20

Not for publication

Exempt information relating to the financial and business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

The information contained in this report is strictly confidential and in accordance with the appropriate Codes of Conduct, must not be disclosed to unauthorised persons.

Report to Cabinet

22 June 2016

Subject: Schools Capital Programme 2016/17-18/19 (Key Decision Ref. No. LR04) Presenting Cabinet Leader of the Council Member:

1. Summary Statement

1.1 This report seeks approval to continue with the provision of new school places through the Schools Capital Programme following the Department for Education (DfE) announcement in March 2016 of the Authority’s Basic Need funding allocation for 2018-19 in the sum of £X…...... X. The announcement follows confirmation in February that the DfE had allocated £X…………X School Condition funding to the Authority.

1.2 The proposed projects reflect the funding levels and priorities identified by the present Government to create new school places and maintain existing school buildings. Having addressed the demand for primary places across the borough the council’s attention now turns to focus on ensuring a sufficient supply of school places are provided within the secondary estate, as those children born in 2007/08 start to enter year 7. Based on current projections the council needs to deliver an additional 10 forms of entry by September 2019. What is more difficult to predict is the continuing impact that retention and inward migration rates will have on the future school population.

1.3 In order to meet the demand for places in September 2018 three secondary schools have already been identified for expansion:

[IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] (i) Q3 Langley allowing the Academy to move to a full Published Admission Number (PAN) of 240 for September 2017 rather than 2018 to meet the demand for places in / Oldbury;

(ii) Ormiston Community Academy (OCSA) increasing its PAN to 210 from September 2018 to meet the demand for places in Oldbury / Tipton; and

(iii) RSA Academy increasing its PAN from 190 to 240 from September 2017 to meet the demand for places in Tipton.

1.4 The programme will ensure the council can continue to meet the demand for places across the six towns. Feasibility work will also continue to be undertaken on those secondary schools who have expressed an interest in expanding.

1.5 The recent White Paper ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’ set out the Government’s aspiration to make every school an academy by 2022. If enacted, this would take away all responsibility from local authorities to maintain local schools in good condition unless there is a change to the roles and responsibilities of LAs. However, whilst the Government has now stepped back from this blanket approach to academisation there will be some further academy conversions for underperforming schools in the coming years. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, the council will remain responsible for the majority of schools in the borough and will continue to receive School Condition funding to address building and site issues.

1.6 The programme aligns to service needs so that the Council is able to meet its statutory responsibility of ensuring every child in Sandwell has access to a good school place by seeking to build on its commitment to expand successful and popular schools.

1.7 It is proposed to meet the estimated capital cost of £X…………..X from the total available resources of £X………...X:

[IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] £ Unallocated resources X…………..X Reallocation of approved Basic Need funding (1 X…………X additional secondary form of entry in Smethwick) Basic Need Allocation 2018/19 X…..………X School Condition Allocation 2017/18 X………..X

Total available resources X………….X

1.8 A full appraisal has been undertaken by Strategic Finance. A copy of the report can be found at Appendix 1. Some risks have been identified as a result of the appraisal and action points recommended to mitigate these risks.

1.9 An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) initial screening has been undertaken. The screening identified that there will no adverse impact on people or groups with protected characteristics as a result of the proposals contained within the report. A full EIA is not therefore required. However, it has revealed that as the council has a statutory duty to provide a sufficient number of school places for all children in Sandwell, all groups are potentially affected by the policy of expansion. This proposal demonstrates that this is uniformly applied in response to where pupil demand is expected although size and type of expansion is restrictive as it is dependent on the availability of government capital funding.

Further details are attached for your information.

2. Recommendations

2.1 That the Schools Capital Programme 2016/17-18/19 be approved as follows:-

• - Q3 Academy Langley (Phases 1(b) and 2), Moat Road, Oldbury, B68 8ED; - The expansion of Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy, Lower City Road, Tividale, Oldbury, B69 2HE; - The expansion of RSA Academy, Bilston Road, Gospel Oak, Tipton, DY4 0BZ; - Lightwoods Primary School (lower site), Wolverhampton Road, Oldbury, B68 0LP; - One form of entry in Wednesbury North Ward; - Summerhill Primary School, Upper Church Lane, Tipton, DY4 9PF. • Feasibility work for future secondary school expansions. [IL0: UNCLASSIFIED]

2.2 That £X………X of the Department for Education School Condition Allocation be used to support cyclical maintenance.

2.3 That subject to 2.1 and 2.2 above, the remaining £X…...……...X funding be retained until feasibility has been undertaken on proposed schemes for 2016-2019, which will be subject to a further report submitted to Cabinet.

2.4 That subject to paragraphs 2.1, 2.2 and 2.5, the Director – Governance enter into any legal agreements on terms agreed by the Director of Children’s Services, as required, to allow building works to be completed on all proposed sites.

2.5 That in connection with 2.1 and 2.4 above, the following action points identified within the appraisal report be implemented to reduce any risk to the council:-

• Regular financial monitoring updates on individual projects should be provided to the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, highlighting variations of spend against original estimated costs. Remaining funds should be returned to the unallocated Schools Capital Programme;

• Approval should be sought from the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources to utilise the 5% contingency;

• Individual Risk Registers for each project should be produced to manage the risk to the Council;

• Ensure that procurement of contracts is undertaken in accordance with the Council’s Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules, and Standing Order Regulations; and

• That the Council enters into such form of legal agreements as required to allow extension works on all proposed sites.

Matthew Sampson Director of Children’s Services

Chris Ward Director - Education

[IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] Darren Carter Section 151 Officer

Contact Officers Martyn Roberts, Team Lead – Planning, Education Support Services, Learning Services Tel: no. 0121 569 8341

3. Strategic Resource Implications

3.1 The estimated cost of the identified new work is £X…………….X and is allocated as follows:

Project Contractor Design F&E Total £000’s £000’s£000’s £000’s Q3 Academy Langley X.….X X….X X...X X.….X (Phase 2) Ormiston Sandwell X.….X X..X X..X X.….X Community Academy RSA Academy X.….X X..X X..X X.….X Lightwoods Primary School (Wolverhampton X..X XX XX X..X Road Site) One form of entry in X..X X..X Wednesbury North Ward

Summerhill Primary X.….X XX XX X.….X Programme Contingency X..X X..X XX X...X (@5%) Feasibility – Secondary X..X X..X Schools expansions

School Condition X.….X X..X X.….X

X….…X X.….X X..X X…...X

The direct allocation of Basic Need funding received from the DfE is based on the annual School Capacity return submitted to the Department. With the latest announcement of £X……….X for 2018/19 this provides total available resources to the Authority of £X……….X to fund the Schools Capital Programme.

[IL0: UNCLASSIFIED]

Approval to the Schools Capital Programme 2016/17-2018/19 is sought to allocate a proportion of those resources to fund individual school projects and ensure a sufficient supply of school places.

School Condition funding continues to be allocated on a yearly basis and is based on the number of maintained schools the council remains responsible for.

This provides a total available budget of £X…………...X and is made up as follows:

£X…..X Unallocated resources X…….X Reallocation of resources X…..X Basic Need 2018/19 X……X School Condition X…..X

There is no time limit on the resources being spent.

The Government’s recent White Paper, “Education Excellence Everywhere”, sets out proposals to move to a system where every school is an Academy by 2022, taking direct responsibility away from Local Authorities. Until the outcome of the White Paper is fully understood and implemented, the council will continue to be responsible for the maintenance of its maintained schools. Therefore the intention is to continue to support the School Repair Account with an allocation of £X…X. The remaining balance of School Condition will be held back pending a decision on the replacement of Causeway Green Primary School.

Provision must also now be made for the next phase of school expansions to ensure the sufficient supply of places as the 2007/08 birth cohort of pupils enter Year 7 in 2019/20. Without the further expansion of schools there would be an immediate shortfall in supply of places to meet demand.

Q3 Academy Langley, which opens in September 2016, have agreed to move to a full PAN of 240 from September 2017 rather than 2018 in order to assist the Authority in meeting demand for places in Smethwick and Oldbury. The council were originally considering the expansion of Holly Lodge 11-19 Science College, however further work is required to negate the complexities of the BSF contract. At its meeting on 25th November 2015 (Minute No.197/15) Cabinet set aside £X…X funding for Holly Lodge. It is now proposed to reallocate those resources to

[IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] accelerate the build of the next phase of Q3 Academy Langley, Phase 1(b), bring forward some of the external spaces, and the design costs associated with Phase 2. The opportunity to fund design of Phase 2 over the coming months will provide a firm cost basis against other major projects in the programme with a view to seeking approval to proceed with Phase 2 later this year or early 2017/18. Under Minute No.197/15 Cabinet also approved an allocation for a form of entry (secondary) in Oldbury. A scheme has now been developed to refurbish an existing teaching block at Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy to provide the Oldbury solution. Early feasibility has established that the scheme is more practical and offers greater cost efficiency by delivery in a single phase.

Two secondary forms of entry are required in Tipton and the RSA Academy has offered to expand to provide the additional 300 places required.

The programme also includes: Lightwoods Primary School, where the school has agreed to expand from 1 to 2 forms of entry, using the soon to be vacated Our Lady and St Hubert’s Catholic Primary School site: one form of entry in Wednesbury North ward, and Summerhill Primary. As a result of the previous Cabinet decision in 2014 to expand Albert Pritchard Infant and Wood Green Junior Schools rather than Old Park Primary School, the initial allocation of £X…..X is insufficient to deliver permanent building solutions at all 3 schools. The project to provide part refurbishment of the former Locarno Building for Summerhill Primary School has identified further works necessary to address fire protection and general building infrastructure to enable the expansion to be delivered.

It is proposed to hold back the remaining £X………..X whilst detailed feasibility is undertaken to determine future requirements for secondary schools. A capital appraisal(s) will be submitted in due course identifying potential schemes for expansion.

3.2 Risk Implications of the Proposal

The Corporate Risk Management Strategy (CRMS) has been complied with – to identify and assess the significant risks associated with this decision/project. This includes (but is not limited to) political, legislation, financial, environmental and reputation risks.

Based on the information provided, it is the officers’ opinion that for the significant risks that have been identified, arrangements are in place to manage and mitigate these effectively.

[IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] This assessment has identified there are no current “red” risks that need to be reported. The council’s directorate risk register currently includes an amber risk around school place planning: CS 012 - If the LA is unable to exert sufficient strategic control over school place planning and the direction of capital investment, then it will be unable to deliver on its statutory duties. The recommendations above if approved, will assist in the continued mitigation of this risk.

If this report is not agreed, then the council will risk having an insufficient level of school places which is contrary to the council’s statutory responsibility. If there is an insufficiency of school places this will have a detrimental impact on children's future access to school places within Sandwell and the council’s reputation will be detrimentally affected. The risk that the report is not agreed is assessed as low, green.

There are no additional, immediate risk implications arising from this report.

An appropriate programme management structure is in place, and the School Organisation Programme Board meets on a regular basis. Project documentation is being prepared, including a project plan and a programme risk register, to ensure effective management. Additionally, each individual project will be subject to risk analysis and project risk monitoring. Project risk and opportunities registers will be developed and monitored for each major construction project.

Key programme risks and mitigation include:

ƒ The financial downturn and competing capital pressures: - Projects rely heavily on DfE allocations and are not reliant on capital receipts; ƒ Government policy changes could reduce future capital allocations - Phased programme approvals, avoiding unfinanced commitments; and ƒ Failure to accurately anticipate the changing pattern of demand for school places: - Pupil place planning strategy in place; - Schools’ Organisation Programme Board to drive the delivery of Sandwell’s pupil place planning strategy.

4. Legal and Statutory Implications

In accordance with the Education Act 1996 the Council has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient schools available for the children of Sandwell. Any school organisation changes arising out of the

[IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] development of the projects will be subject to the relevant statutory processes.

The council shall ensure that any procurement of contracts necessary for these proposals are undertaken in accordance with the public procurement rules, the Council’s Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules and Standing Order Regulations.

5. Implications for the Council’s Scorecard Priorities

5.1 The recommendations in this report relate to the continuation of a programme that will support all four of the Council’s Scorecard Priorities. The engagement of parents in the feasibility stage of the major projects will be used to encourage active citizenship. Attention to the provision of spaces for physical education and recreation, projects will support active and healthy lifestyles.

5.2 We will improve the educational chances children have in life by ensuring there are enough good school places in the borough.

We will continue to work with those schools that want to remain in partnership with the council by providing the services that they require and continuing to co-ordinate school place planning, capital investment, school improvement activity and school governance options.

6. Background Details

6.1 A satisfactory capital appraisal rating of xx% has been given by Strategic Investment. A full copy of the report can be found at Appendix 1.

6.2 As detailed in the Strategic Resource Implications above (section 3) following the recent DfE announcement for Basic Need funding for 2017/18 the council has £X…….X available to fund the Schools Capital Programme. The resources have been allocated by the DfE to local authorities to create new school places. Furthermore the School Condition funding allocation will enable maintenance and repair work to be carried out to existing school buildings. The funding continues to be allocated by the DfE on a yearly basis.

6.3 Whilst this report seeks approval for the 2016-19 Schools Capital Programme, it should be noted that this forms part of an on-going school place planning strategy covering the period up to 2018 for primary provision and 2025 for secondary, which has identified a need for at least 4,800 new secondary school places by 2025 based on current projections (although this is continues to be under review

[IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] as increased migration and retention could increase this need still further).

6.4 Future School Capital Programmes will now primarily focus on addressing the supply of sufficient secondary school places to keep pace with demand as a result of rapid birth rate growth, net migration and retention rates. The programme identifies immediate schemes for delivery over the next two academic years but feasibility work will need to continue on future projects within the secondary sector to maintain a sufficient supply of school places when pupils leave primary school.

With the new Q3 Academy Langley now opening in September 2016 with an increased intake of 150 places, followed by an increase to its planned admission number of 240 in September 2017, this rapid expansion will provide much required new secondary places to serve the Oldbury and Smethwick areas.

6.5 The expansion of Lightwoods Primary School offers the permanent expansion of a highly successful, oversubscribed primary school, providing a form of entry in Oldbury. By utilising the former Our Lady and St Hubert’s Catholic Primary School site the council is now liable to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax of £X…....X. Despite this additional cost to the council the scheme is still eminently more cost effective solution to provide a form of entry rather than a new build.

6.6 Provision has been included in the programme to continue to support the school repair account with a contribution of £X...X which will ensure that the council can continue to maintain those it remains responsible for.

6.7 The remaining balance of School Condition funding will be held pending a decision on the replacement of Causeway Green Primary School.

Source Documents None

[IL0: UNCLASSIFIED]