Century STATUTORY CONSULTATION on a PROPOSAL
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MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL REPORT FOR RESOLUTION COMMITTEE: Executive DATE: 15th March 2006 SUBJECT: Proposal to increase the capacity of Rolls Crescent Community Primary School by 105 places, from 1st September 2006. REPORT OF: Director of Children’s Services PURPOSE OF REPORT: To advise on the outcome of statutory consultation on a proposal to increase the capacity of Rolls Crescent Community Primary School by 105 places, from 1st September 2006. RECOMMENDATIONS: The Executive is asked to agree that the Director of Children’s Services proceeds to the next stage of the statutory process to bring about the increase. FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE REVENUE BUDGET: The proposal to increase the capacity of Rolls Crescent by 105 places from 1st September 2006 will require the school to increase staffing levels. However, the additional costs will be offset by additional funding in line with the increase in pupil numbers. FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE CAPITAL BUDGET: The existing Rolls Crescent building is nearing the end of its design life and will soon be unsuitable for purpose. Rather than invest in expansion of a poor quality building there was general agreement at the time the proposal was formulated that it should be rebuilt. The City Council was subsequently successful in securing £4.6 million from the DfES targeted capital funding allocation in 2005, to rebuild the school as a 420-place primary school with a 60-place nursery. Since then the necessary approvals have been granted through the Gateway procedures. Delivery will be through the appropriate City Council Framework and construction is due to start in March 2006. The new building will be on the current site with a target date for completion of 1st September 2007. The plans for the precise location of the school and design of the building are currently subject to consultation with all stakeholders, including parents/carers and pupils. CONTACT OFFICERS: Ged Mitchell 234 7463 email - [email protected] Allan Seaborn 234 7155 email - [email protected] BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS • Education Department School Organisation Plan 2004 – 2007. • Gateway 1, 3 and 5 forms. • other working documents, which are available on the report file for inspection. WARDS(S) AFFECTED: Hulme and Moss Side IMPLICATIONS FOR: ANTI POVERTY EQUAL OPPS. ENVIRONMENTAL EMPLOYMENT No No Yes No 2 INTRODUCTION 1. Rolls Crescent Community Primary School is located on Rolls Crescent in Hulme and is strategically placed on the main thoroughfare from the city centre to the airport. It is also in close proximity to the border with Trafford Borough Council. 2. The school opened in 1999 as a result of the amalgamation of two local primary schools. Presently it is a 210-place school with a 30-place nursery. The school draws most of its pupils from Hulme and Moss Side. 3. The school is very popular and offers a rich educational experience for pupils from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. It is over-subscribed with a resulting waiting list for entry to most year groups. As a result children coming to live in the area are having to seek places in Trafford schools. 4. The proposal to increase the Rolls Crescent capacity is classed as ‘a prescribed alteration’ to the existing school. As such the City Council has to follow the statutory process to formalise matters. This report advises on the outcome of statutory consultation on the proposal to increase the capacity of Rolls Crescent by 105 places, from 1st September 2006. BACKGROUND 5. Plans for the expansion and rebuilding of Rolls Crescent Primary School need to be seen in the content of regeneration. The area of Hulme has been extensively redeveloped over recent years. In particular there are many more family houses available than in the past. As a result there are more children coming to live in the area, and the demand for school places is rising. 6. Both the other primary schools in Hulme have voluntary aided status, which is an added complication when seeking to expand provision and fund capital works. This, plus the poor condition of the Rolls Crescent building and the urgent need to introduce a new school into the area, is why Rolls Crescent was chosen for expansion. 7. The number of extra places planned in the first instance is 105 in the school and 15 in the nursery. In the longer term there will be a need for a further (extra) 105 places and 15 nursery places. The rate of expansion will depend on how quickly new families move into the area. 8. The exiting Rolls Crescent building is nearing the end of its design life and will soon be unsuitable for purpose. Rather than invest in expansion of a poor quality building there was general agreement at the time the proposal was formulated that it should be rebuilt. 9. The target date for completion of the building scheme is September 2007. However, governors feel they have sufficient accommodation within the existing building to implement the expansion from Reception in 2006. The remaining expansion could then take place in line with completion of the new building. This is an extremely helpful offer by the Rolls Crescent governors, which has been accepted. 3 10. The planning process for the new school involved Rolls Crescent governors and representatives from Sure Start and the South Manchester Regeneration Team. Design of the new building is now at an advanced stage and has been informed by the involvement of parents/carers, staff, governors and pupils from Rolls Crescent with contributions from Sure Start and the Regeneration Team. Delivery of the scheme will be through the City Council’s Framework arrangement. STATUTORY CONSULTATION 11. The period 17th October to 19th December 2005 was set aside for statutory consultation on the proposal in accordance with the timetable reproduced at Annexe 1. To begin the consultation process written comments were invited from: • the governing body at Rolls Crescent; • parents/carers of pupils who attend Rolls Crescent • all Rolls Crescent teaching and support staff; • the local trade unions/teacher associations representing Rolls Crescent staff; • all other schools in the City; • neighbouring local education authorities and diocesan education authorities. 12. In addition to the opportunity to make written comments on the proposal the following consultation events were arranged: • Tuesday 8th November: ‘drop in’ event for the parents/carers of all pupils who attend Rolls Crescent School; • Monday 5th December: formal meetings with the Rolls Crescent School Governing Body. 13. All the events were serviced by appropriate City Council officers. The ‘drop in’ event on Tuesday 8th November was held at the school between 3.30 p.m. and 7.30 pm, to provide the opportunity for parents/carers to come at a time convenient to them. The arrangements were such, that discussion was possible with parents/carers on an individual basis about the proposal in general and about their own child(ren) and the new school in particular. 14 To assist those being consulted to come to a view about the proposal, a ‘consultation information leaflet’ was produced (see Annexe 2). The Rolls Crescent governors were also provided with a summary of the comments which had been made by others up to the time of their meeting on 5th December. RESPONSE TO THE CONSULTATION 15. No written comments were received during the consultation period. 4 16. The parent of one child attended the meeting on 8th November. The parent was very positive about the proposal to increase the capacity of the school and was particularly impressed by the new school design. 17. Governors and staff were also enthusiastic about the proposal to increase the capacity of the school and were looking forward to contributing to development of the design of the new school building. CONCLUSION 18. There were no concerns raised during statutory consultation about the proposal to increase the capacity of Rolls Crescent Community Primary School, from 1st September 2006. This did not come as a surprise, as the proposal to increase the capacity in a new building is a positive development in the overall context of the regeneration and development of the Hulme area. 19. In the circumstances the proposal should now move to the next stage of the statutory process. This will involve publication of a formal notice to increase the capacity of the school from 1 September 2006. This will introduce a six-week period for objections to be made. Any objections, with the CEO’s comments, plus all the documentation gathered during consultation, will then be referred to the School Organisation Committee (SOC) for a final decision. The target date for referral to the SOC is the 8th June 2006 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS 20. The new Rolls Crescent school scheme has been planned in full collaboration with Regeneration and Sure Start Partners. The new building will be on its current site, but located to the side of the existing premises. Its frontage will be near to the main entrance to the school site, off rolls Crescent. The new building will therefore have a high profile position in the locality. 21. The new building will be two storey. Appropriate security and energy efficiency features have been included in the overall design. 5 Education for the 21st Century DRAFT TIMETABLE FOR THE STATUTORY CONSULTATION ON A PROPOSAL TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF ROLLS CRESCENT COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL BY 105 PLACES 6 STATUTORY CONSULTATION ON A PROPOSAL TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF ROLLS CRESCENT COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL BY 105 PLACES, WITH EFFECT FROM 1 SEPTEMBER 2006 Date Action Approval to consult on the proposal given by Executive 6 October 2003 Increase in numbers held in abeyance until funding is secured.