Rutland County Council telephone: 01572 722 577 Catmose fax: 01572 758 307 Oakham email: [email protected] Rutland web: www.rutland.gov.uk LE15 6HP 19 February 2019 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST – 137/19 Dear Sir/Madam Your request for information has now been considered and the information requested is provided below. Request: I am trying to understand the availability of Primary and Secondary School places across Rutland and understand that the council are required to produce a Surplus Capacity Report which is submitted to Government each year. Can you please send me a copy of the report for the last 5 years? Response: Please see attached the latest School Capacity Survey Report (SCAP). Please be aware that SCAP is a forward forecasting report which forecasts the next 5 years rather than the last 5 years as stated in the original request. You are free to use any documents supplied for your own use, including for non- commercial research purposes. The documents may also be used for news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for example by publishing the documents or issuing copies to the public will require the permission of the copyright owner, where copyright exists. Such a request would be considered separately in accordance with the relevant Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 and is not automatic. Therefore, no permission is implied in the re-use of this information, until such a request to re-use it has been made and agreed, subject to any appropriate conditions. Any request to re-use the information should be made to me at the address below. If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request please contact the Data Protection Officer, Rutland County Council, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6HP You can also complain to the Information Commissioner at: The Information Commissioner's Office Wycliffe House, Water lane Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF Tel: 01625 545700 Yours faithfully FOI Administrator Business Support Team Rutland County Council Schools Capacity Survey 2018 Local Authority Commentary Local Authority Name RUTLAND COUNTY COUNCIL Local Authority Number 857 Contact Names TIM O’NEILL; GILL CURTIS Tel. 01572 758460 You are asked to provide a commentary to assist the Department in its analysis of current and projected pupil place pressures and available capacity. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTARY ON THIS TEMPLATE ONLY. It provides an opportunity to qualify the impression that might be obtained from capacity data, pupil forecasts and capital spend data. The commentary should provide a brief explanation where school capacity is an issue. This may be where there is a surplus or a shortfall of capacity. Where schools/planning areas currently have or are projected to have a shortfall of places, please record the steps being taken to address these. Please use the commentary to explain where there is planned action to secure additional capacity, for at least the next two academic years. You should also use the commentary to provide an explanation of any other significant changes to capacity and the effect this would have on school places available. Where issues and/or solutions cross planning area boundaries, please indicate this in the relevant section below. The commentary is distinguishable from the separate Methodology Statement in which you will indicate how these issues have been factored into your pupil forecasts. You should refer to the separate guidance for detail of requirements. 1. General LA overview indicating LA wide trends (including both primary and secondary age) There is continuing, gentle growth in numbers of pupils across the County, largely as a result of increased housing. Other influences on pupil numbers are small. The County contains a large proportion of academies that are their own admissions authorities, making place planning more complicated. The LA is admissions authority for only 4 schools (all primary); 3 of these schools have received an academy order and are likely to transfer to academy status in autumn 2018. Primary Primary pupil numbers are forecast to increase from 2819 (2017/18) to 3119 (2022/23); published admission numbers indicate capacity of 3424 primary places across Rutland; this equates to approximately 18% spare capacity in 2017/18. The forecast indicates this will reduce to 15% spare capacity by 2022. The Oakham regional area is within 10% of its overall capacity as of 2017/18. This will reduce to 1% by 2022/23. Housing development is largely focused around this town. Brook Hill (E.N.2316), Oakham CoE (E.N.3115) and English Martyrs (E.N.3429) have greater than 10% capacity Langham, Whissendine and Catmose are all between 10% - 1% capacity. Oakham CoE has been judged at its last inspection and is now likely to be more popular; admission requests to Reception have increased from 29 in Sept 2017 to 36 in Sept 2018 The Casterton regional area has 24% spare capacity for 2017/18. Capacity in this region will fall to 10% by 2022/23. Cottesmore Academy (E.N.2001), a school within a military base and subject to large-scale pupil mobility as consequence of military activity and regiment relocation, has approximately 47% surplus capacity. The position of the school on the MoD base restricts use of this establishment to reduce pressure on schools outside the base. Exton and Greetham (E.N.3112), Empingham (E.N.3111) and Ryhall (E.N.2000) retain surplus capacity; however, there is little surplus capacity within Ketton (E.N.3113), Great Casterton (E.N.3120) and St Nicholas (E.N.3428). The Uppingham regional area has 33% spare capacity for 2017/18. Capacity in this area is forecast to reduce to 26% by 2022 There is 50.3% surplus capacity at Edith Weston (E.N.2312), a school very close to a military base, as well as surplus capacity in each of the other three schools in the regional area. Uppingham County College (UCC) changed the school’s admissions arrangements for September 2015 to widen catchment to include schools in Northamptonshire which led to increased capacity in Rutland schools at the time because children no longer required places in Rutland primary schools to secure a place at UCC. Secondary Secondary pupil numbers are forecast to increase from 2480 (2017/18) to 2865 (2024/25); published admission numbers indicate capacity of 2715 secondary places across Rutland; this equates to just over 9% spare capacity in 2017/18. If, by 2020/21 secondary places were not to be increased, there would be insufficient capacity (-1%) across Rutland secondary schools with further pressure (nearly -6%) by 2024/25. Catmose is over capacity by 55 pupils Uppingham is nearly at capacity with 910 pupils Casterton (615 pupils) has a surplus capacity of 31% The Council is currently considering solutions to these challenges, including: Work is almost complete at Catmose College. When completed, this will deliver an additional 150 places from 2018/19, with plans in place for a further 150 places in Phase 3 of the agreed development for 2019 or 2020 Oakham CoE Primary is included within Rutland’s school expansion planning which will create an additional 90 places 2. Factors affecting overall LA pupil numbers e.g. migration, housing development, live births. If you experience cross local authority boundary movement please identify the other local authorities involved and the scale of places affected. Housing development plans are predominantly focused around two key areas in Rutland: Oakham and Uppingham. Additionally, housing developments completed in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire have reportedly led to increased pressure on schools in the local area which may have a link to the increase take up of places at Casterton College and surrounding primary schools. There is also potential further housing growth linked to a joint Rutland and South Kesteven development north of Stamford which may also impact on the number of out of county children applying for Rutland school places, as well as increasing admissions from Rutland. This development is at the very early stages and there is not yet a confirmation of expected time-frames for building to commence. One of the MOD bases, St George’s Barracks is planned to close in 2021. The Local Authority is currently consulting on a joint partnership development between the LA and RCC which would include up to 3,000 new houses being built with potential start date of 2021 through to 2035. Live births are showing a high level of stability. The number of births in 2015/16 was 10% higher than average for Rutland (returned to average level in 2016/17). The forecast shows a large Reception year group in 2020/21 when these children will be starting school. The relocation of military regiments can be hard to predict but Cottesmore and Edith Weston have sufficient surplus places. Two of the three secondary schools in Rutland are based on the borders of the County and cross boundary movement is a key consideration in Rutland with 44% of the school population from out of county. 14% of total primary places are taken by out of county pupils. These pupils are mostly resident in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire A key planning conclusion is that there are sufficient places for primary pupils up to 2021/22; however, academy admission arrangements for secondary schools promote out-of-county pupils which means Rutland is already within 10% of capacity and which indicates that if no action were to be taken to increase secondary places by 2020/21 capacity will be insufficient. 3. Summary of primary places in individual planning areas: include information about planning areas that are experiencing pressure on places (either current or projected) and where action is required to address this, or where PAs are experiencing sustained surpluses in capacity and where action is required to address this.