SCHOOL ORGANISATION PLAN 2010-2013 March 2010 1 School Organisation Plan 2010 – 2013 Index Section Page The School Organisation Plan ……………………………………………. 8 Introduction ……………………………………………………………….. 8 National Context and Impact of Recent Legislation ……………………. 10 Local Context ……………………………………………………………. 11 Policy and Procedures for School Re-Organisation…….…………... 14 Information about the Borough of Swindon…………………………. 16 Information on Areas in Swindon ………………………………………… 23 Area 1 – Churchfields School ……………………………………………. 23 Area 2 – Commonweal School …………………………………………… 27 Area 3 – Dorcan Technology College …………………………………… 30 Area 4 – Greendown School ……………………………………………… 33 Area 5 – Highworth Warneford School…………………………………… 37 Area 6 – Isambard and Nova Hreod Schools ……….….……………….. 40 Area 7 – Kingsdown School ………………………………………………. 44 Area 8 – Ridgeway School ……………………………….……………….. 47 Area 9 – Swindon Academy …………………………………………….. 50 Secondary School Places ………………………………… 53 Denominational Places……………………………………… 56 Pupil Mobility and Ethnicity Data …………………………………………. 59 2 School Organisation Plan 2010-2013 Introduction The Local Authority has a statutory duty to ensure that sufficient school places are available within their area for every child of school age whose parents wish them to have one, to promote high educational standards, to ensure fair access to educational opportunity, and to help fulfil every child’s educational potential. It must also ensure there are sufficient schools in their area and promote diversity and parental choice. This School Organisation Plan brings together information from a range of sources and sets out the issues the Borough will face in meeting its statutory duties for providing school places up to 2013 and beyond. The Plan includes present and predicted future pupil numbers on roll, together with information about birth rates, school capacity, pupil mobility, pupil ethnicity and new housing. The Plan analyses changes in the number of school places available over the last year, and it suggests where other changes may be necessary in the future. The Plan also summaries the Local Authority’s policies on school organisation and the new procedures introduced by government for making changes such as opening, closing or enlarging schools. The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 placed a duty on local authorities to publish a School Organisation Plan. The first Plan was published in 1999 and contained, amongst other information, details of the number of children on roll at every school and projections for future years. Such information is essential for the planning of school places to meet any changes in demand in future years. This information is also important for the governing bodies of schools to assist in fulfilling their role for the strategic management of the school. In 2003 the Regulations were amended such that local authorities were no longer required to publish a School Organisation Plan every year. Following the publication of the 2003 Plan it was only necessary to publish a new Plan every three years. The Children Act 2004 removed entirely the requirement to publish a School Organisation Plan. Whilst there is no requirement to produce a School Organisation Plan, it is considered good practice to continue to produce a Plan for two key reasons: 3 Swindon is a Borough which is experiencing rapid growth and this is having a significant impact on school place planning. Having an up to date School Organisation Plan provides an essential framework for effective planning within this context; An updated plan also provides key partners, in particular schools, with trends and data to inform their future decision-making. It is the intention to update this Plan every three years and refresh the data annually. This document is the Local Authority’s School Organisation Plan 2010-2013. All enquiries on this document should be addressed to: Chris Williams, Planning and Development Manager Children Services Sanford House Sanford Street Swindon SN1 1QH Telephone: 01793 465771 Email: [email protected] Gareth Cheal, Strategic Planning Manager Children Services Sanford House Sanford Street Swindon SN1 1QH Telephone: 01793 465802 Email: [email protected] Duty to respond to representations from parents The Local Authority has a new duty to respond to any representations from parents who are not satisfied with the provision of schools in the local area. This could be regarding the size, type, location or quality of school provision. Any parent wishing to express a view about the provision of school places in Swindon should contact the Local Authority as detailed above. National Context and Impact of Recent Legislation Education and Inspections Act 2006 This Act has changed the way in which decisions are made about proposals to open, close or enlarge schools. The body that made many of these decisions since 1999 has been abolished. In many cases it will now fall to the Local Authority to make these decisions. 4 The changes are summarised as follows: (a) New Schools – Competition Arrangements If there is a need for a new school, the Local Authority must normally hold a competition to decide who should set up and run it. The competition arrangements operate as follows: The Local Authority issues a Public Notice explaining why the school is required. The Notice describes the size and age range of the school and invites proposals for the new school from any interested person or group. The Local Authority might decide to submit a proposal of its own into the competition The Local Authority must publish all the proposals and hold at least one public meeting where the proposals can be discussed If the Local Authority has not entered the competition, it will determine which proposal should win the competition If the Local Authority has entered the competition it cannot also be the judge. In this case the Office of the Schools Adjudicator will determine the successful proposal. (b) School Reorganisations The Local Authority or a Governing Body may publish proposals for other changes such as closing, amalgamating or altering the capacity of schools. As indicated above, the Education and Inspections Act 2006 abolished the School Organisation Committee (SOC) and the Local Authority is now responsible for making many of these decisions. In limited circumstances, there will be the right of appeal to the School Adjudicator. (c) Consultation The new arrangements have not changed the requirement to consult with people likely to be affected by any change. The new legislation still requires full consultation to take place, particularly with parents, staff and governors and guidance has been produced by the Department for Children, Schools and Families for decision makers to take into account. More information on competitions, closing, amalgamating or altering the capacity of schools is available on the Department for Children, Schools and Families School Organisation website www.dcsf.gov.uk/schoolorg. Forthcoming Legislation During the development of the School Organisation Plan there have been many changes to the national picture. There are two key legislative changes to school organisation within the Academies Act and the introduction of Free Schools. At the time of publishing this plan the full details relating to these two 5 key areas have not been fully released, however, the direction from the new Government is as follows: Academies Act The purpose of the Act is to enable more schools to become academies and give them the freedoms and flexibilities they need to continue to drive up standards. The Government's vision is to create a world-beating school system in which every parent has access to a good school and all pupils achieve high standards. The central aims are to raise standards for all children, while narrowing the gap between the attainment of the most and least advantaged. Free Schools Free Schools are all-ability state-funded schools set up in response to parental demand. The most important element of a great education is the quality of teaching and Free Schools will enable excellent teachers to create schools and improve standards for all children, regardless of their background. Under the new plans it will become much easier for charities, universities, businesses, educational groups, teachers and groups of parents to get involved and start new schools. Ministers are working right across Government to remove the red tape which can prevent new schools from setting up from planning laws, to the Department’s own school premises rules. Local Context Swindon has good accessibility to London and the South West, which has resulted in the strong economic success of the town. The influence and economic advantages of its geographical location have enabled Swindon to prosper and for the town to continue to develop in the future. Swindon’s location and situation is relatively unconstrained by environmental features, which would allow the town to accept appropriate levels of additional development, subject to necessary investment in infrastructure. The Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and the Regional Economic Strategy underline the role of Swindon as a regional economic driver. The draft RSS for the South West 2026 proposes significant housing growth at Swindon for the next twenty years, involving 34,200 dwellings in the Borough plus an additional 3,000 dwellings as urban extensions to Swindon in Wiltshire. Population projections forecast a rise of around a third of the current population, from 186,000 to 250,000 by