Purpose

The expenditure of this DfE grant will support
the council to continue to meet its statutory obligation of
sufficient school places and help ensure Secondary school places
are available across the city.
The Orchard School project is part of the Secondary bulge
Programme, and therefore this decision is allowed for in the
current Education Capital Programme of Works Cabinet approval
obtained on 18 January 2022 which “Authorised Executive
Director for People in consultation with Deputy Mayor with
responsibility for Children's Services, Education and Equalities to
accept, allocate and spend the grant funding from the Department
for Education, and procure and award the contract(s) necessary for
the implementation of the projects in Appendix 1 (as part of the
Education Capital Programme) in line with the maximum budget
envelope outlined in this report and without further reference to
cabinet”.
Appendix 1 included the year 7 secondary school bulge, aimed at
providing additional secondary school places across a range of
schools, of which Orchard School had been identified as a
contributor. The budget earmarked for this Year 7 Bulge was circa
£6m. Funding is predominantly DFE grant.
As the school site is managed by a PFI SPV, the contract for the
necessary works would be commissioned by them, with the Council
providing the funding.

Content

To support the award of the construction
contract for the refurbishment of Orchard School to the Private
Finance Initiative (PFI) Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to enable
the school to accommodate additional secondary pupil places by
providing a letter of indemnity in favour of the PFI SPV.