Purpose

Burnley Campus was built in 2008 under the Private Finance Initiative programme: Building Schools for the Future. It provides accommodation for Barden Primary School, Holly Grove Primary School (Special Educational Needs), Reedley Hallows Nursery School, Burnley Campus Library, Reedley Hallows Children and Family Wellbeing Service, The Faith Centre and The Exchange in Burnley.

Following the closure of Thomas Whitham Sixth Form, the vacated accommodation at Burnley Campus needs to be reviewed and alternate use identified. The School Planning Strategy has identified the need for 30 additional primary school places, which can be met by the addition of a temporary form of entry for September 2021 at Barden Primary School.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability sufficiency strategy under priority 3 aims to ensure that all pupils with Education Health and Care Plans have access to mainstream education within their local community. Barden Primary School expressed an interest in providing a special educational needs unit, within their mainstream school setting, and the vacant former Thomas Whitham accommodation provides opportunity to establish one.

The SEND sufficiency strategy also identifies the need for more special school places within Lancashire to meet rising demand for places and to meet various priorities under the strategy. Holly Grove Primary School is currently over-subscribed for pupils requiring places in the special school, and the opportunity to provide additional accommodation using former Thomas Whitham space will enable the school to increase the number of special school places it can provide.

Following the phase one reorganisation of the educational partners on the campus and the Children and Family Wellbeing Service, a phase two review to address the impact on other services and to form a plan for the remaining accommodation is required.

Phase one of the Burnley Campus review sets out a reconfiguration of accommodation in order to meet these strategic requirements. An overview of the phase 1 reconfiguration and associated cost estimates is set out within the report.

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C20 have been complied with. Compliance with Standing Order C19 was impractical as the project has expanded from that originally envisaged which, in turn, has impacted on the cost. The reason for this is that agreement needed to be reached with multiple stakeholders and further works are now required under phase 1 to future proof phase 2 works at the campus.

Decision

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.