Purpose

The Cabinet will be asked to consider the
proposed admission arrangements for Stockport junior community
junior schools and proposed changes to the Published Admission
Numbers at Nevill Road Infant School and Nevill Road Junior School
for admission in September 2027. The report makes recommendations
to the Cabinet following a public consultation on the proposals.
The admission arrangements in effect for September 2026 for
Stockport community and voluntary controlled infant, primary and
secondary schools will remain largely the same for September 2027
apart from points of clarification recommended by the School
Adjudicator.

Content

The Cabinet has
considered a report outlining the recent consultation on amendments
to the admission arrangements for junior schools in Stockport for
which Stockport Council is the admission authority and the
published admission numbers at Nevill Road Infant School and Nevill
Road Junior School for September 2027, and has:-
 
(1) Approved that the
admission arrangements for Stockport maintained community and
voluntary controlled schools are determined for September 2027 as
set out in Appendix 1.
 
(2) Approved the
reduction of the published admission number at Nevill Road Infant
School to 60 from September 2027
 
(3) Approved the
reduction of the published admission number at Nevill Road Junior
School to 60 from September 2027
 
(4) Delegated the
decision to proceed to the publication of statutory proposals to
the Director of Education, Work and Skills in consultation with
Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education having
considered the outcome of the initial consultation.
 
(5) Noted the outcome
of the Integrated Impact Assessment. 
The IIA notes that the reduction in the proposed Published
Admission Numbers at Nevill Road Infant School and Nevill Road
Junior School has some positive and negative short-term
impacts.  The schools affected
are able to access support from
Stockport Council if the reduction means that staffing at the
schools needs to be reduced.  It also
allows for an improvement in the local environment as temporary
accommodation that is reaching the end of its useful life can be
removed.

Alternative options considered

The alternative option
for Nevill Road Infant School and Nevill Road Junior School is to
do nothing and leave the Published Admission Numbers as they are.
This would mean that significant levels of surplus capacity were
not addressed leaving schools in the area vulnerable to financial
instability. It would also mean that accommodation that almost
reached the end of its useful life cannot be addressed.