Decision Maker:

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: January 27, 2025

Purpose:

Content: RESOLVED:   1.  The outcomes of the informal stage of consultation and Equality Impact Analysis provided as Appendix 1 were considered.   2.  Whether to publish a Statutory Notice and Proposal for the closure of Sir Thomas Abney Primary School and the amalgamation (merger) of its student body with nearby Holmleigh Primary School was considered;   3.  Proceeding to the next stage of the statutory process by publishing the Notice, after which the Statutory Representation Period will run from Thursday 6 February to Wednesday 5 March 2025, was agreed.   4.  Further linked proposals were noted: to reprovision the Sir Thomas Abney Primary School Language Resource at Holmleigh Primary School, by adding the same specialist provision there; and to enlarge Holmleigh Primary School by increasing its published admission number (PAN) to accommodate pupils displaced from Sir Thomas Abney to take effect from 1 September 2025.   REASONS FOR DECISION   The recommendations are made in order to determine the Council’s response to the consultation proposals as follows;   ·  Closure of Sir Thomas Abney on 31 August 2025 and amalgamation (merger) of the student body with nearby Holmleigh Primary School. The Published Admission Number (PAN) for  Holmleigh Primary School would be increased to accommodate the displaced pupils from both schools.  Holmleigh School would move  to the site currently occupied by Sir Thomas Abney Primary School and special educational resource provision added to Holmleigh.   Prior to determination of the initial proposals and following the response to the public consultation, alternatives were explored to support Sir Thomas Abney Primary School to remain open and sustainable. These were discussed with the School Governing Body in a series of meetings and/or communications between 10 September 2024 and 9 January 2025. None of these alternatives are considered by the Council to be viable.   The reasons and the rationale for the recommendation of the proposed merger and the alternatives considered are set out in Appendix 2.    These recommendations are made in accordance with:   ·  Department for Education Statutory Guidance ‘Opening and closing maintained schools’ (Oct 2024), which outlines the options for amalgamations when undertaking school organisation changes to two or more existing maintained schools, and ·  Department for Education Statutory Guidance ‘Making significant changes (‘prescribed alterations’) to maintained schools (Oct 2024), which outlines the process for significant changes to an existing maintained school.   Officers have had regard to both sets of guidance throughout this process.   This proposal would mean the closure of Sir Thomas Abney Primary School and the amalgamation (merger) of its student body with nearby Holmleigh Primary School at the end of the 2024/25 school year (ie. 31 August 2025).  Holmleigh Primary School would relocate to the current Sir Thomas Abney site from 1 September 2025, but there is no requirement for the Council to consult on the school’s relocation as the distance of 450 metres is less than the statutory requirement of two miles.  Holmleigh would retain its original school DfE registration number as it is not a new school.   A separate proposal has been developed to increase the PAN and add a specialist resource to Holmleigh Primary School, in order to secure the continuity of the existing language resource provision currently made at Sir Thomas Abney.  These places will be available to the displaced children from Sir Thomas Abney Primary School and other children. A further report will be presented for consideration by the Mayor and Cabinet to ensure that the required statutory process is followed.   DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED   Cabinet could decide not to proceed to the next stage of statutory consultation, in which case the Council would not be able to proceed with the closure proposal for Sir Thomas Abney Primary School. The Council would then have to decide on how the school’s budget deficit would be funded beyond the 2024/25 school year, given that the school is not financially viable and is most unlikely to see a sufficient increase in its pupil numbers for the situation to change in the foreseeable future.   Cabinet could decide to delay its decision on proceeding to the next stage of statutory consultation, but this would mean that the school’s financial position would be very likely to worsen, further impacting on the quality of education for its current pupils and leaving an even bigger budget deficit, should the school close later than the proposed date of 31 August 2025.  Officers are convinced that any delay would not be in the best interests of educational provision in the area.