REPORT FOR INFORMATION
Report title: Proposal to change the age ranges at All Saints CE VC First School, Dulverton and Dulverton Middle School.
Author: Julia Balmford, Schools Commissioning Team Date: 22 October 2014
Officer reporting: Julia Ridge
Strategic Manager – Early Years & Schools Commissioning
01823 357633
Recommendation:
Members are asked to note that following changes to the funding and standards within the Exmoor Federation of schools there is no longer support from the Governing Body of the Exmoor Federation to change the age ranges at All Saints First School and Dulverton Middle School.
1. Reasons for proposed recommendation
1.1 The proposal to change the age range at All Saints First and Dulverton Middle schools, and the subsequent consultations, were initiated in May 2013 by the Governing Body of the Exmoor Federation as a result of the funding changes and concern over standards.
1.2 With the changes to the formula providing sparsity funding in March 2014, and Ofsted rating Exford First and Dulverton Middle as ‘Good’ in July 2013, the Governors of the Exmoor Federation, at their meeting on 11 June 2014, voted not to support the proposal.
1.3 Within the community there is a wish that the Authority makes a decision as to the future age ranges of All Saints First School and Dulverton Middle School. However, the consultation is clear that although there is a wish from some parents to have the option of expressing a preference for a primary / secondary education, there is also substantial parental and community support for the schools staying as they are.
1.4 With the changes to the catchment at Kingsmead School, Wiveliscombe, parents who wish to change to a secondary education at 11 are now able to express a preference with a realistic expectation of a place. The admissions process is set out on the Authority’s website: http://www.somerset.gov.uk/policies-and-plans/policies/school-admissions-summaries/
1.5 Parents for whom Kingsmead School is their nearest school have a legal entitlement to free transport (Kingsmead becomes the nearest school at the age of 13 for those students where it is nearer than West Somerset College in Minehead). The Local Authority will consult in the autumn term 2014 on extending the transport area for Kingsmead School to include those students in West Somerset for whom it is the nearest Somerset school.
1.6 In view of the above changes in circumstances the Authority understands and respects the view of the Governing Body and therefore the LA is not continuing with the process of changing the age ranges of the Dulverton schools.
2. Background
2.1 The Exmoor Federation of All Saints CE VC First School (Dulverton), Exford CE VC First School and Dulverton Middle School was formed in 2007 following a review of education in West Somerset. The schools share the same head and governing body.
2.2 All Saints First School has 123 pupils and is rated by Ofsted as Requires Improvement. Exford First School has 28 pupils as is rated by Ofsted as Good. Dulverton Middle School has 96 pupils and is rated by Ofsted as Good.
2.3 Pupils feed into West Somerset College in Minehead at Year 9. The College also takes pupils from Minehead Middle and Danesfield Middle schools.
2.4 In December 2013, following the recommendations of a joint LA and Governing Body working party which explored a number of options with neighbouring schools and the community, the governors of the Exmoor Federation asked the Local Authority to formally consult on changing the age ranges of the schools. The drivers for change at that time were:
2.4.1 Size of Dulverton Middle School
In county and national terms Dulverton Middle School is a ‘small school’. The governors were concerned about the viability of providing a broad secondary curriculum for Years 7 & 8.
2.4.2 Funding
The 2011 Education Act changed education funding, based more on pupil numbers and aligned with national curriculum key stages. These reforms mean that middle school key stage 2 pupils are no longer funded as secondary pupils but as primary pupils.
2.4.3 Standards
The three tier system has been challenged by changes to the education landscape. The national curriculum is built around four key stages. In the three tier system pupils move schools during both Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3. The exam structure means that pupils only have one year in the upper school before having to decide their GCSE options. See Appendix 1 for details.
2.4.4 Opportunities for students
There is a risk for the Exmoor Federation that small pupil numbers within the three tier system means young people will be offered more limited educational opportunities but the Exmoor Federation and parents are very supportive of the Exmoor Curriculum.
2.4.5 Choice for parents
Currently parents are not offered the opportunity of expressing a preference for secondary schools until their children are 13 by which time neighbouring schools of Kingsmead and South Molton are full as their year of entry is Year 7. This limits parents’ choice to West Somerset College.
3. Pupil numbers and forecasts (Summer 2014)
NOR2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2024
All Saints First / 123 / 119 / 109 / 108 / 111 / 101
Exford First / 28 / 31 / 32 / 34 / 29 / 29
Dulverton Middle / 96 / 103 / 116 / 126 / 135 / 144 / 125
4. Alternative options considered and rejected
4.1 The Governors of the Exmoor Federation of schools considered a number of options before asking the County Council to consult on changing the age ranges of the schools.
4.2 These included:
· Academy status: it was considered that the schools were too small to be approved as academies.
· Collaboration: There were a number of offers of collaboration from nearby schools. West Somerset College has been providing specialist teaching at Dulverton Middle School free of charge for the past year.
· Partnerships: There were a number of partnership offers from nearby schools.
5. Transport
5.1 Free school transport is provided to children between the ages of 4 and 16 years old who attend their nearest school or the school in the transport area for their home address, and who live over the statutory walking distance from that school. This is two miles for children aged under eight years old and three miles for children aged eight years old and over. It is also provided to children whose route to school is deemed to be unsafe.
5.2 As parents are not currently invited to express a preference for secondary provision until their children are 13, their options are limited as the neighbouring and nearest schools are often full.
5.3 For children from low income families, Somerset County Council legally has to provide free school transport in the followingcircumstances:
· Children aged between 8 and 11 will receive transport to their nearest school if it is between 2 and 3 miles.
· Children aged between 11 and 16 who live between 2 and 6 miles from the school and attend one of the three nearest schools will receive free school transport.
For these purposes, middle schools are classified as a primary school and a low income is defined as any child who qualifies for pupil premium funding or families receiving their maximum level of Working Tax Credit.
5.4 As there are no other schools between 2 and 6 miles of Dulverton Middle Schoolthis flexibility is not used.
5.5 Somerset County Council chooses to provide transportto Schoolswhich are not the nearest school but are the school which serves that community. In Dulverton the nearest school is Dulverton Middle until the age of 13, and West Somerset College, Minehead then serves the whole community, but is not necessarily the nearest school.
5.6 South Molton School, Tiverton High School or Kingsmead School at Wiveliscombe are the nearest schools for a number of children at 13.
5.7 The County Council’s transport policy, in paragraph 6.14.6, explains: where an own admission authority applies to change its catchment area for admission purposes this will not normally affect the designated transport area for the school. The transport entitlement remains for the designated transport area as designated in September 2012 unless the Authority has agreed to change it following consultation.
5.8 The Local Authority will be consulting on the degree to which the transport entitlement is extended.
6. Changes since the review of the Exmoor Federation Governors asked for in June 2013
6.1 Funding
· The DfE has given Local Authorities the option to provide sparsity funding to schools that serve large sparsely populated areas. This option was taken up by Somerset Local Authority in March 2014 and provides additional funding for Exford first School and Dulverton Middle School.
· This means that the current funding will not be reduced as previously thought. The budget will rise and fall in line with the number of pupils on roll.
6.2 Standards
· An Ofsted inspection of Exford First and Dulverton Middle Schools and judged both schools ‘Good’ (July 2013).
· West Somerset College is aiming to work more closely with its feeder schools.
· Minehead Middle School has offered to work with Dulverton Middle School.
6.3 School Organisation
· Both West Somerset College and Minehead Middle School are academies and therefore an extension of the current Federation, to join the academies with the Dulverton schools, is not possible.
· The Governors of West Somerset College consulted in 2013 on reducing its age of entry but have decided not to proceed with its proposal to reduce its age of entry to 11.
· In spring 2014, Kingsmead School in Wiveliscombe, which is an academy, undertook a consultation to change its over-subscription criteria to include Dulverton Middle School and to increase its Admission Number. The changes were approved by the Governing Body at Kingsmead. This means that all children who live in the Dulverton Middle School catchment have priority in the case of over-subscription at Kingsmead School.
6.4 A timeline of key events is shown in Appendix 1.
7. Consultation
7.1 During the autumn of 2013 the Authority held informal consultation to understand the issues and options.
7.2 A period of statutory consultation on changing the age range was undertaken between January and May 2014. During the autumn term 2013, meetings were held for the heads of the West Somerset schools, the local parish councillors, the parents and communities of Dulverton and Exford, the Dulverton school council and the local clergy.
7.3 In February 2014 a consultation document was sent to all parents and was made available to the community. An online questionnaire was produced. During the consultation period two public meetings were held, one organised by Somerset County Council and one by Dulverton Town Council. Drop-in sessions were held in Dulverton and Exford.
7.4 Key representations were received from:
· The Diocese of Bath & Wells
· The Town Council
· Parents in favour of the proposal
· Parents opposed to the proposal
· The Governors of the Exmoor Federation
7.5 The results of the statutory consultation are detailed in Appendix 2.
7.6 Following a Governing Body meeting to discuss the results of the consultation, an additional consultation was undertaken directly with parents of children at the three schools in the Federation, as the governors felt that they were under-represented in the initial consultation.
7.7 The results of this additional consultation are detailed in Appendix 3.
8. The views of the Governors of the Exmoor Federation
8.1 At the meeting on 11 June 2014 the Governors focussed on the quality and range of provision and the learning outcomes for the children both when they are within the schools of the federation and after they have moved on. They spent considerable time deciding whether the revised budget arrangements will enable them to offer a high quality curriculum that is broad, balanced and personalised. The Governors looked at the issues of progression and continuity and the various opportunities for enhanced partnership working.
8.2 The Governors are aware that Kingsmead Academy has consulted on changing its catchment and that pupils are entitled to free transport to their nearest school. The Local Authority will notify parents of the opportunity to express a preference for a secondary education in the autumn term of Year 6.
8.3 The Governors recognise that retaining the status quo and managing the age range present challenges, recognising from the parental survey that some parents may wish to opt for a secondary education for their children at the age of 11.
8.4 The Governors have decided that, on balance, they have greater confidence that the existing structure will be appropriate for their intentions and aspirations and therefore did not support the proposed changes.
8.5 The current structure is supportive of Exford First School.
9. Financial implications
9.1 The Authority showed the Governors the implications of the minimum funding guarantee, examples of the costs of comparably sized schools and the budgets and costs of comparably sized infants and junior schools.