SAMUELLUCASJMISCHOOL:

PROPOSAL TO ENLARGE THE PREMISES by 1 f.e. from 2013

1.Response to the consultation.

1.1A total of 65 responses were received to the consultation of which 22.7% were in agreement with the proposal and 66.7% disagreed. A breakdown of the responses is shown below:

Respondent / Agree / Disagree / Don`t Know / Grand Total
(Not Answered) / 1 / 1 / 2
Governing Body / 1 / 1
Governor / 1 / 1
Parent/carer / 12 / 32 / 3 / 48
Other / 1 / 2 / 3
Resident / 1 / 7 / 2 / 10
Planning Secretary to town forum / 1 / 1
Grand Total / 15 / 43 / 7 / 66
% / 22.7% / 66.7% / 10.6%

1.2Officers offered to attend a Governing Body meeting during the consultation period, but this was not felt to be necessary.

1.3The Governing body agrees with the expansion to 2 forms of entry and have asked that, should the expansion proceed, officers continue to work closely with the school to ensure the detailed design of the expansion scheme addresses school requirements and information is communicated clearly at each stage of the process.

2Key issues raised

2.1The following key issues were raised and a response to them provided below.

Main Issue / Response to issue
The school site is too small and not capable of expansion. / The county council recognises the need to provide Samuel Lucas with sufficient site to enable the school to deliver the PE curriculum and provide the appropriate amount of external play space for a full 2fe school. Additional land adjacent to the school site, currently used as non-statutory allotments, is in the ownership of the county council, expressly held for the expansion of the school and recognised in the town planning system for this use. It is proposed that part of this land would be used as playing field space, should the school expand.
Use of the adjacent allotment land to expand the school would result in a corresponding loss of green space and implications for wildlife, as well as the impact upon allotment holders. / Although we acknowledge community concerns about loss of the allotments adjacent to SamuelLucasSchool and are sympathetic to those allotment holders who would be affected by the enlargement of the school, these are non-statutory allotments. The land is owned by the county council and has been an education reserve site for a number of years.
The county council will be undertaking a landlord/tenant consultation with the allotment holders around the county council’s intents regarding the impact of the proposed school enlargement on this land.
An ecology survey is being arranged to minimise the impact on the environment, particularly any protected species. This will form part of the town planning application.
The expansion will result in increased traffic congestion and parking issues. The existing highways situation already puts children’s safety at risk. / An initial transport assessment has indicated that the surrounding roads can support an expansion of the school on the scale proposed, although additional on-site car parking spaces will be required for staff. The physical enlargement scheme and any associated traffic measures will be the subject of a separate town planning process in the autumn term. A detailed transport assessment will form part of this town planning application and part of this process will be formal consultation with the local community.
Insufficient information to enable consultees to make informed decision / Public consultation on the principle of enlargement began on 12 June 2012.The consultation letter outlined the proposal to expand the school to two forms of entry and by when, and indicated the need for additional buildings and play space for these extra children. It also made it clear that the details of any building proposals (including highways assessments) were subject to another a separate town planning process, which would include further formal consultation with local residents and the school community. In addition, there will be another opportunity to comment on the enlargement proposals during the statutory notice period, providing a further opportunity for people to express their views which would be taken into account in the county council's final decision making.
The proposed enlargement is on too large a scale. Why can’t the school enlarge by, say, 10 pupils per year group? / As primary schools operate in classes of 30 pupils, enlarging Samuel Lucas to take 40 pupils per year group would make it more difficult for the school to organise its classes and would necessitate classes mixed with pupils from different year groups. The county council has a policy preference for 2fe primary schools where this can be achieved on the basis that larger schools are able to offer a broader curriculum, with a larger staff team offering increased development opportunities for staff, and a greater ability to manage fluctuations in pupils numbers and offer greater financial sustainability.. Enlarging Samuel Lucas to 2 forms of entry also provides the right number of places in this location to meet demand in the area.
The proposal to enlarge Samuel Lucas to 2 forms of entry would mean the school growing from reception upwards, with an additional 30 reception pupils in 2013/14, increasing to a full 2fe school over a seven year period.
The primary pupil forecast for Hitchin does not indicate that a full 1FE additional places are needed. / The proposed expansion of Samuel Lucas JMI by 1 form of entry would result in a forecast surplus of 22 reception places in 2015/16, or 4.8%. Across an area the size of Hitchin, and the eleven schools within it, this is a reasonable level of surplus to manage fluctuations in demand and parental preference. The county council is satisfied, therefore, that this provides an appropriate number of permanent places across the area for the future based on current forecasts.
Why has the local authority decided that the 1FE expansion of a single school is its preferred option? Why not expand another school in the town? / Our most recent primary pupil forecasts indicate that an additional 1 fe is required to meet demand from the town and ensure that all Hitchin children can attend a local school. Potential options for meeting this need were considered against the Director’s four tests. A summary of the options considered and the analysis of this proposal against the four tests can be found on the county council’s website.
The Governing Body of William Ransom School responded to the consultation raising concerns around the process in determining which school should be expanded.
Before bringing forward proposals for school reorganisation, an amount of feasibility work is undertaken to provide some confidence that an enlargement scheme is deliverable. Samuel Lucas has been proposed for enlargement because it is well located close to one of the areas of Hitchin where there is demand for additional primary school places, it offers the opportunity to increase the number of places by a full 1fe which forecast demand suggests is the level of additional places required to meet need, it is a successful and outstanding popular school, and the site is considered capable of enlargement based on feasibility work to date.
Expanding the school will adversely change its ethos and community feel, / There are many 2fe schools across Hertfordshire and the county council is confident that the leadership and staff at Samuel Lucas will be able to maintain its current standards and build on the positive opportunities that can be created within a 2fe school for curriculum and staff development.
The current school buildings and core facilities cannot cope with an increase in pupils. / Should this proposal proceed, Samuel Lucas will be provided with brand new additional buildings which will include sufficient classrooms, group teaching spaces and toilets/cloaks linked to the existing buildings. It will also replace existing temporary accommodation the school currently uses for classrooms with permanent accommodation, and will ensure sufficient playing field and hard play for the additional pupils. The current school hall is of a sufficient size for delivery of the PE curriculum. Spare space within the existing building will also be released for the school to decide upon its use. This scheme therefore will improve the school’s current built environment and add to the school estate providing the school’s leadership team with the flexibility to manage a full 2fe school in a coherent way.
Other local schools may suffer a decline in pupil numbers if Samuel Lucas is enlarged. / Current forecast demand indicates that, without these additional places, there will be insufficient reception places available in the town to enable young children living in Hitchin to access a place. Providing an additional 1 form of entry will provide the appropriate number of permanent places to meet future demand, with all schools in the town either full or close to full.
What will happen if the current “bulge” in primary pupil numbers is not sustained into the future? / The current forecasts are based on actual numbers of preschool aged children living in Hitchin and take account of known new housing developments and historic migration patterns. Increasing Samuel Lucas by 30 places per year group will help to ensure that all Hitchin children can get a Reception place in the town.
Disruption to pupils both during building works and as a result of an increase in pupil numbers at the school. / The County Council will work closely with the school to ensure minimal disruption during the building works. Modern construction methods, including an off-site build solution, significantly reduces the amount of time building contractors are required on site. There are many benefits of a 2FE school outlined previously and the proposed construction of an additional 10 classroom block will enable the school to organise classes coherently keeping year groups together.
Local residents have not been adequately consulted on the proposal / Consultation letters on the proposal to enlarge Samuel Lucas JMI were issued to local residents adjacent to the school site as well as to parents, pupils and staff, other primary and secondary schools in the area, pre-school and nursery providers, county councillors, local district and parish councils, trade unions as well as to Citizens Advice Bureaux and local libraries (although it is understood that the letter was not displayed on the Hitchin library notice board as requested). The consultation also appeared on the county council’s website from the launch of the public consultation on 12 June 2012.
Should the county council’s Cabinet decide to proceed to the next stage of the statutory enlargement process, a statutory notice will be published in the school, on the school gates and will appear in the local newspaper, providing a further opportunity for the public to comment on the proposals.
Separately, the county council will be undertaking a landlord/tenant consultation with the allotment holders around the county council’s intents regarding the impact of the proposed school enlargement on this land.
More information should have been provided on the outcomes of the feasibility study to identify schools suitable for expansion. / The full list of options considered against the Director’s four tests was not published on the county council’s website during the consultation period, but can now be viewed by following the link below:

There is no wraparound care for children at Samuel Lucas and in West Hitchin generally and the expansion of Samuel Lucas will exacerbate the situation. If expanded, Samuel Lucas should be provided with a breakfast and after school club. / The proposed expansion of Samuel Lucas will provide the right number of places in a good location to ensure as far as possible that every child in Hitchin is successful in gaining a local school place.
There is a requirement on local authorities to ensure sufficient childcare for working parents in an area and the issue raised through the consultation around the lack of wraparound care in the area has therefore been flagged to the Childhood Support Services team to address and progress.

2.2In addition to these key issues raised by a number of respondents, there was individual comment about the following with a response in italics:

The admissions policy should be revised to allocate children to their nearest available school.

All admission authorities (schools and local authorities) must comply with existing education legislation which states that all parents are allowed to "express a preference" when applying for schools. Many parents, especially those with children of primary age, prefer schools close to their home, however it is their right to "express a preference" for any school they wish regardless of home-school distance.

When schools have more applications (preferences) that they have places available, oversubscription criteria (admission rules) are used to decide which children should be offered places. All schools and local authorities must comply with The School Admissions Code when determining their admission rules and most schools include distance to the school as one of their criteria.

2.3Copies of every response received are available in the Members Room to enable Members to review the detail prior to the Education Panel and Cabinet meetings.

3.Conclusions and recommendations

3.1 Whilst we acknowledge that a majority of respondents disagreed with the proposal, the issues raised have been carefully considered and responded to both here and in the body of the main report.

Having analysed all responses, it is the Officers’ view that in light of;

  • the agreement of the Governing Body to the expansion;
  • the fact that the additional land which may be required is in the ownership of the county council expressly held for the expansion of the school and which is recognised in the town planning system; and
  • the fact that Samuel Lucas is a very popular school well located to meet the additional demand;

the enlargement of Samuel Lucas is the right solution to provide the additional 1fe school places needed in Hitchin from 2013/14.

3.2Issues such as the impact on the highways network and specific proposals for building the additional accommodation required for the school to expand will be the subject of a future town planning application which will involve formal consultation with local residents and the school community. Any school enlargement decision will be conditional upon the granting of town planning permission for the building scheme proposals.

It is therefore recommended that Cabinet authorise the publication of a statutory notice to enlarge the premises of the school from 2013/14.

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