Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 At its meeting on 11 October 2006 the Executive agreed to select Writhlington School as the Authority's Pathfinder under the Building Schools for the Future Programme(BSF). The Executive also requested a report on the strategic impact on other secondary schools of this decision.

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 The planned renewal of Writhlington School represents a major opportunity for the Authority to demonstrate to itself and other stakeholders that it has the capacity to provide innovative new learning environments.

2.2 Successful delivery of the project by the DfES deadline may lead to the Council receiving further funding under the Building Schools for Future programme earlier than currently anticipated.

2.3 That the implementation of the Pathfinder scheme should have a positive impact on other secondary schools in the Authority generally but that pupil numbers in the Radstock and Midsomer Norton area will need to be monitored to ensure the continued viability of the existing secondary schools .

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 There are no direct financial implications arising from this report.

4 COMMUNITY STRATEGY OUTCOMES

5 CORPORATE IMPROVEMENT PRIORITIES

6 CPA KEY LINES OF ENQUIRY

7 THE REPORT

7.1 At its meeting on 11 October the Council Executive selected Writhlington School as the One School Pathfinder for Bath & North East Somerset.

7.2 Since that decision progress has been good. Officers from Children's Services and Major Projects have worked with the school and Key Educational Associates to develop the vision for the new school.

7.3 A stakeholder event for parents and Governors, in gather their input to the Vision, took place on 14 November

7.4 On 20 November an INSET day for all staff at the school was devoted to development of the Vision.

7.5 A further stakeholder event involving the community and both local and national business and educational partners was held on 29 November.

7.6 Staff and students have visited fifteen new schools in the region in order to assess the quality of buildings in order to inform the vision

7.7 The Vision Document sets out how the school will deliver the transformational change required by the DfES and will identify the accommodation needed to meet the school's curriculum and provide a full range of extended services for the local community.

7.8 The tendering process for architectural services for design of the new school is underway.

7.9 The Council Executive asked for an assessment of the strategic impact of the decision to renew Writhlington School on other secondary schools in the area.

7.10 Given that Writhlington will not be built to take more than its current intake level (approximately 220) Officers see no reason to believe that there will be a greater impact on other schools in the area than that already evident. However,as set out in the October report a new school is likely to further strengthen the recent trend of high parental preferences at Writhlington School. Should Writhlington and Norton Hill schools continue to admit pupils at their current levels (450 pupils per year in the last 3 years) and total pupil numbers do not increase significantly (540 in last three years) the long term viability of Somervale School may be questioned.

7.11 A potentially greater impact will be felt from the general decline in the numbers of young people requiring a school place. The emerging recommendations from the Education, Youth Culture & Leisure Overview & Scrutiny Panel report on the future of secondary education in Bath & North East Somerset recognises this and states in relation to Radstock and Midsomer Norton that;

a) "The Authority should monitor the effects of planned housing development in the APR of each of the schools and the numbers entering them over the next few years.

b) Should it become apparent that the number of pupils in any school is becoming unsustainable then at the time that the BSF programme is implemented, consideration should be given to reducing to two schools.

c) Should pupil numbers at any school become unsustainable before the planned implementation of the BSF programme, the Authority should open discussions with all stakeholders regarding the possible Federation of Norton Hill and Somervale schools.

7.12 Another important effect of the Writhlington project will be to demonstrate to other secondary schools in the Authority the capacity of the Council to produce, in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, exciting, innovative and functional learning environments. Success of the project in terms of timescale, budget and articulation of an educational vision may have an effect on the Authority's overall position in the Building Schools for the Future Programme.

8 RISK MANAGEMENT

8.1 A risk assessment related to the issue and recommendations has been undertaken, in compliance with the Council's decision making risk management guidance.

9 CONSULTATION

9.1 There has been no formal consultation on this report although there has been extensive consultation with key stakeholders on the pathfinder school and the review of secondary education in Norton Radstock undertaken by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

10 ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN REACHING THE DECISION

10.1 Social Inclusion; Sustainability; Property; Young People

11 ADVICE SOUGHT

11.1 The Council's Monitoring Officer (Council Solicitor) and Section 151 Officer (Strategic Director - Support Services) have had the opportunity to input to this report and have cleared it for publication.