Decision details

The school Governing Body has published a proposal to alter the lower age limit of the school from age 4 to age 3 by the addition of Early Years provision that would be run by the school and a decision is required to determine the proposal

(1) To AGREE that the lower age limit of Camerton Church School be altered from age 4 to age 3 by the addition of Early Years provision to commence on 1 October 2012.

The proposal is for the school to take over running an existing pre-school provision currently run on a voluntary basis by a management committee and that will have to close if an alternative solution is not found as the committee has decided to cease to operate. Therefore capacity and sustainability in the local area should not be an issue as no new places are being created that might have a negative effect on the viability of other provision locally.

 It is anticipated that the proposal will ensure that this age group of children have continued access to local high quality education, and an opportunity to enter the school as Reception children at age 4.

The pre-school operating from the school site has already served to increase the number of pupils leaving the Early Years provision and going on to apply for a Reception place at Camerton Church School and the expectation is that this would continue and hopefully increase further as a result of the school running the provision in the future.

The existing pre-school provision meets a specific need for this rural community and provides a valuable local resource for parents living in this rural area. There are few places available in neighbouring pre-schools and local families would require transport in order to reach them.

No objections to the proposal were raised during the consultation period. No responses were received during the six week representation period following publication of the statutory notice.

No other options were considered – there is insufficient capacity in the local community to form a committee to continue to run the pre-school on its current basis. Also the inclusion of the pre-school as part of the school to be run as a high quality provision with qualified early years teacher input is expected to improve educational outcomes for children and increase numbers.