Decision details

Expand Whitchurch Primary from a one form entry 210 pupil school using 7 classrooms to a 1.5 form entry 315 pupil school using 11 classrooms.  The project to provide a new permanent 4 classroom block and associated facilities.

The Cabinet Member agrees that a project budget of £1.309m will be included in the 2017-18 Schools Capital Programme to expand school place provision at Whitchurch Primary School.

1.  The Council retains the legal responsibility for pupil place planning in its area and in order to do this effectively must find solutions for the delivery of additional school places where required.

2.  S106 Developer Contributions received and expected are to expand or enlarge primary school provision in the area.

3.  Basic Need grant funding is made available to local authorities to address the issue of population growth, enabling them to provide additional school places.

4.  An area of land adjacent to the school playing field has been acquired by the Council using developer contributions to enable the expansion of the school.

5.  The additional primary school places needed in the Whitchurch Primary area are required due to pupils generated by new housing development and some underlying population growth.  The project will be funded by S106 and Basic Need.

6.  The Primary and Secondary School Organisation Plan 2015-19 (SOP) indicates the Council’s Educational Strategies and Criteria for provision of new school places as a result of new housing development or underlying population growth.

7.  Whitchurch Primary school was selected for expansion:

7.1Due to the school’s proximity to the new housing developments it is the closest for the pupils generated by those developments which are included in the Whitchurch Strategic Housing Site Allocation and Core Strategy.

7.2The SOP states “Where possible existing schools should be expanded.”

7.3There are insufficient school places in the Whitchurch area to accommodate the children generated by the housing developments and the underlying population growth.

8.  To aid parental preference as stated in the SOP and to facilitate sustainable methods of transport to school and keep home to school transport costs to a minimum.

No other options considered as Whitchurch Primary School is the only school in Bath and North East Somerset that serves the local area.