Issue details

The Council retains the legal responsibility for pupil place planning and has a statutory duty (under section 14 of the Education Act 1996) to provide sufficient school places in its area. In order to achieve this the Council's priority is to ensure there is sufficient provision of school places in the right areas to meet need. These places can be delivered within community, academy, free school, voluntary controlled and voluntary aided schools.
Basic Need (BN) grant is allocated to the Council from the Department for Education (DfE) on an annual basis. The funding is allocated to support the provision of sufficient school places and the statutory duty of the Council.
The strategic requirement is to expand Peasedown St John Primary (PSJ) to take a further 105 pupils. The number on roll will increase from 525 to 630. The school expansion is required due to population growth and housing development in the area. PSJ is an academy and part of the Dragonfly Trust.
The capital project to expand the school will provide the school with the accommodation it needs to operate as a 630 place primary serving the local community.
Failure to provide sufficient places in the right areas will result in the Council failing in its statutory duty; parents and children being required to travel out of their locality to attend another school; increased transport (revenue) costs and schools being unable to take local children.