Primary school expansion strategy
St. Mary’s RC Primary
School
Chair: Paul Ballatt – Head of Commissioning,
Strategy and Performance
Children, Schools & Families Dept.
Councillor Peter Walker
Cabinet Member for Education
London Borough of Merton
The Challenge
• Between 2007/8 and 2013/14 there will
be a growth in the number of primary
school children aged 4 of 30% - 800+
3 Key factors for expansion
strategy
 Building on excellent education
 Sustainable solutions for our schools
 Value for money
Result of Borough wide
consultation autumn 2010
7 Schools including St. Mary’s RC agreed to
provide extra reception classes in September
2011 and consider permanent expansion
Council budget in March agreed 4-year capital
sums for primary school expansion programme
Tom Procter
Manager of Contracts and School
Organisation,
Children, Schools & Families Dept.
Aim
• Rationale for why proposing expansion of
St. Mary’s RC
• Legal process
• School’s vision for expansion
• Building feasibility and phasing strategy
Birth rate increase = additional primary school places
Year children will
enter reception
class
Corresponding
Birth figure
Rise from
2007/08
Extra classes
(FE – form of
entry)
3FE
3FE
3FE
7FE
2FE
3FE
2007/08
2,612
2008/09
2,785
173
2009/10
2,893
281
2010/11
2,972
360
2011/12
3,250
638
2012/13
3,320
708
2013/14
3,419
807
Why St. Mary’s?
- Overall criteria in selecting schools
• Educational standards – good & outstanding schools
• Parental preference - popular and over-subscribed
schools
• Smaller schools expand where feasible
• Location – where places most in demand
• Physical constraints of existing school sites
• Value for money and affordability
• Balance of faith based schools
Legal process for St. Mary’s RC
Decision made
• Extra reception class in September 2011
This consultation on permanent expansion
from September 2012
• Statutory consultation to 11 May > Consider >
Publish a statutory notice > Decision > Statutory
duty to implement
• Decision is after planning permission granted for
building or “subject to planning permission”
Sarah Crouch
Headteacher, St. Mary’s School
School vision for
expansion
What can we gain?
More space
Places for
Catholic
children
Better teaching
opportunities
To be the
best that
we can be
Increased sense
of community
More resources
One school,
One building
What we don’t want to lose.
Ethos
Facilities
e.g. ICT suite
Playground
space
To be the
best that
we can be
Calm learning
environment
The way all
children
integrate
Building project
Existing site and surrounding
Building project
Value for money for short term and long term
solutions
• Short term – extra reception class
• Longer term – school gradually providing
for 7 extra classes (210 pupils) from
2011/12 to 2017/18
Feasibility study – key questions
Council building used in the short term?
Council building used or demolished in longer term?
Feasible to connect to existing school building?
School improvement/value for money/affordability
Feasibility study – priorities for school
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Additional 7 classrooms
2nd hall/larger hall for assemblies
Early years play
Whole school play/PE
Appropriate ICT facilities
Appropriate staff facilities
Existing site close up
Building Expansion strategy
– DRAFT feasibility layouts
Phase 2 –
By Sep 2012
Phase 3 – By Sep 2014
Phase 1 –
staff car
park
becomes
playground
Note – this is a draft indicative layout from the
feasibility study – not a final layout plan
Phase 1 – ground floor
of building for 2
classrooms until
summer 2014 at latest
Phase 3 – Building
demolished for play
space by Sep 2014
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What questions do we have for the
council?
What happens if the budget is not available?
Timing-if the two classes are not ready for September, what happens? How would this
be funded?
Why are we not building two new Reception classes straight away?
How much say do we have on details and how much say do we have on bigger picture
decisions?
Can we say no?
Are there enough children?
What will the length of the building programme be?
Will the council give a guarantee to complete the chosen option?
Is there adequate funding for heating, lighting and resources?
Why are we not having a prefab classroom rather than the social services building?
Will we have foundations that can take an extra storey?
Is the social services building structurally sound?
Is it possible for parents to meet with the building team?
How are the Council going to communicate once everything starts?
Will we get to retain any budget surplus?
How will noise disruption affect children?
When will the Council decide which option to go with?
Eco friendly build? Solar panels?
What did the Council learn from expanding Holy Trinity?
Agreed reception class expansions
21 FE total - 630 extra reception places in 6 years)
Year
Forms of
entry (FE)
increase
2008/09
3FE
2009/10
3FE
2010/11
3FE
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
7FE
2FE
3FE
Schools
Wimbledon Chase, Holy Trinity
and St. Thomas of Canterbury RC
Benedict, Hollymount and Joseph
Hood
Bishop Gilpin CE (1 yr), Aragon
and Cranmer
All Saints CE, Gorringe Park,
Liberty, St. Marys RC, Singlegate,
William Morris and Wimbledon
Park, Plus
Dundonald? & one to confirm
To confirm