FIFE COUNCIL
Education and Children’s Services Committee
10 April 2008
Agenda Item Number
A REVIEW OF THE PROVISION OF
A NEW SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR THE NORTH EAST FIFE AREA
1.0
Introduction
1.1
A report was presented to the Children’s Services Committee in May 2005,
entitled ‘School Estate Strategy’, which described the possible patterns of
supply and demand for secondary school places across Fife between 2006
and 2026.
1.2
Fife Council has since approved proposals for a reduced number of new
houses through the Fife Structure Plan and there has also been a continued
reduction in the number of primary and secondary pupils at schools across
Fife.
1.3
These falling school rolls and reduced housing allocations have had a
significant impact in the north east Fife area and the purpose of this report is
to update the Education and Children’s Services Committee on the current
considerations regarding an additional secondary school in the area as a
result of these changes.
2.0
Background
2.1
In May 2005 a report was presented to the Children’s Services Committee
which provided a summary of the provision of secondary education in Fife and
introduced the possibility of a new secondary school in the north east Fife
area. The issue of an additional school in this area had been discussed since
at least the 1970’s.
2.2
The report was to be used as a strategic planning framework for taking
forward developments in the provision of secondary education in Fife and the
key assumptions at that time were that:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
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schools should aim to meet the needs of the individual child;
schools should be in the heart of the community they serve;
the major developments indicated in the draft Fife Structure Plan are
achieved to timescale indicated;
as a planning guide, any new secondary school should be in the
range 800-1400 pupils; and
on any new development, consideration should be given to co-location
of services for young people and communities.
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2.3
While these assumptions remain valid, it is appropriate to review the
implications of the Fife Structure Plan and the planning guide for the size of
secondary schools as these issues continue to move forward.
2.4
The Fife Structure Plan is an important consideration and paragraph 2.2(c)
above stresses the need to continue to match education places with demand
as it arises. It is also important to note that the consultative draft Structure
Plan from May 2005 has moved on and in December 2007 Fife Council
approved modifications to the Finalised Fife Structure Plan arising from the reappraisal of the housing land requirement, reducing the number of additional
housing required across Fife.
2.5
It should also be recognised that the planning guide for the capacity of
secondary schools of between 800 and 1400 pupils, identified in paragraph
2.2(d) above, is under continuous pressure as there are six schools
(Balwearie, Bell Baxter, Dunfermline, Inverkeithing, Madras and Queen Anne)
currently operating with more than 1400 pupils and another four schools
(Lochgelly, Kirkland, Viewforth and St Andrews) currently operating with less
than 800 pupils. Recent successful appeals against refused placing requests
continue to undermine plans to reduce capacities at schools such as Bell
Baxter High School.
2.6
It is not considered to be an efficient use of the available capacity at a school if
the roll is limited while unused capacity remains as part of the overall
accommodation. For example, restricting Queen Anne High School to 1400
pupils while the school currently has capacity for 1800 pupils would place
unnecessary disruption and pressure on surrounding schools to accommodate
the displaced pupils.
2.7
As the school in this example is less than 5 years old and this scenario would
leave accommodation for 400 pupils unused at the school, there could also be
criticism from Audit Scotland regarding the financial considerations made and
the decisions taken at the time the school was built regarding the required size
and capacity of the school. In occupancy terms, 1400 pupils attending a
school with capacity for 1800 pupils would result in an occupancy of 77.7%.
2.8
For these reasons it is suggested that while paragraph 2.2(d) above remains
valid as a planning guide for new schools, we need to recognise that a
number of our schools currently exceed this limit.
3.0
Fife Structure Plan
3.1
Modifications to the Fife Structure Plan arising from the re-appraisal of
housing land requirement, as approved by the Planning Committee in
December 2007, have reduced the housing land requirement to 6,050 houses
over the whole of the Cupar and North West and St Andrews and North East
Fife housing market areas over the next 20 year period.
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3.2
A specific comparison of the changes to the strategic land allocations in the
Madras College catchment area, shows a reduction of 2095 units since
2005. This reduction is as a result of a lower number of proposed houses for
the St Andrews West, Tayport/Newport/Wormit and Leuchars/Guardbridge
land allocations as shown in the following table.
Location of strategic
housing
St Andrews West
Leuchars / Guardbridge
Tay Bridgehead
Total
Range of units
identified in 2005
1000-1800
750-1000
750-950
2500-3750
Number of units
identified in 2005
1615
970
960
3545
Number of
units in 2007
1000
0
450
1450
3.3
While the number of proposed new houses since 2005 has reduced over the
whole of the North East Fife area, the most significant impact of the reduction
has been in the Madras College catchment area.
3.4
The Finalised Fife Structure Plan Housing Land Requirement Re-appraisal
document provides the current position both on the number of units proposed
and on the phasing of strategic land allocations for the period 2006-26.
3.5
The re-appraisal document includes a future local plan allocation of 1540 units
across the two housing market areas in East Fife. Development Services
have advised that 500 of these units should be expected within the Madras
College catchment area, 540 should be expected within the Bell Baxter High
catchment area and 500 should be expected within the Waid Academy
catchment area, over the 20 year period of future local plans and this advice is
included in current projections.
4.0
Outline option appraisal
4.1
The objective of this outline appraisal is to highlight the main issues relating to
the case for whether a new secondary school is, or is not required for the
north east Fife area, and to present balanced comments.
4.2
Information has been gathered from a variety of sources including current
school rolls and catchment areas, the demand for school places, population
changes and known proposed housing developments and the following
sections cover what are considered to be the key issues both for and against a
new school in the north east Fife.
5.0
Catchment area considerations
5.1
Given the local geographical restrictions the catchment area required for a
new Tay Bridgehead secondary school would be most likely to come
exclusively from the existing Madras College catchment area.
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5.2
There is not much flexibility for extension beyond the existing Madras College
catchment as the next nearest catchment areas are for Dunbog (45 pupils),
Rathillet (18 pupils), Balmullo (139 pupils) and Dairsie (40 pupils) primary
schools. With the exception of Balmullo these are schools with relatively
small rolls.
5.3
These communities may not support a change away from their traditional
connections with Cupar but due to the Tay Bridgehead location, there are
limited alternative catchment possibilities.
5.4
Appendix A shows a map of the north east Fife area including primary and
secondary school catchment areas.
6.0
Current and recent primary school rolls
6.1
The catchment area for a secondary school at the Tay Bridgehead area could
be expected to include at least Balmerino, Newport, Tayport and Wormit
primary schools and these four schools combined had a total of 684 pupils at
the latest school census in September 2007.
6.2
The following table shows a list of these non-denominational primary schools
with their recent and current school rolls.
Primary school
Balmerino PS
Newport PS
Tayport PS
Wormit PS
Total
6.3
Actual school roll
from 2007 census
55
196
269
164
684
Extending any catchment area further to include Guardbridge and Leuchars
primary schools would increase the catchment area primary school rolls by
282 pupils as shown in the following table.
Primary school
Guardbridge PS
Leuchars PS
Total
6.4
Actual school roll
from 2003 census
83
238
319
189
829
Actual school roll
from 2003 census
57
296
353
Actual school roll
from 2007 census
45
237
282
The combined rolls at these six primary schools at the September 2007
census was 966. This is a reduction of 216 pupils (-18%) since 2003.
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6.5
Moving the six schools listed in paragraphs 6.2 and 6.3 to form a new
secondary school catchment area would also reduce the combined roll at the
remaining Madras College catchment primary schools to 586 pupils as shown
in the following table.
Primary school
Canongate PS
Dunino PS
Kingsbarns PS
Langlands PS
Largoward PS
Lawhead PS
New Gilston PS
Strathkinness PS
Total
Actual school roll
from 2003 census
223
23
23
122
43
180
30
56
700
Actual school roll
from 2007 census
235
14
33
0
38
180
25
61
586
6.6
The combined rolls at these primary schools at the September 2007 census
was 586. This is a reduction of 114 pupils (-16%) since 2003.
6.7
It should also be noted that as there are only 4 full year groups at secondary
schools (plus a reduced staying-on rate for S5 and S6 pupils) compared with
7 full year groups at primary schools, the total number of secondary school
pupils will always be less than the number of primary school pupils.
6.8
As these lower numbers of pupils move through primary school and onto
secondary education a falling roll can also be expected in the secondary
sector.
6.9
For additional information, the roll at Greyfriars Roman Catholic Primary
School was 191 pupils in 2003 and had fallen to 189 pupils in 2007. This
school is part of the primary cluster for St Andrews Roman Catholic High
School in Kirkcaldy but a high percentage of the pupils attend Madras College
as placing requests.
7.0
Financial considerations
7.1
The cost of a new 1000 pupil capacity secondary school is provisionally
estimated at £22m. This is based on accommodation schedules prepared for
a new school for 1400 pupils but with the number of teaching spaces adjusted
for the lower number of pupils.
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8.0
Transportation considerations
8.1
Transportation Services have advised us that there are currently 18 buses
transporting pupils to Madras College at a cost of £780,000 each year. For
comparison, there are 19 buses transporting pupils to Bell Baxter High at a
cost of £604,000 each year and 5 buses transporting pupils to Waid Academy
at a cost of £179,000 each year.
8.2
Assuming any additional secondary education provision would be located in
the Tay Bridgehead area, Transportation Services have also been able to
estimate that in order to transport pupils to their catchment schools, a new
Tay Bridgehead catchment would require 10 buses each day and the
remaining Madras College catchment would require 6 buses each day. With
these assumptions there would be no change to the transport requirements to
Bell Baxter High.
8.3
The approximate cost for these buses would be £197,000 each year for the
remaining Madras College catchment and £430,000 each year for the new
Tay Bridgehead catchment. This equates to a reduction of 2 buses per year,
resulting in a financial reduction of around £153,000 each year.
8.4
Pupils living in the Tay Bridgehead area who already attend Madras College
and wish to stay at the school after a new school is built would expect to retain
their free transport and so there may not be an immediate reduction in cost.
9.0
Roll projections in north east Fife
9.1
The current methodology used by the Education Service to project pupil
numbers considers a number of factors including current pupil numbers,
migration between stages, new primary one pupils and additional pupils
expected from new housing. Secondary school projections also include pupil
transfer rates from P7 to S1 and the staying-on rate of pupils beyond S4.
9.2
For longer term pupil projections there is less reliable information on which to
base projections as these pupils have not yet been born and for this reason
there is always an element of risk involved in any projections. However it
should be noted that the recent Audit Scotland report, ‘Improving the school
estate’ suggests that it is good practice, whilst recognising the risks involved,
that councils project at least 10 years ahead. Fife Council exceeds this
recommendation.
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9.3
The following table shows the current roll projections for Bell Baxter High
School, Madras College and Waid Academy using the methodology described
above and including all proposed housing developments.
Pupils
School
Bell Baxter
High School
Madras College
Waid Academy
Total
2007
Current Roll
(Capacity)
(Occupancy)
2015
Projected
Roll
(Occupancy)
2020
Projected
Roll
(Occupancy)
2025
Projected
Roll
(Occupancy)
1799
(1800)
(99.9%)
1748
(97.1%)
1615
(89.7%)
1605
(89.1%)
1337
(76.4%)
1342
(76.7%)
1300
(74.3%)
728
(85.6%)
656
(77.2%)
646
(76.0%)
3813
(86.7%)
3613
(82.1%)
3551
(80.7%)
1659
(1750)
(94.8%)
822
(850)
(96.7%)
4280
(4400)
(97.3%)
9.4
The table above shows that the rolls of the three secondary schools in the
north east Fife area are expected to reduce over the next 20 years. Although
it will vary across Fife, in circumstances where cluster primary school rolls are
falling, any additional pupils from new housing developments are likely to only
slow the significant rate of decline in secondary school pupil numbers rather
than provide any major increase to school rolls.
9.5
For additional information, in the three years from 2004/05 to 2006/07 there
were 4645 new houses built across all of Fife. Since the school census of
September 2004, secondary school rolls across Fife have fallen by 624 pupils
(from 22419 to 21795) and primary school rolls have fallen by 1480 pupils
(from 28267 to 26787).
9.6
While this reduction is not uniform across the whole of Fife, since 2004 the
actual number of pupils attending the Madras College cluster primary schools
(including Greyfriars Roman Catholic Primary School) has fallen by 298 pupils
(-15%).
10.0
Consultation with North East Fife Area Committee
10.1
A report entitled ‘Planning schools for the future: projecting school rolls’ was
presented to the North East Fife Area Committee on 5 March 2008.
10.2
The Area Committee agreed to recognise the risks attached to school roll
projections, noted the continued progress in relation to reviewing the methods
associated with the production of school pupil projections and noted the
intention to update and report on roll projections on an annual basis.
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10.3
The Area Committee also agreed to recommend to the Education and
Children’s Services Committee that planning for a single site replacement
school for Madras College be accelerated and that all possible methods of
delivery should be explored.
11.0
Conclusions
11.1
The roll projections shown in paragraph 9.3 indicate that, based on known
proposed housing developments there is sufficient capacity within the existing
secondary schools in the north east Fife area to accommodate all current and
expected pupils for the next 20 years.
11.2
Based on the work done to date we would conclude that a new secondary
school for the Tay Bridgehead area would not be a priority for investment.
12.0
Recommendations
12.1
Based on the information contained within this report the Education and
Children’s Services Committee is requested to:
(1)
recognise the risks attached to school roll projections;
(2)
note continued progress in relation to reviewing the secondary school
estate in the north east Fife area;
(3)
ask the Executive Director (Education) not to include the proposal for a
fourth secondary school in the north east Fife area in the school estate
management plan as current information indicates that a new school is
not required at this stage.
Kenneth Greer
Executive Director (Education)
Authors:
James McKinstry - Senior Manager (Resources)
Telephone 08451 55 55 55 Extension 44 42 14
Gary Scott - Forward Planning Officer
Telephone 08451 55 55 55 Extension 44 45 78
Date:
26 March 2008
Appendix A A map showing primary and secondary school catchment
areas in the north east Fife area.
Background papers
Fife Council Children’s Services Committee, May 2005
(2005.Ch.S.240 para 280)
Fife Council North East Fife Area Committee, March 2008
(2008.N.E.F.A.C.144 para 123)
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