Decision details

Background:

The Commissioning Plan for Education Provision in Kent 2019-2023 sets out how we will carry out our responsibility for ensuring there are sufficient places of high quality, in the right places, for all learners and this proposal supports that aim to provide sufficient places where they are needed.

This proposal will help to secure our ambition “to ensure that Kent’s young people have access to the education, work and skills opportunities necessary to support Kent business to grow and be increasingly competitive in the national and international economy” as set out in ‘Increasing Opportunities, Improving Outcomes: Kent County Council’s Strategic Statement (2015 2020)’.

The Commissioning Plan forecasts indicate a growing demand for Year 7 places in Maidstone from the start of the 2019-20 academic year.  The Maidstone Non-Selective Planning Group is forecast to have a deficit of 132 Year 7 places from 2019-20 that increases to a deficit of 365 places by the end of the Commissioning Plan period.  This represents significant medium-term pressure for additional Year 7 places, which could not reasonably be met by a Free School in central Maidstone or via additional temporary provision.

As Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education Cabinet I agree to:

(i)    Allocate £6.0 million from the Basic Needs budget to fund the permanent expansion of The Maplesden Noakes School.

(ii)   Authorise the Director of Infrastructure in consultation with General Counsel to enter into any necessary contracts/ agreements on behalf of the County Council

(iii)  Authorise the Director of Infrastructure to be the nominated Authority Representative within the relevant agreements and to enter into variations as envisaged under the contracts

This decision is conditional upon planning permission being granted. The costs of the project are estimates and these may increase as the project is developed.  If the cost of the project were to be greater than 10%, the Cabinet Member would be required to take a further decision to allocate the additional funding.