The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills proposes to:
(i) Issue a public notice to permanently expand Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed CE Junior School from 48 to 60 PAN from September 2021;
And, subject to no objections being received to the public notices
(ii) Expand Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed CE Junior School from 48 to 60 PAN from September 2021;
(iii) agree to provide £959,926 from the Children’s, Young People and Education Capital Budget for the permanent expansion of Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed CE Junior School from 48 to 60 PAN from September 2021;
(iv) Authorise the Director of Infrastructure, Strategic and Corporate Services in consultation with the General Counsel and Director of Education to enter into any necessary contracts / agreements on behalf of the County Council; and
(v) Authorise the Director of Infrastructure, Strategic and Corporate Services 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.
Reason for the decision:
Decision is required to proceed with the project and publish a public notice.
Background Information:
Whistable has two junior schools and they historically have operated for many years with organisationally inoperable Published Admission Numbers (the number of pupils it can take in each year group). In December 2018 Whitstable Junior School ran a consultation to reduce its Published Admission Number from 75 to 60 with effect from September 2020 onwards. This reduction was agreed by the Schools Adjudicator but was conditional on Whitstable and Seasalter CE Endowed consulting on a proposal to increase its PAN from 48 to 60 to ensure that there were sufficient Junior places to match the number of places in the Whitstable Infant schools. This proposal will ensure the financial viability of both junior and infant schools in Whitstable and ensure that all children attending the infant schools can have the opportunity to move onto a Whitstable Junior school. Whitstable and Seasalter Endowed CE Junior School is a popular school judged “Outstanding” by Ofsted.
Options (other options considered but discarded):
There are only two junior schools in Whitstable and therefore there were no other options available.
How the proposed decision meets the objectives of ‘Increasing Opportunities, Improving Outcomes: Kent County Council’s Strategic Statement (2015-2020)’:
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”
The Commissioning Plan for Education Provision in Kent 2020-2024 sets out the need for commissioning additional school places.
Decision type: Key
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Division affected: Whitstable West;
Notice of proposed decision first published: 15/12/2020
Decision due: Not before 13th Jan 2021 by Cabinet Member for Education and Skills
Reason: In order that the proposed decision can be published for a minimum of 28 days, in accordance with statutory requirements
Lead member: Cabinet Member for Education and Skills
Lead director: David Adams
Department: Education & Young People's Services
Contact: Marisa White, Area Education Officer - East Kent Tel: 03000 418794 Email: marisa.white@kent.gov.uk Tel: 01227 284407.
Consultees
Has any public consultation been undertaken or is any planned?:
A consultation documentation can be found at:
https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-consultations
Have views been sought from local Members?:
Views have been sought from the Local Member during the consultation period and will be included in the report submitted to Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee on 15th January 2021.
Financial implications: A feasibility study has been carried out at the school and the feasibility estimates the costs for this proposal to be £959,926. Two new classrooms are to be created using the existing kitchen, dining hall and conservatory space. As part of this work, the children’s toilets will be refurbished. A new, separate building will house a new kitchen and dining hall together with additional parking spaces. The CYPE Cabinet Committee report will confirm the costs as the concept designs are prepared and surveys completed in readiness for the planning application. As per KCC policy, a total of £6,000 per new classroom will be provided to the school from the DGS revenue budget.
Legal implications: Any legal implications will be identified in the report to the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education before he takes his decision.
Equalities implications: An Equality Impact Assessment has been produced as part of the consultation process. The assessment identified the following positive impacts: • Sufficient local junior provision for children in Whitstable. • Future financial viability of the school. No adverse impacts were identified during the assessment. The outcome of the public consultation and community consultation will enable the Local Authority to test out these assumptions.