Issue details

Proposed decision

1) APPROVE the allocation of £7.2m from the Children, Young People and Education Services Basic Need Capital Budget to permanently expand Oakwood Park Grammar School by 1 FE, increasing its PAN from 160 to 190 places in September 2027.

2) DELEGATE authority to the Director of Infrastructure to take relevant actions including but not limited to negotiating, entering into and finalising the terms of relevant contracts, contract variations or other legal agreements (including granting of leases for utility installations for over 20 years, if necessary), as required, to implement the decision; and

3) AGREE for the Director of Infrastructure, to be the nominated Authority Representative within the relevant agreements, with authority to enter variations as envisaged under the contracts. Variations to contract value to be no more than 10% above the capital funding agreed by the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills without requiring a further Key Decision.

Reason for Decision and Background

Kent County Council (KCC), as the Local Authority (LA), has a statutory duty to ensure sufficient school places are available. The County Council’s Commissioning Plan for Education Provision in Kent 2026-30 (KCP) is a five-year rolling plan which is updated annually. It sets out our future plans as Strategic Commissioner of Education Provision across all types and phases of education in Kent. A copy of the plan can be viewed from this link:

Commissioning Plan for Education Provision - Kent County Council

For provision planning purposes KCC produces forecasts according to planning groups.  These planning groups are nationally recognised by central Government.

The KCP identifies the need for additional selective Secondary provision to serve the Maidstone and Malling planning group.

Proposal

To meet the identified demand for additional selective Secondary provision within the Maidstone and Malling planning group, we propose to permanently expand Oakwood Park Grammar School by 1 FE, increasing its PAN from 160 to 190 places in September 2027.

Analysis of Demand:

The schools in the Maidstone and Malling Selective Planning Group are all single-sex providers (for compulsory school-aged children). In September 2023 Maidstone Grammar School for Girls was expanded by 1 FE which provided additional provision for girls.

The current PANs of the four grammar schools in the Borough are shown below:

Since 2021, around 25% of Year 6 pupils in the planning area have been assessed as grammar eligible through the Kent Test. While that proportion has remained broadly stable, the overall cohort has grown, increasing the number of grammar-eligible pupils from 749 in 2021 to 780 in 2025. This reflects growth in the resident pupil population rather than any change in test participation or eligibility rates. This growth is expected to continue.

Year 7 cohorts for Maidstone residents have risen strongly over the past decade, largely due to sustained housebuilding in the borough. Housing completions increased significantly from 2016 onwards and, based on the adopted Local Plan, are expected to remain at or above current levels into the 2030s. KCC forecasts show that the secondary-aged population has not yet peaked, with Year 7 cohorts expected to grow through the rest of the decade. If published admission numbers remain unchanged, a deficit of 1 to 2 forms of entry is forecast over the Plan period.

The gender split in grammar eligibility has also remained stable, with boys accounting for around 52% of those assessed as eligible. In 2025, that was 401 boys. However, boys’ places currently make up 45% of available Year 7 grammar places, despite boys making up around 51% of the local pupil population.

As at 30 January 2026, Oakwood Park had no spare Year 7 places and Maidstone Grammar School was 6 pupils over PAN. Around 90% of grammar-eligible boys in the planning area attend one of these two schools.

It is therefore considered necessary for Oakwood Park Grammar School to provide 30 additional selective places for boys from September 2027 to secure a place for eligible children and to seek to secure equity in single sex places. 

Options

There are only 2 boys’ grammar schools within the planning group, Oakwood Park and Maidstone Grammar School and therefore the options for expanding boys’ grammar provision are limited to these schools.  Maidstone Grammar School was expanded previously and would be more challenging to expand further than Oakwood Park.

How the proposed decision supports the Council’s strategic statement

This proposal is necessary for KCC to continue to deliver the statutory duty, in a cost-effective way, in line with the guidelines described in KCC’s strategic statement. It will help to maintain

KCC’s strategic role in supporting schools in Kent to deliver accessible, high-quality education provision for all families and meets the following priorities:

·             Delivering Better Outcomes for Children and Young People - Access to Local Education: Providing increased capacity ensures children can attend a good local school, reduces travel and supports wellbeing. Meeting Demand: Responds to demographic growth and housing developments, ensuring sufficient places for all primary-aged children.

·             Stronger Communities and Localism - Community Cohesion: Keeping children in local schools strengthens community identity and parental engagement, supporting KCC’s vision for resilient communities.

Financial Implications

Capital

Comprehensive feasibility and design work have been completed as part of the on-going planning application process.  From these works, the total scheme cost is estimated to be £7.2m that will be funded from the Basic Need Capital Programme.

The scheme incorporates 3 additional general teaching classrooms, a 3-court sports hall and a science classroom extension.  This will be achieved via the provision of a new building, internal remodelling of existing accommodation and improvements to facilities.

Capital Costs for mainstream provision are funded through the Basic Need Capital Programme, which is made up from a range of sources including the Basic Need Grant, Developer Contributions, Prudential Borrowing (originally agreed to fund shortfalls in historic schemes) and other specific grants (such as schools rebuild programme). The Basic Need Grant is the largest contributor to the programme and is provided by the DfE to support local authorities fulfil their statutory duty to ensure there are enough school places for children aged 5 to 16 in their area. The Education capital programme is continuously reviewed, with projects entering and leaving the programme regularly in response to demand and project completions. The 2026-27 Basic Need Budget, agreed at County Council in February, of £148 million included an allowance for the estimated cost of this scheme and the updated costing is expected to be accommodated following changes to other projects. This project is partly expected to funded from developer contributors of £411,502.

Revenue

Should the scheme not proceed through to completion, any costs incurred at the time of cessation would become abortive costs and are likely to be recharged to Revenue. This would be reported through the regular financial monitoring reports to Cabinet. This will be a cost to the General Fund.

Should the scheme progress, £6,000 per new learning space would be provided towards the cost of furniture and equipment. This would be provided to the school to purchase required equipment. In addition, an allowance of up to £2,500 may be payable to outfit each new teaching room with appropriate ICT equipment, such as touch screens or projection equipment.  The school would receive funding for the additional pupils that it admits in line with the funding allocated to special schools through KCC’s funding formula. All school related revenue costs highlighted will be met from the Dedicated Schools Grant, a ring-fenced grant from the Department of Education.  

Legal Implications

Planning permission will be required for expansion and the application process is ongoing.

The Director of Infrastructure will be overseeing the scheme to ensure public funds are utilised appropriately.  The works shall be procured via the Council’s Construction Partnership Framework which is compliant with the Procurement Act 2023 and has been a frequent procurement route for major projects of this type over the last few years.

Local authorities must plan for and secure sufficient school places for their area in line with their duties under section 14 of the Education Act 1996.

All individual proposals to either establish new, expand current or cease current provision will be required to go through the DfE process of making significant changes to an academy (non-statutory guidance on collaborative school place planning and making organisational changes to academies, August 2025).