Issue details

Proposed decision

1) APPROVE the allocation of £13,290,493 from the Children, Young People and Education Services Basic Need Capital Budget to fund the construction activities required to establish a new primary school at Paddock Wood.

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. Also subject to any relevant LGR implications as may arise), 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

The strategic case, initial pre-construction funding and the initiation of the process for establishing a new primary school in Paddock Wood were endorsed by the Children Young People and Education Cabinet Committee on 12 May 2026. Subsequently the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills took the decision (25/00025) to allocate £1,409,507 from the Children, Young People and Education Services Basic Need Capital Budget to complete the pre-construction design activities and the initiation of the process required to establish the new primary school.

Since the Cabinet Member decision was taken, the contractor has completed the Gateway 3 design stage, site investigations have been undertaken and a detailed cost plan has been prepared. The need for the school remains unchanged and forecast demand continues to support the establishment of new provision within the Paddock Wood planning group.

A decision is sought to allocate a further £13,290,493 from the Children, Young People and Education Services Basic Need Capital Budget to enable the project to progress through detailed design, construction and opening of the school.

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’s forecasting methodology produces forecasts according to planning groups.  These planning groups are nationally recognised by central Government.

Paddock Wood has seen significant housebuilding in recent years, consequently the forecast for the Paddock Wood planning group shows deficits throughout the KCP Plan period.  In the short term, the demand for places can be accommodated in the neighbouring planning groups or within one of the small schools within the planning group offering over PAN.  However, from 2028-29 the demand is forecast to be 1 FE or greater and there are fewer places available in neighbouring planning groups. This increase in demand is linked to significant expansion of the town and the consequential increase in the population; it is not driven by birth rates within the existing population.

To meet this demand for places within the Paddock Wood planning group we will seek to establish a new primary school within the town to open in September 2028.  The new school will include classroom space to accommodate 1FE and core facilities sufficient for 2 FE to support future expansion when needed.  The new school will also include a 26 place nursery and a 14 place SRP.

Options

Paddock Wood currently has one primary school that is situated on a compact site that has limited scope for future expansion.  The nearest schools that border Paddock Wood are smaller schools in rural locations with very limited scope for substantial expansion.  They collectively do not have sufficient places available to accommodate the growing demand driven by new housing development. 

The nearest schools with places available are within Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells town centres which would mean travel distances of around 5 miles from the new school site; for many children located to the East of the new school site it would entail greater distances.  Pupils travelling these distances would be eligible for free school transport.  This would have a substantial and long-term impact on KCCs school transport budget.

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 

Cabinet Member for Education and Skills confirmed the decision (25/00025) to allocate £1,409,507 from the Children, Young People and Education Services Basic Need Capital Budget to complete the pre-construction design activities and the initiation of the process required to establish the new primary school.  These activities have now been substantially completed and have informed the preparation of the contractor's detailed cost plan. 

The contractor's Gateway 3 submission identifies a total project cost of £14,700,000. This includes the construction works, fees, risk allowances and other project costs associated with delivery of the scheme.  

The decision seeks approval to allocate a further £13,290,493, which together with the £1,409,507 previously approved, will provide the full estimated project funding requirement of £14,700,000. 

The Gateway 3 cost plan reflects the developed design and incorporates the outcomes of technical investigations undertaken during the pre-construction phase. The cost estimate therefore provides a more robust assessment of the funding required to deliver the scheme than the early-stage assumptions reported previously.  The cost plan also includes allowances for a number of site-specific abnormal costs. These allowances are included within the total project cost and represent the current worst-case position for the budget request.  

The project team is working with statutory undertakers, developers and other stakeholders to reduce or avoid these costs where possible and to establish whether any costs should be met by third parties. If alternative solutions are secured, or third-party funding responsibilities are confirmed, the final project expenditure will reduce accordingly. 

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 and  Developer Contributions. 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 latest 2026-27 Basic Need Budget is £127 million. This includes confirmed grant funding from Government up to 2027-28 only. Future year Government grants are yet to be agreed. 

There is no prudential borrowing associated with this project or decision, it is funded from external grant and small amounts of developer contributions.  

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.

Legal Implications

Planning permission will be required for the new school.

The Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Director of Education will be overseeing the scheme to ensure public funds are utilised appropriately.

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.

The School Organisation (Establishment and Discontinuance of Schools) Regulations 2013 set out the statutory framework for opening, closing, or altering local-authority-maintained schools in England were updated by The School Organisation (Establishment and Discontinuance of Schools) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, which came into force on 1^st September 2026.  The amendment revised the content, publication, and notification rules for competition notices and proposals to establish new maintained schools.

Previously, Section 6A of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, provided that local authorities in England were required to seek proposals to establish an ‘academy’ (free school), when a new school was needed; the proposed new school was to be established via “free school presumption” process.  However, under the subsequent amendment, where a local authority think that a new school should be established in their area, it can invite proposals for different types of school (mainstream schools, special schools, alternative provision schools).

The updated process for establishing a new school from September 2026 is detailed in the Non-statutory Guidance published in May 2026 [‘Opening new schools Statutory guidance for proposers and decision-makers’].