School Organisation Plan

Attachment School Organisation Plan Draft Edition For Presentation to the Lewisham School Organisation Committee September 2004 to September 2009 Preface to fifth edition This is the draft of the fifth edition of Lewisham’s School Organisation Plan that was issued as a consultation document on 13 August 2003 and which has been revised in the light of responses received during the consultation The prime aim of the Council is to ensure that Lewisham becomes the best place in London in which to live, work and learn, and the provision of sufficient, good quality school places is fundamental to achieving that aim The School Organisation Plan sets out the Education Authority’s vision for education in the borough over the period of the Plan Within this context it sets out a strategy, which will guide our approach to the planning of school places The Plan sets out in general terms where there is a need to revise the current provision of school places in the light of demographic information for the borough based on the latest forecasts of demand for school places It is not the purpose of the Plan to make proposals for individual schools These will be made by the Council in the duration of the Plan and will be the subject of detailed consultation with all concerned The purpose of the Plan is to set out the policy, principles and statistics on which such proposals should be based This Plan is now submitted to the Lewisham School Organisation Committee for its consideration Frankie Sulke Executive Director of Education and Culture November 2003 Contents Introduction The Statutory Framework and Lewisham Context Section A – Demographics Demographic information relevant to the provision of school places Section B – The Principles Statement of policies / principles relevant to the provision of school places Section C – Conclusions Conclusions drawn from Sections A & B, including the need for adjustments to the provision of places over the next five years Annexes Annex 1: Primary and Secondary Schools Data Annex 2: Map of Lewisham Schools Annex 3: Map of Primary School Planning Areas Annex 4: Map of Major Housing Developments in Primary Planning areas Annex 5: Housing Developments – Child Yield Estimates Annex : Principles of Church of England and Roman Catholic Diocesan Education Boards Glossary of Terms Introduction General Description This draft fifth edition of the Plan covers the five academic years from September 2004 to September 2009 The key purpose of the Plan is to set out clearly how the LEA plans to meet its statutory responsibility to secure sufficient education provision within its area in order to promote higher standards of achievement It is an important document as it is the starting point for the School Organisation Committee (SOC) when considering statutory proposals for changes to schools This Plan is set out in three sections Part A presents a clear analysis of the local demographic, the organisation of school places Part B sets out Lewisham’s policies and principles for ensuring enough suitable school places offering a good and improving standard of education Part C presents conclusions drawn from Part A and Part B about the need to add to, remove, relocate or otherwise re-organise provision in particular areas of the Authority Statutory Framework Every Local Education Authority (LEA) is obliged by law to produce a School Organisation Plan, which describes how the Authority intends to ensure an adequate supply of school places The Plan must be published by August 2003 for consultation and thereafter every years on 1st June A plan must be published on the 1st June of any other year where there is a change of policy, strategy or local circumstances relating to the organisation of schools in the LEA’s area The DfES is undertaking a review of Local Education Authority planning requirements with a view to rationalising the number of plans that an authority must produce with a move towards moving to a Single Education Plan after 2006/7 At the end of an 11-week consultation period, the Authority has to consider any comments or objections to the Plan and revise it, as the Authority considers appropriate The Authority has then to submit the Plan to Lewisham’s School Organisation Committee within one month from the end of the consultation period Lewisham Context Lewisham borough has a population of 240,000, a rich history and a diverse and exciting community Our communities enrich our lives by bringing to Lewisham culture, creativity and energy from all quarters of the globe Over half of our pupils belong to an ethnic minority, more than 120 languages are spoken locally and the diversity of our population continues to increase The energy and vitality that this brings provides us with the opportunity to use the best ideas and the most far-reaching innovation from the broadest possible base to inspire our schools to continue to have the highest aspirations for all of our young people Lewisham also faces challenges The borough has a significant amount of poverty, social deprivation and the resulting difficulties that arise Four of our wards are in the bottom 10% in terms of deprivation in England The borough has the eighth highest proportion of lone parent households in England and 37% of dependent children live in a house with no wage earner Our schools have done well in these circumstances, their reputations lagging behind the true picture in many cases Our aim is to improve at a faster rate than the national average and we need to see a sustained step change in standards across the board to achieve this In order to ensure that all of our pupils achieve the best outcomes we need to ensure that all of our schools are performing well and that no pupil faces disadvantage because they attend a particular institution We intend to see the very best of what is happening in Lewisham become the norm; all of our resources and communities working together and fully engaged in the task of raising standards Success for All – Lewisham’s commitment to the future Education, skills and knowledge are crucial to the wellbeing, prosperity and health of our citizens The life chances of all of our residents, particularly our young people, and their capacity to participate fully as actively engaged citizens depend now more than ever on a good education and the acquisition of high quality skills We share the high aspirations of our children, parents, schools and colleges We want all of our pupils to achieve the best possible results, performing well against national standards Vibrant, innovative, exciting schools with high expectations are key to ensuring that our pupils are successful and go on to take advantage of the opportunities that an excellent education provides We are committed to working in partnership with our schools, colleges, universities and the business sector to provide the highest quality, socially inclusive provision to all of Lewisham’s communities To focus our energies on making the biggest impact on the most important things for our residents we have identified three strategic aims: • • • To raise the achievement for all children and young people between the ages of and 19 To improve the quality of people’s lives through personal, community and cultural development To ensure that Lewisham residents have the skills and knowledge they need for continuing education and employment Lewisham is about to make considerable capital investments in the fabric of its schools The vision is to house a diversity of schools in stunning buildings that express the ambition, aspiration and creativity of the people who teach and learn in them The school workforce will be professional, creative and motivated They will continue to be held in high esteem and be at the cutting edge of change and improvement Lewisham schools will have the best equipment and the most modern technology to ensure that children and young people have access to the very latest teaching and learning techniques, sports facilities and all the amenities that make for a great education Section A : Demographics This section provides a clear analysis of demography, the organisation of school places and whether a surplus or deficit is projected for future years The statistics were the most up-do-date available at the time the Draft of this fifth edition of the Plan was published for consultation August 2003 Background There are nursery, 70 primary and 12 secondary schools in Lewisham that in January 2003 had 239 nursery, 22,642 primary (including 2433 nursery age) and 11,622 secondary pupils on their roll Some voluntary schools still operate a three-point entry, admitting additional pupils in May For these schools an enhancement is made to their roll to take account of this The Borough also has Special Schools and pupil referral units Lewisham also currently has Colleges - Lewisham College and Christ the King 6th Form College and City Technology College (CTC) - Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College (HAHC) Independent Secondary Schools in the borough are St Dunstan's College & Sydenham High School Rolls and Roll Projections Demand for school places is estimated for Lewisham by the Greater London Authority (GLA) They are derived using the actual numbers of pupils attending Lewisham schools (the school rolls) and Lewisham ward level population projections, now based on 2001 Census Data Two methods, termed replacement and catchment are used to project school rolls The replacement method calculates cohort transfer (for example the numbers of 7-yearold boys as a proportion of 6-year-old boys in the previous year) and provides more accurate short-term projections The catchment method calculates the numbers of school pupils as a proportion of the number of children of the same age in the population of the catchment area (for example, the number of year old boys in schools as a proportion of the number of resident boys in the area) The catchment method provides a sounder basis for longer-term projections because it draws on population projections that take account of birth, migration, housing changes and fertility rates The results of the catchment and replacement methods are then combined and a method of weighting is applied over the subsequent years in order to maximise the strengths of each method Projections are likely to be less accurate and become more unreliable the further into the future they project The GLA state that their projections are accurate within ±1% As a result, it is necessary to add a small surplus to ensure that there will always be enough places In general it should be recognised that the estimates project demand for places and are not projections of the total number of pupils of school age Assessing Provision In order to simplify the process of calculating places, only the first year of intake for each type of school is considered - reception for primary schools and year for secondary schools It is assumed that these numbers are maintained in all the subsequent years, although short term increases and decreases are possible The net capacity provides a theoretical capacity of the physical buildings within which the school is based These calculations are used by the government to determine surplus places, and are important when considering how to increase or reduce the number of places available The net capacity is allocated across each year group and the figure for the first year of intake is compared with the number of places needed for that first year of intake to show if there is a shortfall or surplus in the number of places The net capacity calculation is reviewed regularly to ensure that it provides an accurate representation of a schools accommodation and that any changes to the premises have been taken fully into consideration Each school also agrees an annual admission limit, following consultation with the LEA and the Lewisham Admissions Forum and these limits are published annually The admissions limit can be different to the net capacity Capital investment or redevelopment opportunities for school buildings should aim to bring the net capacity in line with the schools agreed admissions limit This is addressed through the Education Asset Management Plan (AMP) Specific proposals to increase or decrease school places, based on the evidence set out in this plan, should take into account whether a particular school has appropriate and/or sufficient net capacity to accommodate the proposed number of pupils The admission limit and net capacity cannot be considered in isolation, together with the policies & principles listed in Section B of the plan, they form a basis from which strategies for individual schools and the supply of school places are developed Planning Areas For planning purposes Lewisham is divided into four primary planning areas, based on four or five wards (see map Annex 3) Planning areas are not always self-contained and deficits in some areas may have to be covered by available places in adjacent districts The areas are: Area (Evelyn, New Cross, Telegraph Hill and Brockley wards) Area (Blackheath, Lee Green, Lewisham Central, Rushey Green and Ladywell wards) Area (Catford South, Bellingham, Grove Park, Whitefoot and Downham wards) Area (Perry Vale, Sydenham, Forest Hill and Crofton Park wards) For secondary schools, these areas would be too small Analysis is made on a whole borough basis, but to allow some consideration of borough distribution of places, schools are grouped into north and south using the South Circular Road as the dividing line Again, this is an arbitrary measure – evidence shows that pupils are prepared to travel great distances, especially where there are strong public transport links, to get to the secondary school of their choice Housing Developments Known housing developments are taken account of in the projections, the proximity of a significant development may have a direct effect on a particular school, specifically primaries, which have a more local recruitment area than secondary schools Those developments that are likely to give rise to, or remove 50, or more family dwellings (i.e bedrooms or more) together with the estimated child yield that they could produce have been included in the population projections The developments are listed in Annex It should be noted however that many of the developments are still at a very preliminary stage and their effect on school population is speculative at this stage The locations of the major developments are shown on a map of the Borough in Annex Early Years Places Providers offer a mixture of part and full time places In April 2003 it was estimated that there was a total of 3228 part time places and a total of 2170 full time However, the assessment of places will vary from month to month as providers can change the ratio of part and full time places, as voluntary & private sector providers expand or contract and as providers open or close The situation is very fluid and the assessment given in these tables should therefore be seen as approximate The table below shows the total number of places available by type of provision, the demand for places for three & four year olds (based on 85% of the population projections of three & four year olds in the planning area for 2004 supplied by the GLA, as described in Section B of the Plan) and a resultant surplus or deficit Area Type of Provider Nursery schools/ Nursery classes Reception classes Early Years Centres Community Centres Private Nurseries Childminders Total Places Available 893 204 71 49 161 63 1441 Nursery schools/ Nursery classes Reception classes Early Years Centres Community Centres Private Nurseries Pre-school Playgroups Childminders Total 747 203 92 33 260 109 108 1552 Nursery schools/ Nursery classes Reception classes Private Nurseries Pre-school Playgroups Childminders Total 895 256 119 183 192 1645 Nursery schools/ Nursery classes Reception classes Early Years Centres Private Nurseries Pre-school Playgroups Childminders Total 719 212 19 90 83 150 1273 Borough wide Total 5,911 10 Net Capacity The capacity of a school is the number of pupil places available Net Capacity replaced all previous methods of calculating capacity from June 2002 The net capacity is intended to provide a single, robust and consistent method off assessing the capacity of schools It will be used for a number of purposes By comparison with the number on roll, it can indicate the number of places that are surplus or additional places that are needed in a school If it is divided by the number of year groups, it can indicate the admissions number that can generally be accommodated It will also inform decisions about how capital resources are best deployed, as the basis of the School Organisation Plan Admissions Forum The Education (Admission Forums) (England) Regulations 2002 came into force on 20 January 2003 The role of the Lewisham Admissions Forum is to consider existing admissions arrangements within the forum area including co ordinated admissions arrangements, to promote agreement on admissions issues, to consider the admissions literature produced by the Authority, to monitor the admissions of excluded children, looked after children, children with special educational needs and children who arrive outside the normal admission round and to consider any other admissions arrangements The membership of the forum comprises of core members and other members, who are appointed by the authority Members representing the Church of England diocese, the Roman Catholic diocese, Academies and City Technology Colleges are appointed following a nomination Core members may invite other interested parties to attend a meeting of the forum The forum is required to meet at least three times during the first year and at least twice each year thereafter Lewisham Admissions Authority will arrange the meetings to coincide with the authority’s publication and consultation programmes each year Asset Management Plan (AMP) A plan, which considers the condition and use of school buildings and sets out agreed priorities for capital expenditure on schools and the approach proposed locally to tackle them Elements of AMPs – Suitability, Sufficiency and Condition Suitability Suitability assessments are concerned with numbers and characteristics of each type of internal space and external area Assessments also deal with aspects of health & safety requirements Sufficiency Sufficiency assessments focus on total areas, and on the quantity and organisation of pupil places within and across schools in relation to demand Condition Condition assessments focus on the physical state of buildings and provide a basis for developing planned maintenance programmes They also cover aspects of health & safety requirements Full Time Equivalent (FTE) 50 half time nursery places would equate to 25 full time equivalent places 45 Accessibility Plan - Disability Act 2001 The SEN/Disability Act 2001 places a new duty on schools and the LEA relating to all pupils or prospective pupils with disabilities This legislation combined with the SEN Framework and new planning duties for schools and local authority’s aims to improve educational choice and opportunity for disabled children LEAs have a duty to prepare accessibility strategies and schools are required to produce Schools and LEAs plans must show how they plan to Increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school curriculum Improve the physical environment of schools to increase the extent to which disabled pupils can take advantage of education and associated services: and Improve the delivery to disabled pupils of written information, which is provided to pupils who are not disabled This should be done within a reasonable period of time and in formats, which take account of views, expressed by the pupils or parents about their preferred means of communication Specialist Schools Specialist schools are committed to the development of a distinctive mission and ethos, to provide a clear focus for school improvement All secondary schools that want to, and that achieve the necessary standards, are funded by the Government to become specialist schools Specialist schools are expected to collaborate with other schools, sharing the expertise that they have developed in their curriculum speculums and in other areas, to help raise standards across the system Federations Federations are a formal arrangement for schools to work together possible leading to proposals for formal mergers Academies Academies have replaced city academies Academies (including the former City Academies) are publicly funded independent schools established in partnership with business and voluntary sector sponsors Academies unlike City Academies) may be established in rural as well as urban areas All Academies are required to share facilities and expertise with other local schools and the wider community Extended Schools Extended schools aim to provide a range of services, built around the needs of children who attend a school, their families and the wider community facilities Services and facilities might embrace study support, breakfast clubs, homework clubs, other forms of childcare, family learning, adult education, healthcare and other community facilities 46 The London Challenge The new London Challenge will provide the opportunity to plan and collaborate across the London boroughs This will provide additional opportunities to quicken the structural changes and remodel the teacher workforce, which are required in order for the step changes in improvements to take place It will include: • • • the appointment of a London Schools Commissioner- to drive forward the strategy; structural change- to transform the pattern of secondary education through encouraging more schools to acquire specialist or beacon status, to fund new academies and to explore new models of delivery e.g federations between schools; remodeling of teacher workforce- to introduce more measures to attract and retain high quality teaches in London, to tackle teacher workload, to promote effective use of classroom and learning support assistants and to invest in the professional development of teachers Excellence in Cities The Excellence in Cities initiative consists of a number of strands to support student achievement These include: • Learning Support Units to provide additional support for a minority of pupils • Learning mentors to support disaffected and underachieving pupils • Gifted and Talented Programmes for 10% of all pupils • Access to a City Learning Centre • Specialist Schools Programme Behaviour Improvement Programme The Behaviour Improvement Programme will make a significant impact on improving behaviour and attendance in a number of schools It involves major funding opportunity for Lewisham to work with a group of 20 schools, secondary and 16 primary, to continue to make an impact on attendance and exclusions Innovative ways of working, such as the concept of restorative justice, will be introduced alongside tighter systems to increase attendance and to find alternatives to excluding pupils Where there is no alternative to exclusion, a high quality full time education will be provided from the first day for pupils who have been excluded In secondary schools, a dedicated Education Welfare Officer and a Counsellor provided 47 Attachment Responses to the 5th Draft School Organisation Plan Addey and Stanhope School Lewisham College Special Schools Headteachers Local Education Action by Parents 48 October 2003 Trish Costello Strategic Project Officer Directorate for Education and Culture Lewisham Council 3rd floor Laurence House Catford Road London SE6 4RU Consultation on the proposals for the federation of Haberdashers’ Aske’s Academy with Malory Thank you for offering us the opportunity to comment on the proposals to create a new Academy in Downham We are aware of the difficulties that Malory have had in the last few years and believe that radical solutions are necessary We welcome the possibility of £24 million of new investment in Malory which the government has offered if this proposal goes ahead We believe that the proposals mark a significant development for the organisation of state education in Lewisham Two key factors need to be taken into account if this is to mark equally significant progress for the young people in the area: • The admissions policies of the new academies and • The effects on other local schools We believe it is vital that admissions policies ensure balanced intakes across the borough as a whole We think it is possible that the existence of schools having their own admissions policy has contributed, in part, to some schools being perceived by parents as ‘good’ These then tend to become self-fulfilling prophecies with some schools being able to act as selectors We very much welcome the introduction of a more transparent admissions policy that can be independently verified We hope that the effects of creating a new Academy on neighbouring schools have been fully considered It would be unfortunate if the difficulties that Malory experienced were transferred to other schools We hope the new academy will use its powers of changing staff pay and conditions wisely The new academy could have the effect of staff being attracted from their existing school leading to instability We wish the new arrangements well for the sake of the youngsters in the area We want to work closely with the new school in creating a relevant, dynamic curriculum for the 14-19 age group While we have not yet worked with Haberdashers’ Aske’s, we have hosted students from Malory for many years We hope this partnership continues with the new arrangements Yours sincerely Ruth Silver Principal 49 Local Education Action by Parents A Critical Response to the Lewisham Draft School Organisation Plan, Edition 5, 2004-09 General Points 1) The layout of the document has changed from that used in previous versions As this plan is continuously updated and relates to previous plans, comparisons are necessary, but are made more awkward by this change In particular the changes to the formatting of tables of information severely constrains the ability to compare current data with that submitted in the past Is this the intention? 2) The document seems to be focused on the success or otherwise of the educational institutions in the borough We think this is the wrong focus and that the primary concern of the LEA should be the quality of educational experience of the borough's children The institutions are a means to an end rather than an end in themselves Statements such as "we will not propose change for one institution, which will have a detrimental impact upon another" are not true and neither should they be It is often necessary to change situations in a way which will bring the maximum benefit to the majority, but which may in the short term be seen as having a detrimental impact upon a particular institution 3) The introduction makes a number of statements that are self evident: we aim to "raise the achievement for all children and young people between the ages of and 19" etc These aims are incontrovertible, but the plan does not make clear how these aims are to be achieved The rhetoric continues with claims of massive investment by Lewisham which will produce "stunning buildings that express the ambition, aspiration and creativity of the people who teach and learn in them." Again the vision is incontrovertible, but in reality, many of Lewisham's schools are currently in a very poor state of repair and detail of how this investment will be delivered is not made clear in the plan We believe Lewisham is, in fact, not intending to invest in it's schools but is looking for PFI contractors to put in the money The experience of other LEA's in dealing with Private Finance Initiatives has been far from universally good Haringey, a borough of comparable size and status has had a number of PFI problems resulting in the DfES having to bail out the LEA Section A: Demographics 1) The section on school rolls and projections describes the two methods used to calculate projected school rolls The replacement method described appears to calculate demand on the basis of the number of year pupils as a proportion of the year figure This method assumes that the fall in pupils from year to year is due purely to choice when very often the fall is due to a lack of places in specific areas The calculation could be made much more effectively if the number of applicants for places was taken into account and not just the number of successful applicants 2) In the section on secondary school places, tables for Admissions Limits and for Net Capacity compared with projected rolls are supplied The Net Capacity numbers are a crude calculation based on floor area of a school's buildings They not take into account the actual organisation of the available space and the uses to which it can be put Admissions limits are the numbers of places that the school governors agree with the LEA as being the maximum they can take in order to maintain the effective running of the school For a number of years Lewisham has encouraged some schools to increase their Admissions Limits to accommodate additional demand for places Without structural changes, the current Admissions Limits therefore represent the maximum number of pupils each school considers they can effectively educate To use the Net Capacity figure to imply that there are more potential places available is, we believe, fundamentally dishonest 3) The information presented in the 'Pupil Movement Across Boroughs' section could be more informatively presented if actual numbers were given rather than the proportion of the particular boroughs year population.i.e 334 went to Greenwich, 225 to Bromley and 71 to Southwark A survey by the GLA is mentioned as the source of this information More informative than the raw data would be any information on why this number of children chose to go out of the borough Does the survey 50 contain this material and could it be presented here If not would Lewisham LEA consider undertaking research of its own to determine the reasons so many potential pupils leave the borough? 4) In the post 16 section under 'Places Available' the final sentence states "Consideration also needs to be given to the number of students who seek places at colleges or School Sixth Forms outside the Borough." What does this mean? Is it the intention of the LEA to carry out properly validated research into why some 16 year olds leave the borough? If so, could the same approach be taken for 11 year olds? Section B: The Policy and Principles 1) Working in Partnership "Lewisham will work in partnership with parents, schools and local communities to promote school improvement and meet local needs and preferences Arrangements for school places will be made with the full involvement and maximum support of local parents, young people and other residents." As a long established and widely supported campaign group of parents, we not recognise this statement as being true Nothing has been done to resolve the demonstrable shortage of secondary places in the north of the borough Campaigners are either ignored or told they can't have what is clearly needed 2) Raising standards and quality Saying that low standards will not be tolerated is not going to solve the problems The solutions proposed all centre on changes to institutions, which may or may not create better environments, but improving standards is primarily about enabling individuals to achieve This means addressing approaches to teaching, looking at resources, both human and financial, and how they can be directed to areas of need and deprivation More carrot and less stick please "Where possible we will expand provision in popular schools " All the oversubscribed schools in the borough are already full to capacity Expansion to their physical limits has already occurred To attempt to expand further, even on a temporary basis would risk their ability to continue supplying high quality education (Sydenham Governors have recently refused to continue taking extra classes beyond their admissions limit) Expanding unpopular schools should not be considered Building new schools in areas of demand is clearly the only way forward 3) Comprehensive education and banding "Lewisham aims to increase the number of pupils retained in the Borough across the ability range." No information is provided on how Lewisham intends to achieve this aim will a magic wand be involved? Is Lewisham aware that the banding system operated at the moment discriminates against middle and lower banded children because proportionally more of them stay in the borough and fewer statutory preference choice places are available to them This is exacerbated by the borough schools not offering equal numbers of places for each band (a tendency that seems to increase year on year) and by the proportions of children in each band varying widely across different areas of the borough The test used for banding discriminates against those with poor language skills such as immigrants and also, in general against boys whose educational development tends to come later making many more of them appear in low bands than high bands A serious look at this system, which has been abandoned by most other boroughs, is long overdue 4) Local Schools "Lewisham should aim to ensure that there is for every child in Lewisham a secondary school place within three miles from their home" What policy is in place to back up this aim? Currently, large numbers of children are required to travel from the far north of the borough to schools in Downham because no other alternative exists This distance is about miles Provision in Secondary Schools and 14-19 1) What is: "a 21st Century tailored technology"? Does it bite? How is it intended to provide "an array of subjects and courses tailored to individual pupils' needs"? This whole section is strong on assertion but gives no details of how any of it will be achieved 2) "It is educationally desirable that no secondary school should have fewer than three forms of entry" In fact, latest research suggests that in order to allow a school to be able to offer the breadth of curriculum currently envisaged, a minimum of six forms of entry will be required (Institute of Public Policy Research) It seems bizarre that, given this research, Lewisham is proposing to open a new form entry school on a site which will allow no expansion 3) "The authority will seek to ensure that there is a secondary school place for every pupil in Lewisham whose parents require one." This statement needs qualification Last year there were 3,625 applications for 51 the 2,174 places at Lewisham schools, not including Aske's In the end only 2,159 of the available 2,174 places were filled What this indicates is that parents not opt just for a Lewisham School but for a specific school or schools within Lewisham Failure to get in to them often resulting in a decision to go elsewhere rather than to go to the other Lewisham options We support the desire of the LEA to make all schools successful and recognise that reputations often lag behind the facts, but in order to understand the situation that exists in Lewisham it is necessary to accept that certain schools are highly sought after and others are thought, by many people, to be completely unacceptable Only by recognising and understanding this regrettable situation can explanations and solutions be formulated How many places Lewisham intend to supply - what does the opening statement mean? Section C: Conclusions Primary Planning Area We welcome consideration being given to monitoring the large number of new housing developments in the area Given that this area currently produces between 640 and 650 primary leavers each year and that there are only about 320 secondary places in the area, shouldn't some serious consideration be given to providing more secondary school places We understand that secondary pupils are sometimes able to consider travelling further to school than primary children but would remind the LEA of their commitment to aim to ensure that there is a secondary school place for every child in Lewisham whose parents require one, within three miles of their home Secondary School and 14-19 Places This section contains proposals to expand three of the least popular secondary schools in the borough To double the intake at St Joseph's is a policy which makes absolutely no sense Last year this school attracted just 26 statutory choice applications for its 120 places We are aware that, in the end, most, if not all of its places were filled, but this says more about the lack of available places elsewhere rather than actual demand for these places If just filling the places was the issue, then this wouldn't matter, but if consideration is to be given to making this a successful school, then it is essential that some help is given to the school in attempting to attract a more balanced intake In 2002 this school attracted just band 1a students when it offered 41 places Perversely it only offered 12 band places but ended up taking 40 This demonstrates that many local band 1a students who could have attended St Joseph's chose to travel further afield Band students don't generally have the option of travelling to get into distant selective schools and have to make with what is on offer within the borough If this school is to be helped it should consider having its roll reduced rather than expanded St Joseph's is a Catholic Voluntary Aided School and gives priority to applicants who are actively Catholic A further indication of the unpopularity of the school is the fact that the majority of its pupils are not Catholic, they just had no other option Changing St Joseph's into a co-educational school is not in itself a bad idea, providing there is evidence that there is likely to be any demand for the 120 girls places created The Borough already has more girls only places than boys only and this means that there are fewer boys places in the borough as a whole Creating more girls places runs the risk of creating serious imbalances in a number of undersubscribed schools This has already been an issue at Crofton School The main assumption in making this change, however, is that there would be a demand for these places There is no evidence to support this assumption The school's reputation, which although possibly lagging behind the facts, does not attract parents to apply for it Until a period of sustained improvement and stability has been achieved, this is unlikely to change Even if it were to become a stable and successful school, pursuading girls to apply for a mixed year place when the rest of the school remains boys only would be a difficult, if not impossible task, particularly as there are usually alternative girls only places available at Catford Girls School The renaming of the school as an Academy together with a few other cosmetic changes would seem to be very similar to the, now discredited, 'Fresh Start' schemes previously promoted by the government and so spectacularly put into practice by Lewisham at Telegraph Hill We urge the LEA to think again before going down this route Expansion is also envisaged at Malory and Crofton Schools Malory can not currently fill its places and Crofton was until recently in a similar situation and is still unable to achieve a balanced intake We believed that it was a principle of the LEA to only expand successful schools and that undersubscribed schools would 52 have there number of places reduced These plans go completely against the principles laid down in the previous section of the report They are premature and risk failure The changes proposed regarding Malory's status, however, seem far more likely to succeed We welcome the federation with Aske's and believe that the changes to both institutions will be positive In particular, it would seem likely that Malory's association with Aske's could bring about a change of attitude towards the school to match the evidence of improvement already achieved We believe that this is likely to result in more demand for places at the school from local children It could even result in a demand for places from children living nearby in the borough of Bromley As previously stated, we believe that any expansion of school places should wait until evidence of sustained improvement and increased numbers of applications has been demonstrated We urge the LEA to ensure that the admissions arrangements put in place for both Academies will be in line with admissions procedures operated in other Lewisham schools It is noted that expansion of Crofton is to coincide with the proposed setting up of a new school in Ladywell This new school will inevitably compete with its near neighbour, Crofton, and will further endager the ability of Crofton to successfully expand Scant information is provided about the proposed new school in Ladywell, save that consultation will take place It would seem, however, that local opposition to the use of the site is growing and that, as more information on the site itself emerges, the feasibility of the project diminishes further While we wholeheartedly support the need for a new school, we urge the LEA to seriously consider whether this site will provide what is needed to solve the undoubted shortage of places in the north (not centre) of the borough The proposals made in this section not address the needs of the Borough's schoolchildren They seem to be aimed at modifying existing institutions rather than looking at what the demand actually is There is no recognition of where the demand for extra places is and it seeks to expand already undersubscribed schools in parts of the borough that are well supplied with places The table on page 29 of surplus places demonstrates that, after taking into account the current 30% outflow of 11 year olds to other boroughs, there will be a borough wide shortage of 160 places this year Even taking into account all the proposed changes and expansions, there will be a borough wide shortfall again next year and that there will continue to be a shortfall in the north of the borough until 2008 when another borough wide shortfall occurs The proposed action is clearly not enough The only possible solution is to open a new secondary school in the north ( not centre ) of the borough Given the amount of planning necessary to open new schools, consideration should have been given to such a project some years ago It is simply not acceptable to plan to not provide enough school places The legal duty of the LEA is to provide a sufficient number of places to satisfy local demand Adoption of this plan will mean electing to fail in your legal duty 53 Attachment RESPONSES TO REPRESENTATIONS RECEIVED DURING CONSULTATION ON THE FIFTH DRAFT Ann Potter Head Teacher Addey and Stanhope School Point Welcomes that the Plan acknowledges the need for additional secondary school places in the north of the borough Point The Head Teacher points out that the Plan does not refer to the additional number of school places that School now offers The Plan has been revised to provide this information Page 30 of the Plan Ruth Silver Principal Lewisham College Point Welcomes the commitment by the LEA to work in partnership with Lewisham College on the provision of post 16 Education in the borough Point More detailed information is requested on the proposal to build a new secondary school in the north of the borough The purpose of the School Organisation Plan is to identify the need to add or remove school places within the Authority’s area Individual proposals are not detailed in the Plan as they are subject to separate consultation However, the current position on the new school is that the Mayor & Officers have been presented with the initial results of an Architects study on the Ladywell Playtower site, the proposed site for the new school Further works have been agreed in order to carry out more in-depth investigations into the site A detailed site investigation has been commissioned and discussions are continuing with St Mary’s Church and the Metropolitan Police who are stakeholders in the proposed site Consultation meetings have also taken place with members of the Ladywell Society to engage them in the site development The new school is planned as a community co educational provision offering 120 places each year and opens in September 2005 Point The Principal has proposed that additional information on the provision of out of school students in the borough be included in the Plan A section on out of school pupils has now been added to the Plan in response to the colleges comments The LEA will keep under review the plans presented and will ensure that the College is involved in any future proposals Page 25 of the Plan Special Education Headteachers Points and The SEN Headteachers expressed concern with regard to the data presented in the SEN tables The data has now been revised Page 18 of the Plan Point The Headteachers disagree with using the category Additional Learning Needs to replace MLD The category has been changed in response to the Headteachers comments 54 Lewisham Education Action by Parents General Points Point Additional “net capacity” data has been included to comply with the latest DfES guidance It is not the intention to present the Plan in a form that does not allow comparison of data The data broadly speaking is the same as presented in previous Plans but in a simpler format The conclusions presented in the Plan are consistent with those that were published in the 4th Edition Plan Point We are very clear that the primary aim of the LEA is to raise standards and improve outcomes for all children and young people We have removed any element of ambiguity in the statement noted Point The Plan sets out and projects the pupil population in Lewisham between now and 2008/9 and to highlight significant gaps in places over provision The Government’s Building Schools for the Future Programme aims to improve the processes of design, procurement and construction, to ensure those high educational standards and better value for money is achieved in large-scale capital investment programmes In order to secure the much-needed capital investment for our schools the LEA is progressing this through a number of funding routes including the following: • • • • • • New Deals for Schools PFI Modernisation Programme Building Schools for the Future Programme Partnerships for Schools Pathfinder Status Academies 106 Agreements PFI is just one form of procurement that the Government is applying to the delivery of major capital projects There has been recognition by the Audit Commission that some early PFI schemes have in some cases had contractual difficulties from which lessons have been learnt whilst many LEAs have not had problems with PFI investment in their area Similarly there have been a range of experiences with conventionally procured building projects Section A Demographics Point The method used to calculate projected school rolls combines catchment and replacement to calculate demand It is essential to use this method for planning purposes otherwise significant over provision could result It is also essential to take account of trends in pupil mobility and the provision of places across borough boundaries to arrive at valid projections It is also clear that parental and pupil choice is highly significant and demonstrates the imperative for school improvement across all schools Point The use of the net capacity calculation to determine the number of places that are available at a school is a statutory requirement The capacity (sufficiency) of a schools 55 accommodation is one element of the Lewisham Education’s Asset Management Plan (AMP) In recognition that the net capacity of a school does not always reflect the suitable amount of space available we have also included the agreed admissions numbers to inform the planning process The LEA will carry out a programme of review of the net capacity calculations with all schools to ensure that the calculations are updated and reflect accurately the teaching space available at each school Point Additional data has been included in the Plan to show cross borough pupil mobility data Page 15 of the Plan An analysis rather than a survey was carried out by the GLA The text has been corrected to reflect this Pupil mobility is based on parental choice, which in turn is based on a whole range of factors Point There are a variety of reasons why pupils choose post 16 places at 6th Form Centres, 6th Form Colleges or at 6th Forms in Schools inside or outside the borough The reasons range from the curriculum on offer, the facilities available, transport links, sibling and friends already attending Considerable research was done with pupils during the development of proposals to open the new 6th Form Centre “Crossways Academy” Focus Groups held with pupils from Lewisham Secondary Schools in addition to those stated previously commented on the following issues: • • • • • • • • • • Career opportunity and development Distance not an issue if the right type of institution is on offer Local reputation History of academic success Extra curricular activity Quality of recreational and sports provision Parental preference Preference of child over parental preference Reluctance to deal with the change from one type of provision to another Existing relationships with teachers at secondary school determine choice The survey and focused work with pupils reveals a range of reasons underlying choices made by pupils and their preferences It is not proposed to conduct further surveys at the present time, as results are likely to be as wide ranging as the results shown here Section B Policy & Principles Point The LEA has worked closely in partnership with parents, schools and local communities Extensive consultations have been carried out by the LEA on the provision of secondary school places in the borough on the following proposals; • A new 11-16 Secondary School • A new 16-19 School • The expansion of existing provision in the north of the borough – Deptford Green and Addey & Stanhope • Academies proposals for Malory & St Joseph’s Academy RC Secondary School • PFI Modernisation Programme - Forest Hill and Crofton Schools 56 Point The Education Development Plan (EDP) is the Councils’ main Strategic Plan focusing on raising standards in all of our schools but it is also important to take account of the impact which school buildings and facilities can have on school improvement and pupil achievement We have managed to expand places at our most popular schools It is true to say that the potential capacity to take this approach to further increase capacity at our most over subscribed schools is limited We have made significant proposals for expansion in other schools across the borough, which will bring major financial investment We are also developing proposals for a new school in the north of the borough Point The aim in retaining more Lewisham pupils is to retain a greater percentage of children in all bands, which will contribute to more, balanced intakes As schools’ results improve, they become more attractive to a wider range of pupils This issue is clearly related to raising standards and raising attainment Lewisham’s banding system is intended to ensure that there are equal numbers and proportions of places in each band The Admissions Forum has commissioned more research on the impact of the admissions arrangements in terms of geography, ethnicity and banding Pupils in higher bands tend to apply for more schools, including independent schools and CTCs, multiple offers then occur, they then withdraw and create spaces for pupils on the waiting list This occurs less in other bands However, the key issue is about raising attainment rather than dispensing with the aim of achieving balanced intake Tests give a fair picture of the pupil’s current level of achievement at that time Point The Plan shows that it is the LEA’s policy to provide additional places in the north of the borough and is planning a new secondary school Provision in Secondary Schools and 14-19 Point The Plan refers to 21st Century tailored technology in reference to the transformation of our school buildings to support 21st Century education and the delivery of our strategy for 14-19 education in the borough as set out in the Plan Buildings will be created that are inspirational and that are appropriate for new educational developments and new technologies, but adaptable enough to cater for the changing needs of the future The schools will be a resource for the whole community offering a range of facilities such as childcare, health and social services and adult training We aim to ensure that they are inclusive, providing appropriate provision for the individual learning needs of all pupils Point The LEA is proposing a Form Entry (FE) secondary school in the north of the borough to meet the demand for school places The LEA aims to ensure that pupils have access to a modern and expansive curriculum regardless of the size of school that they attend Where the learner learns must be less dependent on the school attended and our 14-19 programme and other collaborative programmes seek to ensure that pupils can utilise new technologies and access resources from other schools where appropriate to follow the learning path best suited to their needs The proposed 4FE school is framed in this concept of collaboration and it will be federated with the other secondary schools in the north of the borough and the New 6th Form Centre Point The LEA considers the estimated numbers of school places required over the lifetime of the Plan based on an enhanced projection of 8% to take account of the continuing improvement and demand for places in our schools Section C Conclusions 57 Primary Planning Area We have assessed demand across the borough and also in the north and the south of the borough as secondary schools have a much greater catchment area than primary schools therefore primary planning areas for the planning of secondary schools are not appropriate We are increasing provision in the north of the borough by building a new school and proposing expansion of places available at; • • • • Deptford Green Crofton St Joseph’s Academy Northbrook Secondary School Places 14-19 Places St Joseph’s Academy RC Secondary School It is proposed that St Joseph’s Academy RC Secondary School close as a community school and opens as an Academy in September 2005 An Academy is a new form of education provision It is a publicly funded, independent school that provides free education for all pupils in its local and wider community It is proposed that the provision will change to become a 2-16 school and be co educational The major investment of £28 million that the Academy will bring to the borough will provide new premises offering the opportunity for the expansion of the school to provide the much needed additional school places in the north of the borough The LEA has considered the potential impact on the balance of places by the change of St Joseph’s Academy into co-educational provision Proposals to address any potential imbalance in the borough would be subject to a separate consultation process The management of the transition period for St Joseph’s Academy RC Secondary School to become co educational will offer challenges but which are not insumountable and can be managed The DfES have appointed Education Specialists Project Managers the 3E’s to carry this out function The 3E’s have been managing the new Academy in the London Borough of Bexley that has recently opened and will bring with them their expertise to the development of the Lewisham Academy Through the design of the new school building and by the schools’ policies, curriculum development and approach to behavioural and pastoral care the gradual transition from single sex provision to mixed can be structured and managed The early engagement of parents and pupils together with teaching staff would ensure that the progression was successfully achieved It is anticipated that the Academy will become over subscribed and that parents of children in the borough who have a preference for co educational provision will seek a place for their child at the new school Difference between Academies and Fresh Start Schools There are some significant differences between Academies and Fresh Start Schools These are: • • Academies involve far more radical changes to teaching and learning and the culture of the schools involved Academies are required to share their expertise and facilities with other schools and the local community 58 • • • • There is a significantly higher investment in Academies than fresh start schools Academies have a distinct focus and this can bring a vitality and freshness to the school's aims and philosophy Academies have sponsors who play a key part in the direction and governance of the school The planning and support for Academies is far more intensive Planning takes place over a year and involves the DfES, the LEA, the schools and the sponsors Malory School We agree that the changes to Malory School by the proposed creation of a federated Academy with Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College (HAHC) and the investment of £24 million in its new premises will allow significant school improvement and increase the demand for places in the borough The Academy is an admission authority Funding arrangements between an Academy Company and the Secretary of State require that the Academy’s admissions policy and arrangements are consistent with admissions law and the Admissions Code of Practice The Academy will participate in and take into account the views of the Admissions Forum By its funding arrangements it is also required to participate in the LEA’s local co-ordinated admission scheme Not all admissions authorities in Lewisham currently implement the same admission policies Schools will also differ depending on whether or not they are required to implement fair banding The new Academy must operate the system of fair banding, as only admissions authorities that were operating the formula banding in 1997/98 are permitted to continue with this method of selection Crofton School and the New 11-16 School Crofton School will be rebuilt and is set to expand as a result of the major initial capital investment of approximately £17million through the PFI Modernisation Programme and is scheduled to open in September 2006 The investment in Crofton and the demand for school places will ensure that the school will thrive and have a sustainable future as an education provision in the borough The new facilities and investment in Crofton will be taking place prior to the new school in Ladywell The schools will not be in competition, as the continued improvement in pupil achievement in the borough will ensure that there is demand for places in both the new school and Crofton Both of these schools will be in the federation in the north of the borough enhancing collegiality and shared aspirations for all pupils The new school as with the Academies is subject to a separate process of consultation The current position on the new school is provided in the response number Conclusion The statutory obligation on the Local Education Authority is to produce a School Organisation Plan that identifies the need to add or remove school places within the Authority’s area and not to propose how this should be achieved The purpose of the Plan is to set out the policy, principles and statistics on which individual proposals should be based 59 ... plan, they form a basis from which strategies for individual schools and the supply of school places are developed Planning Areas For planning purposes Lewisham is divided into four primary planning... schools, a dedicated Education Welfare Officer and a Counsellor provided 47 Attachment Responses to the 5th Draft School Organisation Plan Addey and Stanhope School Lewisham College Special Schools... (LEA) is obliged by law to produce a School Organisation Plan, which describes how the Authority intends to ensure an adequate supply of school places The Plan must be published by August 2003