Maendy-Primary-School-Final-Objection-Report

PROPOSAL TO EXPAND MAENDY PRIMARY SCHOOL TO 420 PLACES OBJECTION REPORT OCTOBER 2020 Introduction At their meeting held on 7th July 2020, Council Cabinet decided to proceed with the following proposal: i) To expand Maendy Primary School on its existing site to 420 places; ii) As part of i) above to establish a nursery for 30 (Full time Equivalent) and year olds; In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the above mentioned decision was subject to a challenge process Challenges had to be notified to the Chief Executive and the Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer by Noon on Wednesday 15 th July 2020 Please note that this decision was not subject to a challenge Following that decision, the Council then had to publish these proposals by way of a statutory notice A copy of the statutory notice is attached as an appendix to this objection report Anyone wishing to make an objection to this proposal was able to so To be considered as a statutory objection, objections had to be made in writing or by email, and sent to the Council within 28 days of the date on which the proposals were published This is referred to as the objection period Notices were published on Friday 4th September 2020 as follows:      On the council website Link: http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/EducationLearning/21st-CenturyLearning/Latest-News.aspx On or near the main entrance of the schools which are the subject of the proposals By providing schools which are the subject of these proposals with copies of the notice to distribute to pupils, parents/carers, and staff (schools may distribute the notice by email) In the case of proposals affecting secondary provision, parents of pupils attending primary schools from which pupils normally transfer to that secondary school By notifying prescribed consultees as listed in the School Organisation Code In accordance with the Act, the Council must publish a summary of the statutory objections and the Council’s responses to those objections (“the Objection Report”) Statutory Objections The objection period ended on Monday 5th October 2020 One statutory objection was received in that period The following table provides a summary of the objection and the Council’s response to the issues raised in it REASON FOR OBJECTION COUNCIL RESPONSE CATCHMENT AREAS/SCHOOL ADMISSIONS  The Council’s rationale is that the  As noted, the area of new build is expansion is needed to cope with “split” between the two schools the additional demand for primary with the canal being the natural education arising from the new boundary Given the extent of the housing development at South development (c1200 dwellings), it Sebastopol However, the South is the view of the council that the Sebastopol catchment area is council has taken into account the shared equally between Maendy position of both schools and Pontnewydd Schools, and the Council has failed to take into account the position of our School  In addition, geographical realities suggest many of the South Sebastopol residents will choose to send their children to the Griffithstown and Panteg Schools, which are closer and more convenient than Maendy and Pontnewydd  Parents/carers can express a preference for their child(ren) to attend any school and wherever possible, that preference will be met However where applications exceed the number of places available, priority will be given in accordance with the council’s published admission policy It should be noted that for the September 2021 admissions round, South Sebastopol will be included in the Welsh Medium primary catchment area of Ysgol Panteg the adjustment to which reflects the additional Welsh Medium primary setting being provided at Ysgol Gwynllyw from that date SCHOOL CAPACITY/SURPLUS PLACES  The danger is that expansion of Maendy capacity from 231 to as much as 420 places will result in significant, costly surplus capacity at Maendy Consequently, the Council may alter the boundaries of the South Sebastopol catchment area in favour of Maendy, and to the detriment of Pontnewydd Our Governing Body would very strongly resist such a move, and the likely outcome would be the  There are significant housing developments proposed in Torfaen, particularly in the south of the borough, and the council must be mindful of that when planning future school places If no new schools are provided as part of the planning process, the council must be able to manage the provision, ensuring there are sufficient places in the right place to meet demand This may require changes to catchment areas, but there are however no current two schools competing against each other across the whole of the South Sebastopol area The Governing Body of Pontnewydd Primary School therefore is firmly of the view that the expansion of Maendy Primary School should be limited to, say, 360 places plans to change English medium primary school catchment areas  Given the above comments, it is the view of the council that a 420 place primary school is appropriate for this location Appendix – Statutory notice in relation to this proposal Torfaen County Borough Council, Civic Centre, Pontypool, Torfaen NP4 6YB Notice is given in accordance with section 42 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 and the School Organisation Code that Torfaen County Borough Council, having consulted such persons as required, propose to alter Maendy Primary School, Wayfield Crescent, Cwmbran NP44 1NH so that the capacity is increased to 420 places and the new replacement school is located on its current site The school is currently maintained by Torfaen County Borough Council Torfaen County Borough Council undertook a period of consultation before deciding to publish this proposal A consultation report containing a summary of the issues raised by consultees, the proposer’s responses and the views of Estyn is available on: http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/EducationLearning/21st-Century-Learning/Latest-News.aspx It is proposed to implement the proposal on 1st September 2023 The current number of pupils at the school is 212 (January 2020 and, excluding nursery and SNRB pupils) and the pupil capacity of the school is 231 and the proposed capacity once the proposal is implemented will be 420 places The admission number for each age group that will normally be admitted at the school in the first school year in which the proposals have been implemented will be 60 There will be 30 full-time equivalent (60 part-time) nursery places Within a period of 28 days after the date of publication of these proposals, that is to say by Monday 5th October 2020 any person may object to the proposals Objections should be sent to Alison Ward, Chief Executive Officer, Torfaen County Borough Council, Civic Centre, Pontypool, Torfaen, NP4 6YG Email: 21stcenturylearning@torfaen.gov.uk Torfaen County Borough Council will publish a summary of any such objections made (and not withdrawn in writing) within the objection period, together with their observations thereon, within the period of 28 days after the end of the objection period Signed: Alison Ward, Chief Executive Officer For the Torfaen County Borough Council Date: Friday 4th September 2020 Explanatory Note (This explanatory note does not form part of Notice but is offered by way of explanation) This statutory notice is the outcome of discussions to replace and expand Maendy Primary School The proposal is one of a number arising from the Authority’s 21st Century Schools Programme This is a strategic plan to create a generation of 21 st Century Schools across the Borough A “drop in” public engagement event was held for interested parties during March 2020, as part of the consultation process The site of the proposed new primary school will remain unchanged from its current location although a new vehicular driveway/access to the school will be formed off Maendy Way The proposal would see the new school open in September 2023, but until the new school is ready for occupation, Maendy Primary School will continue to use accommodation on its current site It is the intention of Torfaen County Borough Council that transport shall be provided free of charge for pupils to their new school in accordance with the Council policy at that time The current policy is that primary school aged pupils are eligible for free transport if: a) They live more than miles from the catchment school b) The Authority is satisfied that the route between home and school is sufficiently dangerous to warrant such provision, even though the distance is under that quoted above END OF NOTICE