Future of Wavendon First School

Wavendon Church of England First School

CONSULTATION

Should the school become a primary school
with children aged 4-11 years?

Introduction
Wavendon Church of England First School is a long-established school and, in its current form, is a school with pupils aged 4-8 years. In the autumn of 2003, the governors in partnership with Milton Keynes Council published a proposal to change the age range of the school so that, from September 2005, it would take pupils aged 4-7. This was agreed and will mean that the school will change alongside all its partner schools, as part of the re-organisation of the school system in Milton Keynes.

However, the governors and the Council have been discussing whether it would be more appropriate for the school to seek further changes and become an all-through primary school, taking pupils from 4-11 years. An initial letter to parents to test views on this change received a warm response. This formal consultation seeks to find out, therefore, the views of parents and other schools and partners before taking the proposal any further.

What area does the school serve?

Wavendon First School serves an area that includes the village of Wavendon and Woburn Sands and has an admission number of 22. This number is due to rise to 30 in September 2005. The village has only very small numbers of children, and the school is a key part of the village. Most of the school¡¦s pupils live, however, outside the village, commonly in the neighbouring Wavendon Gate grid square of the new city. Few children from Woburn Sands have attended the school, because the town sits on the border with Bedfordshire, and Swallowfield First School ¡V a Bedfordshire school ¡V is close and convenient.

Where do children go now when they finish at the school?

At present, Wavendon Gate Combined School admits up to 15 children at age 8, with Wavendon Church of England First School as the linked transfer school. This will become age 7 in September 2005. This means that Wavendon Gate Combined School admits only 45 children at age 4 at present. With the change to the ages of transfer, Year 7 children will no longer attend Wavendon Gate Combined School and accommodation will be available which would enable the school to admit the full cohort of 60 at age 4.

Children from Woburn Sands who have attended Swallowfield First School usually then transfer to Fulbrook Middle School.


What is the demand for school places in the area?

The southeast corner of the new city area is very nearly complete, with only small pockets of additional housing planned. The numbers of primary age children have been very high and there have not been sufficient school places to meet demand. Wavendon First School has continued to be full, despite the opening of Wavendon Gate Combined School in 1999, and significant numbers of children have also attended Bow Brickhill Church of England First School.

Recent figures from Bedfordshire County Council have also shown, however, that very large numbers of children from the southeast area of Milton Keynes have attended Swallowfield and Fulbrook Schools. Indeed, 85% of Swallowfield¡¦s pupils in September 2003 were from Milton Keynes, of which only 38% were from Woburn Sands.

There would appear to be, therefore, considerable unmet demand for places in the area.

However, now that the bulk of building is complete, we could expect to see the numbers of young children in each year beginning to stabilise and then to go into decline as the area matures. This would be a normal pattern, but for the fact that further housing development is expected to occur beyond the original designated City area. This includes a significant development in Woburn Sands of 270 dwellings, possibly rising to 400. If children from this development are admitted to Swallowfield, this will reduce the availability of places for children from New City areas. Also, the area between the designated City boundary and Woburn Sands, which includes Wavendon village, is indicated as a growth area, according to the Interim Report from the Local Plan Inspector.

Are there any other factors affecting the situation?

Walton High School is the secondary school for the area. In existence for only five years, it has quickly become a school for which there is high demand. Because of the general growth of the whole east flank, it will be joined in 2005 by a new secondary school to the north at Middleton.

The success of Walton High has seen demand for places come from all over the area, including Woburn Sands, where children have historically moved from Fulbrook Middle School to Cedars Upper School in Leighton Buzzard.

As the availability of a secondary school place is often one of the key features of parents¡¦ decisions about primary school preferences, we could anticipate continuing demand for places in the primary schools that feed Walton High.


Why change to a primary school with children aged 4-11 years?

Because of:
„X The expressed desire by Wavendon First parents for the consideration of all-through primary provision
„X The continuing demand for primary school places in the area
„X The expected further development in the area
the governors and the Council think it is appropriate to explore the opportunity of changing Wavendon First into an all-through primary school for children aged 4-11.

How would the change be achieved?

If the governors decide to publish proposals to change, there will be a planned expansion of the school in terms of the year groups in the school. If the change were to be implemented in 2005, therefore, children currently in Years 1 and 2 would be able to stay on in the school for the rest of their primary school years. The current Year 2 children would be the oldest year group until they reached the point at which they transferred to secondary school.

But the school is small ¡V will building be needed at the school?

The school has capacity for 90 pupils. It would not be able, therefore, to continue to take 22 or 30 pupils into its 4+ admission class without significant additional building. The governors and the Council do not feel that this would be appropriate, anyway, in the shorter term ¡V at least until such time as any major growth were to get underway in the area.

The proposal is, therefore, for the school to admit 15 each year, which would result in the school having 7 year groups of 15, totalling 105, when the transition plan has worked through. This would mean children already in the school not having to leave at the end of their Year 3 (in 2005) or Year 2 (in 2005 and following years.) However, we could expect a number of these children to follow older brothers and sisters already at Wavendon Gate Combined School (or elsewhere) because of the convenience for parents.

Fifteen is a reasonable admission number for a school, as this would result in classes of not more than 30 when two year groups are taught together. While this pattern is not usual in Milton Keynes, it is very common across the country in more rural areas, where there are many examples of all-through primary schools of this size or even smaller.

If this plan is adopted, the school will still need some additional accommodation. This is likely to include additional teaching spaces, office and staff accommodation, and washroom facilities etc to ensure that the school was properly equipped for the full primary age range. There are some site constraints concerning land ownership, but the governors and the Council are confident that these can be overcome in order to ensure that the school would have the right accommodation for a small 4-11 primary school. The Council will be responsible for funding any building work, as the school is a Voluntary Controlled School. The Council would also be responsible for ensuring that the school was in a position to be able to develop the range of equipment and materials for the whole 7-11 age range, and the school¡¦s annual budget would develop each year as the numbers of older pupils grew.

If the local housing growth development goes ahead in the future, it is unlikely that the school would be able to expand further on its current site, however. At that point, it would be necessary for a new site to be provided, to enable the school to become a full one-form or two-form entry school, with all the appropriate facilities.

What happens next?

Subject to the outcome of this consultation, the governors will need to decide whether to go ahead to publish formal proposals for change. They will do this in close partnership with the Council. A further period for comments and objections would follow this publication and the proposal would then have to be decided by an independent body, the School Organisation Committee. The Committee would only be able to approve the proposals if the funds were available to make them happen.

All of this takes time, but it could be done in time for the change to take effect from September 2005. As the next few months will see the publication of the admission and transfer arrangements for September 2005, the Information to Parents Booklet will indicate that this change may happen, but will offer the usual opportunities for parents to indicate their preferences, whether or not change goes ahead.

At this point, therefore, the governors are keen to know your views.

Please, therefore, complete the attached response form and return it by Monday 5 July 2004 to:
Mrs T Lawson, Chair of Governors, Wavendon CE First School, Walton Road, Wavendon, Milton Keynes. MK17 8LH.
Thank you for taking the time to read this consultation.

Mrs T Lawson
Chair of Governors,
Wavendon Church of England First School.

24 May 2004

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