Issue - meetings

To approve the Business Case for the expansion of Thomas Knyvett College, an academy in The Howard Learning Partnership Multi-Academy Trust. The school currently operates as a five form entry (5 FE) co-educational 11-16 school. Its Published Admission Number (PAN) is 150 although its current Number on Roll (NOR) is only 635. It was rated as ‘Good’ by OFSTED at its last inspection (December 2013).

The proposal is to expand the school by 2 FE to 7 FE per year. (A form of entry is normally 30 students). The school was previously larger but reduced its PAN some years ago when fewer places in Spelthorne Borough were required; however it has some latent capacity which we intend to recommission as part of the expansion project.

The school would admit an additional form of entry in 2018 as a ‘bulge’ class (offering up to 180 places in Year 7) within existing accommodation. It would then formally increase its PAN to 210 at the earliest opportunity, which would be September 2019. Thomas Knyvett College would then expand incrementally over a five year period to a maximum Number on Roll of 1050. These additional classes would add another 300 places (across all year groups 7-11) into the area.

The expansion will contribute to Surrey County Council’s (SCC) place planning strategy to enable the Local Authority to meet the forecast demand for secondary school places in Spelthorne borough.

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[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Corporate Services Select Committee or the Children and Education Select Committee]

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the agreement of the detailed financial information for the expansion, as set out in submitted Part 2 report, the business case for the provision of accommodation sufficient to enable two additional forms of entry (300 places) at Thomas Knyvett College be approved.

Reasons for decisions

The proposal supports the Authority’s statutory obligation to provide necessary school places to meet the needs of the population in Spelthorne Borough by providing Year 7 places when and where they are needed.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Children and Education Select Committee and/or the Corporate Services Select Committee]

The item was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Education who stated that Schools Basic Need Funding was a success story for the Council which had received a good settlement from Central Government, funding which had been fought for by the Leader of the Council. The settlement had enabled SCC to provide a considerable number of school places over the previous four years keeping pace with demographic demand in the County.

In regard to Thomas Knyvett College, Mrs Lewis gave details of the project and stated that it would provide 300 additional places by utilising latent capacity within the school which would cope with population increases in the area over the next few years. The Cabinet Member further highlighted that Thomas Knyvett was rated ‘Good’ and stated that she was confident that the school would retain this rating while it was being adapted to provide these additional places.

The Cabinet Member for Adults asked Mrs Lewis to explain how the Council secures expansion to a school that sits within a Multi-Academy Trust. He was informed that expansion in academies is secured in the same way that it is at a Community School, through cooperation and partnership building. SCC can theoretically force a Community School to expand but in reality it doesn’t constitute a practicable solution in most circumstances.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the agreement of the detailed financial information for the expansion, as set out in submitted Part 2 report, the business case for the provision of accommodation sufficient to enable two additional forms of entry (300 places) at Thomas Knyvett College be approved.

Reasons for decisions

The proposal supports the Authority’s statutory obligation to provide necessary school places to meet the needs of the population in Spelthorne Borough by providing Year 7 places when and where they are needed.