This consultation is now closed
The purpose of this consultation
This consultation is to invite your views on the proposal to close Sarn Nursery School and make a change in the character of Bryncethin Primary School from a 4 -11 school to a 3 -11 school.
Those consulted will include staff, governors, pupils and parents of both schools, members of the local community and any other interested parties.
This part of the consultation process will run from 11/9/2010 to 11/10/2010.
The proposal
It is proposed to close Sarn Nursery School and make a change to the character of Bryncethin Primary School from 4 -11 to 3 -11.
What the proposal means in practice
The proposal, if approved, would mean that Sarn Nursery School would close and therefore cease to exist as a separate establishment. There would be a change in the character of Bryncethin Primary School from a 4-11 school to a 3-11 school. The headteacher of Bryncethin Primary would continue as head of an expanded school i.e. including the nursery provision. There would be a single governing body and one budget. The appendix gives an indication of possible funding levels based on current information.
The nursery would continue to operate on its current site (as the nursery department of Bryncethin Primary School) until such time as the nursery provision can be accommodated on the Bryncethin site. If the proposal were carried through to completion, Sarn Nursery would close on August 31st 2011 and Bryncethin Primary would become a 3 -11 school on September 1st 2011.
The proposal is a “prescribed alteration” to both schools and as such requires statutory procedures to be followed. This consists of a period of consultation followed by the publication of a Public Notice on the proposal. During the 2 month period of the Public Notice, objections to the proposal can be made in writing.
There would be a single governing body and one budget. The appendix gives an indication of possible funding levels based on current information.
Why has this proposal been brought forward?
As part of the Council’s School Modernisation Programme, approved in 2006, one of the adopted policies is to provide all-through 3-11 primary provision at schools within Bridgend County Borough. This policy has been successfully implemented to the extent that Sarn Nursery is now one of only two stand alone nursery schools.
There are certain educational benefits to providing all through 3 -11 provision and this will bring about continuity for these very young children in their transition from nursery into primary education so that they benefit from a single approach to their Foundation Phase education.
Sarn Nursery School is situated 530 metres from Bryncethin Primary School, which currently has no nursery provision. There were 37 pupils on roll at the Nursery in January 2010 and in September 2010 there are projected to be 42 on roll rising to 55 by the summer term, 2011.
The proposal will also provide an opportunity to transfer nursery provision onto the Bryncethin Primary site as part of the expansion of the school being planned to cope with the increasing pupil numbers in the area. This new build will enable the provision of high quality nursery facilities which are fit for purpose in the 21st century. This project will be part of a bid to the 21st Century Schools Programme, which is being promoted and largely funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.
Given that there is no longer a substantive headteacher in Sarn Nursery, it is opportune to bring greater continuity to the educational experience of these very young pupils by creating all through provision under the management of one headteacher, albeit on separate sites, until the primary school is expanded and remodelled.
What are the advantages if the proposal goes ahead?
- The children of Sarn Nursery School will be provided with better educational opportunities as a result of the continuity provided by all-through 3 -11 primary provision. This is in line with the Council’s policy adopted in 2006.
- Parents will have just the one school with which to work. A good relationship between staff and parents can be built up more easily over the period of 8 years that a child is in the school.
- A larger staff gives them more opportunities to develop their skills across the whole Foundation Phase and key stage 2 age range and can enable the best use to be made of teacher and support staff expertise.
- There will be economies of scale from the amalgamation of the two schools which will be invested back into the school modernisation programme.
- There will be the opportunity to provide 21st century accommodation for the nursery pupils as part of the planned expansion to Bryncethin Primary School.
- The Council will be much better placed in making its case to the Welsh Assembly Government for funding to improve the facilities at Bryncethin Primary School and give pupils an even better educational experience.
What are the potential disadvantages if the proposal goes ahead?
- For the period of time when the school will operate with nursery provision on the former Sarn Nursery site, the headteacher and governing body will need to manage what is, in effect, a split-site school. Though this is not ideal, the two sites are close together and some financial allowance will be made for this situation.
- Some parents may feel that a separate nursery school may be better for very young children - in other words, there could be a view that smaller schools may be more personal and less daunting. Until such time as the nursery moves to the Bryncethin site, however, the current location of nursery provision will stay the same. When the building work is complete and all pupils are on the one site, it is usual for nursery children to have a dedicated area within the school and this will be the case at Bryncethin. Nearly all primary schools in Bridgend are all-through 3 -11 schools and these operate very effectively.
The consultation and amalgamation process
The initial part of the consultation process will be completed by the middle of October and the results will be reported to a Cabinet meeting in November. If there is a decision not to proceed, that will be the end of this proposal for the foreseeable future.
If the decision is to go ahead, a statutory notice outlining the proposals would need to be published for a two-month period and any formal written objections would be invited during this time. If there are objections, the Welsh Assembly Government will need to consider the proposal. The Assembly could then accept, reject or modify the proposal. If there are no objections to the proposal, then it will go ahead subject to final approval by Cabinet.
The provisional timetable and procedure are as follows:
October 11th 2010 |
Final date for submissions in writing in response to the proposal |
November 2010 |
Publication of statutory notices (followed by a two month consultation period). Formal objections need to be submitted in writing during this period. |
January or February 2011 |
The Cabinet of Bridgend County Borough Council will consider the proposal again. If there are no objections, the Cabinet can decide to proceed with the proposal. If there are objections, the proposal will be referred to the Assembly and the Minister will make the decision. The decision can take up to 6 months from the publication of the statutory notice. |
Governing Body
As Sarn Nursery School will be closing, the governing body will cease to exist. It may be possible to increase the number of places on the governing body of Bryncethin Primary school to allow representation from the current Sarn governing body.
Staffing Issues
The result of the proposal will mean that only one Headteacher will be required but as there is no substantive Headteacher in post at Sarn Nursery School it will not result in any change to the existing situation. A revised staffing structure will need to be put forward and the Local Authority would recommend that all teaching and support staff posts for the new school should be “ring-fenced” to the staff in the existing two schools. The Local Authority would also recommend that, wherever possible, staff be matched to posts in the new structure.
Impact Assessment: Community
Sarn Nursery School has 48 pupils on roll (January 2010 PLASC return) which consists of 37 full time and 11 part time nursery pupils. 35 (73%) of the pupils reside within the catchment area of Bryncethin Primary School (nursery schools do not, as such, have their own catchment areas). 13 (27%) pupils reside within the catchment areas of other schools.
Bryncethin Primary School has 217 pupils on roll (January 2010 PLASC return). 144 (66%) of the pupils reside within the catchment area of Bryncethin Primary School. 73 (34%) pupils reside within the catchment areas of other schools. No family should, therefore, be disadvantaged by this proposal as the capacity of the primary school will be unchanged from its current level. As both school buildings will still be in existence, it is envisaged that there would be no change to the current levels of community use and after school clubs etc. However, as part of the feasibility study into educational provision within the Valleys Gateway area, enhanced community use of schools facilities will be explored in order for the schools to become more community focused. Many community based activities are already provided from the nearby Sarn Life Centre.
Impact Assessment: Equalities
As part of the overall process, the council has a duty to consider the implications of any proposal on all members of the local community who may be affected unfairly as a result of the proposal being carried out. An initial assessment has been made of the potential for inequality of opportunity arising from these proposals and a full equalities impact assessment will be undertaken in parallel with the consultation process. The outcomes and actions identified by this assessment will be included in and form part of the report to Cabinet on the outcomes of the consultation process. If you have any views on the potential of this proposal to affect any groups or individuals either positively or adversely, then we would welcome your comments as part of this consultation.
What do you now have to consider?
You are invited to consider the proposal and submit your views as to whether or not you support the proposal to close Sarn Nursery School and change the character of Bryncethin Primary School from a 4 -11 to a 3 -11 school.
How do you make your views known?
There will be consultation meetings held as detailed below for the different interested parties. You are invited to attend the relevant meeting where you can hear an explanation of the proposal, put questions and express any views or concerns you may have.
Venue: Sarn Nursery |
Date |
Time |
Meeting with the staff of Sarn Nursery |
Tuesday September 28th |
3.30 p.m. |
Meeting with the governing body of Sarn Nursery |
Tuesday September 28th |
4.30 p.m. |
Meeting with the parents of pupils at Sarn Nursery and other interested parties |
Tuesday September 28th |
6.00 p.m. |
Venue: Bryncethin Primary |
Date |
Time |
Meeting with the staff of Bryncethin Primary |
Thursday 30th September |
4.00 p.m. |
Meeting with the governing body of Bryncethin Primary |
Thursday 30th September |
5.15 p.m. |
Meeting with the parents of pupils at Bryncethin Primary and other interested parties |
Thursday 30th September |
6.30 p.m. |
Meeting with School Council: |
to be arranged |
You are also welcome to put your views in writing to:
Ms Hilary Anthony
Corporate Director – Children
Children’s Directorate
Sunnyside
Bridgend
CF31 4AR
Please mark for the attention of Ellen Franks, or e-mail ellen.franks@bridgend.gov.uk
All views must be received by no later than 11/10/2010.
Appendix: Financial Information
If established as proposed, Bryncethin Primary School will be allocated a budget share each year according to the locally agreed funding formula that applies to all primary schools in Bridgend.
Actual School Budget Share |
|
Sarn Nursery School |
£293,832.12 |
Bryncethin Primary School |
£695,049.74 |
Sarn Nursery + Bryncethin Primary School |
£988,881.86 |
Estimated Budget Share for Combined School: (includes an allowance for a split-site) |
£860,825.25 |
Difference |
£128,056.61 |
Please note that this primary budget is a broad estimate only and is based on pupil numbers and other information that will need to be updated if the proposal is accepted for September 2011 .
- Last Updated: 22/10/2010
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