Consultation on the proposed reduction in PAN at Princeville Primary School

Statutory consultation on the proposed reduction in Published Admission Number for Princeville Primary School for the 2020/21 academic year

Consultation Document

Background

The current Published Admission Number (PAN) at Princeville Primary School is 90. This means that the number of children admitted to the school in reception each year is a maximum of 90.

When planning primary school places in Bradford, the District is split into 26 primary school planning areas. Princeville Primary School sits in the South West 4 planning area.

The population growth in Bradford over the last decade increased pressure on primary school places, resulting in a large-scale expansion programme to meet the growth in demand. Due to a significant increase in demand in the South West 4 planning area, Princeville Primary School increased PAN in reception from 60 to 90 in September 2010. This moved up through the school each year until all year groups had a PAN of 90 in 2016. The net capacity for the building is 630, made up of 90 places in each year from reception to year 6.

Whilst there are still small areas of population growth, overall across the Bradford District, there is a decrease in the number of younger children registered with the NHS. This has led to a high level of surplus places in some of the primary school planning areas including South West 4, where Princeville Primary School is situated. Recent information published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that the number of births in 2017 was the lowest recorded both nationally and in Bradford, since 2006; therefore the Council does not anticipate that the numbers of children requiring school places in the South West 4 planning area will increase significantly in the near future.

Following consultation in the autumn term 2017, Rainbow Primary School Academy, which is also in the South West 4 Primary planning area, is to reduce its PAN from 75 to 60 from September 2019. This reduction takes the total PAN for the South West 4 planning area to 760 places for reception children in 2019. Current published forecasts indicate that the number of reception places required for reception for the next four intake years are:

2019/20: 643

2020/21: 674

2021/22: 630

2022/23: 630

In the South West 4 planning area, there were three proposed large housing developments which had received planning permission but have not materialised. One of these areas is now a retail park, one did not proceed and the application then expired. The third is still outstanding and has not yet commenced. A calculation was made for the possible additional children that could come to live in these developments and then as required by the Department for Education (DfE) these additional children were included in previous forecasts.

The School Admissions Code requires that all admission authorities consult where they propose to reduce a PAN. Bradford Council, as the Admission Authority, is therefore seeking representations on the proposed change to the PAN for Princeville Primary School in the South West 4 planning area.

In accordance with the School Admissions Code (2014), the Council is consulting with key stakeholders, including;

• Princeville Primary School – Head/Governing Body/ Staff
• Parents/carers of current pupils and prospective parents of pupils
• All other Admission Authorities within the District
• Neighbouring Local Authorities
• Councillors and MPs
• Trade Unions
• Anyone else who has an interest in the proposed changes

A copy has been sent to the Schools Adjudicator

The school will be asked to publish the proposal on their website.

This consultation will run for six weeks from 7 December to 31 January, after which time any representations received will be considered and a report taken to the Council’s Executive Committee for a decision to be made on the PAN for Princeville Primary School.

Specific Proposal

Bradford Council proposes to reduce the PAN at Princeville Primary School from 90 to 60 from September 2020.

This means that the maximum number of pupils intended to be admitted in Reception in 2020, and all subsequent Reception cohorts, will be 60. For children who already have a place at the school in other year groups there will be no change but the admission number for all other year groups will reduce to 60 from 2020 onwards.

There is a further change to the admission arrangements at Princeville Primary as all admissions authorities have been asked to extend the priority of previously looked after children to now include previously looked after children who were adopted from ‘state care’ outside England and Wales.

Factors that have been considered by the Council when deciding to consult on this proposal include:

• A large portion of funding received by schools is directly related to the number of pupils attending the school. Too many vacancies mean that schools will not receive the maximum possible revenue. Therefore the Council is proposing to reduce the number of available places to enable the school to operate more efficiently and cost effectively.
• The school is located in South West 4 planning area where there continues to be a falling demand for primary school places, resulting in a significant surplus across the area. This has meant that the reception class has not filled in the last three years.
• The total number of pupils from reception to Year 6 recorded by the school on the October 2018 census is 511 and is well below the current PAN of 630
• Due to the lower numbers of younger children registered with the NHS who will require a school place in the coming years, the Council expects that there will be sufficient school places available for local children if the PAN is reduced. If agreed, the overall PAN for the South West 4 planning area will be 730 from 2020.

Bradford Council believes that reducing the PAN will assist the school to provide stability in their long-term planning and allow them to deliver high quality educational outcomes for the pupils currently on roll. The reduction in PAN will ensure that an appropriate number of places are provided for future pupils, in line with forecasts.

Any representations should be made on the attached form and forwarded by email to educationconsultation@bradford.gov.uk quoting Princeville Primary School or post to Claire Marshall-Swales, Education Client Services, First Floor, Margaret McMillan Tower, Princes Way, Bradford BD1 1NN. Alternatively, representations can be made on the Bradford Council consultation website under current consultations.