Background
The current Published Admission Number (PAN) at Carrwood Primary School is 60. This means that the number of children admitted to the school in reception each year is a maximum of 60.
When planning primary school places in Bradford, the District is split into 26 primary school planning areas. Carrwood Primary School sits in the South East 1 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 the anticipated increase in demand in the South East 1 planning area,
Carrwood Primary School permanently increased PAN in reception from 30 to 60 in September 2011. This moved up through the school each year until all year groups had a PAN of 60 in 2017. The net capacity for the building is 420, made up of 60 places in each
year from reception to year 6.
In addition to Carrwood, a number of PAN increases were implemented at schools in South East 1 in 2011:
Knowleswood increased from 45 to 60
Newhall Park increased from 45 to 60
Ryecroft increased from 30 to 60
St Columba’s increased from 45 to 50
The overall PAN for the planning area increased from 375 to 470 in September 2011.
Since 2016, Carrwood has admitted a significantly lower number of pupils into reception than the number of spaces available. The numbers recorded in the schools January Census is shown below:
2016/17: 32
2017/18: 39
2018/19: 37
In September 2019, 41 children started reception at Carrwood. Across the South East 1 planning area, there were 470 reception places available with the total number of places allocated at National Offer Day being 382.
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 East 1, where Carrwood Primary School is situated. Recent information published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that the number of births in 2018 was the lowest recorded both nationally and in Bradford, since 2005; therefore
the Council does not anticipate that the numbers of children requiring school places in the South East 1 planning area will increase significantly in the near future.
Current published forecasts indicate that the number of reception places required for reception for the next four intake years are:
2020/21: 390
2021/22: 388
2022/23: 369
2023/24: 369
A housing development of 270 dwellings is currently under construction across the border in the Leeds part of Tyersal, in very close proximity to Carrwood Primary School. As required by the Department for Education (DfE), a calculation has been made for
the possible additional children that could come to live in this development and these additional children have been included in this forecast.
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 Carrwood Primary School
in the South East 1 planning area.
In accordance with the School Admissions Code (2014), the Council is consulting with key stakeholders, including;
- Carrwood 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 publish the proposal on their website.
This consultation will run for six weeks from 21 November 2019 – 16 January 2020, 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 Carrwood Primary
School.
Specific Proposal
Bradford Council proposes to reduce the PAN at Carrwood Primary School from 60 to 30 from September 2021.
This means that the maximum number of pupils intended to be admitted in Reception in 2021, and all subsequent Reception cohorts, will be 30. For children who already have a place at the school in other year groups there will be no change.
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 East 1 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 2019 census is 379 and is well below the current PAN of 420
- 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 East 1 planning area will be 440 from 2021.
Carrwood Primary School Governors and Bradford Council believe 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 Bradford Council
consultation website under current consultations. Alternatively, if you would prefer a hardcopy of the response form, please email
educationconsultation@bradford.gov.uk quoting Carrwood Primary School to request a copy.