The proposed change will reduce the Published Admission Number at Haworth Primary School from 45 to 30 from September 2024.
The Trust will determine arrangements by 28th February 2023 after considering any feedback received.
Statutory consultation on the proposed reduction in Published Admission Number for Haworth Primary School for the 2024/25 academic year
Background
The current Published Admission Number (PAN) at Haworth Primary School is 45. This means that the number of children admitted to the school in reception each year is a maximum of 45.
When planning primary school places in Bradford, the District is split into 26 primary school planning areas. Haworth Primary School sits in the Keighley 2 planning area.
According to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the number of live births nationally fell for five consecutive years up to 2020, with the total number of live births in 2020 being the fewest since 2002. There was a slight increase in 2021
but still fewer births than in 2019. Given the falling number of births nationally and across the District, this has led to a high level of surplus places in some of the primary school planning areas, including Keighley 2, where Haworth Primary School is situated.
Over recent years, there has been a significant reduction in the number of reception places required across this planning area. In response to this reduction, Beckfoot Nessfield and Holycroft Primary School, two other academies in the Keighley 2 planning
area, will reduce their PANs from 60 to 45 in 2023.
In addition, Long Lee Primary School in the neighbouring Keighley 1 planning area will also reduce their PAN from 60 to 45 in 2023. These planned changes will help to reduce the number of surplus reception places across Keighley.
The current total PAN for the Keighley 2 planning area is 445 and will reduce to 415 in 2023. Current forecasts indicate that the number of reception places required for reception for the next four intake years are:
2023/24: 337
2024/25: 309
2025/26: 316
2026/27: 317
Haworth Primary school recorded 36 reception pupils on roll in the October census return. The total number on roll at the school from Reception to Year 6 was 289, well below the 315 places currently available.
The Local Authority’s forecast information has been used to model the school’s budget over the next three years. This process showed that if the PAN remains at 45 the school will face financial difficulty. The proposed PAN reduction will help to ensure the
school is in a financially stable position (in the future).
The School Admissions Code (2021) requires that all admission authorities consult where they propose to reduce a PAN.
In accordance with the School Admissions Code, Haworth Primary School and the Bronte Trust are consulting with key stakeholders, including;
• Parents/carers of current pupils and prospective parents of pupils
• Bradford Council (the local authority in which the school is situated)
• 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
Details of the consultation are published on the school’s website.
This consultation will run for six weeks from Wednesday 7 December 2022 to Tuesday 31 January 2023 after which time any representations received will be considered and a report taken to the Bronte Trust Board for a decision to be made on the PAN for Haworth
Primary School.
Specific Proposal
Haworth Primary School and the Bronte Trust propose to reduce the PAN at Haworth Primary School from 45 to 30 from 1 September 2024.
This means that the maximum number of pupils intended to be admitted in Reception in 2024, and all subsequent Reception cohorts, will be 30. There will be no impact on children who already have a place at the school.
Factors that have been considered by Haworth Primary School 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 school 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 Keighley 2 planning area where there continues to be a falling demand for primary school places, resulting in a significant surplus across the area.
- In the May 2022 school census return, Haworth Primary School recorded 299 pupils on roll from reception to year 6. This number reduced to 289 in October 2022. The number of vacancies is forecast to increase for the next four years.
- Due to the lower numbers of younger children registered with the NHS who will require a school place in the coming years, the Council forecasts that there will be sufficient school places available for local children if the PAN is reduced. If agreed, the
overall PAN for the Keighley 2 planning area will be 400 from 2024.
- Haworth Primary School Governors/The Bronte Trust 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.
- Should circumstances change in the future in the number of children requiring a primary school place, Bradford Council will work with schools and Trusts to ensure all children can be placed in a local school.
Haworth Primary School Governors, The Bronte Trust 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 online survey
https://online1.snapsurveys.com/PANconsultationHaworth Alternatively, if you would prefer a paper copy of the response form, please email
SufficiencyConsultation@bradford.gov.uk quoting Haworth Primary School PAN reduction.