School Organisation Plan

The Plan sets out in general terms where there is a need to revise the current provision of school places in the light of demographic information for the borough based on the latest fore

Attachment 1

School Organisation Plan

Draft Edition 5 For Presentation to the Lewisham School Organisation Committee September 2004 to September 2009

Preface to fifth edition

This is the draft of the fifth edition of Lewisham’s School Organisation Plan that was issued

as a consultation document on 13 August 2003 and which has been revised in the light of responses received during the consultation

The prime aim of the Council is to ensure that Lewisham becomes the best place in London in which to live, work and learn, and the provision of sufficient, good quality school places is fundamental to achieving that aim The School Organisation Plan sets out the Education Authority’s vision for education in the borough over the period of the Plan Within this context it sets out a strategy, which will guide our approach to the planning of school places

The Plan sets out in general terms where there is a need to revise the current provision of school places in the light of demographic information for the borough based on the latest forecasts of demand for school places

It is not the purpose of the Plan to make proposals for individual schools These will be made by the Council in the duration of the Plan and will be the subject of detailed consultation with all concerned The purpose of the Plan is to set out the policy, principles and statistics on which such proposals should be based

This Plan is now submitted to the Lewisham School Organisation Committee for its consideration

Frankie Sulke

Executive Director of Education and Culture

November 2003

Contents

Introduction

The Statutory Framework and Lewisham Context

Section A – Demographics

Demographic information relevant to the provision of school places

Section B – The Principles

Statement of policies / principles relevant to the provision of school places

Section C – Conclusions

Conclusions drawn from Sections A & B, including the need for adjustments to the provision of places over the next five years

Annexes

Annex 1: Primary and Secondary Schools Data

Annex 2: Map of Lewisham Schools

Annex 3: Map of Primary School Planning Areas

Annex 4: Map of Major Housing Developments in Primary Planning areas

Annex 5: Housing Developments – Child Yield Estimates

Annex 6 : Principles of Church of England and Roman Catholic Diocesan Education

Boards

Glossary of Terms

Introduction General Description

This draft fifth edition of the Plan covers the five academic years from September 2004 to September 2009

The key purpose of the Plan is to set out clearly how the LEA plans to meet its statutory responsibility to secure sufficient education provision within its area in order to promote higher standards of achievement It is an important document as it is the starting point for the School Organisation Committee (SOC) when considering statutory proposals for changes to schools

This Plan is set out in three sections

Part A presents a clear analysis of the local demographic, the organisation of school

places

Part B sets out Lewisham’s policies and principles for ensuring enough suitable school

places offering a good and improving standard of education

Part C presents conclusions drawn from Part A and Part B about the need to add to,

remove, relocate or otherwise re-organise provision in particular areas of the Authority

Statutory Framework

Every Local Education Authority (LEA) is obliged by law to produce a School Organisation Plan, which describes how the Authority intends to ensure an adequate supply of school places The Plan must be published by August 2003 for consultation and thereafter every

3 years on 1st June A plan must be published on the 1st June of any other year where there is a change of policy, strategy or local circumstances relating to the organisation of schools in the LEA’s area

The DfES is undertaking a review of Local Education Authority planning requirements with

a view to rationalising the number of plans that an authority must produce with a move towards moving to a Single Education Plan after 2006/7

At the end of an 11-week consultation period, the Authority has to consider any comments

or objections to the Plan and revise it, as the Authority considers appropriate

The Authority has then to submit the Plan to Lewisham’s School Organisation Committee within one month from the end of the consultation period

Lewisham Context

Lewisham borough has a population of 240,000, a rich history and a diverse and exciting community Our communities enrich our lives by bringing to Lewisham culture, creativity and energy from all quarters of the globe Over half of our pupils belong to an ethnic minority, more than 120 languages are spoken locally and the diversity of our population continues to increase The energy and vitality that this brings provides us with the opportunity to use the best ideas and the most far-reaching innovation from the broadest possible base to inspire our schools to continue to have the highest aspirations for all of our young people

Lewisham also faces challenges The borough has a significant amount of poverty, social deprivation and the resulting difficulties that arise Four of our wards are in the bottom 10%

in terms of deprivation in England The borough has the eighth highest proportion of lone parent households in England and 37% of dependent children live in a house with no wage earner

Our schools have done well in these circumstances, their reputations lagging behind the true picture in many cases Our aim is to improve at a faster rate than the national average and we need to see a sustained step change in standards across the board to achieve this In order to ensure that all of our pupils achieve the best outcomes we need to ensure that all of our schools are performing well and that no pupil faces disadvantage because they attend a particular institution We intend to see the very best of what is happening in Lewisham become the norm; all of our resources and communities working together and fully engaged in the task of raising standards

Success for All – Lewisham’s commitment to the future

Education, skills and knowledge are crucial to the wellbeing, prosperity and health of our citizens The life chances of all of our residents, particularly our young people, and their capacity to participate fully as actively engaged citizens depend now more than ever on a good education and the acquisition of high quality skills

We share the high aspirations of our children, parents, schools and colleges We want all

of our pupils to achieve the best possible results, performing well against national

standards Vibrant, innovative, exciting schools with high expectations are key to ensuring

that our pupils are successful and go on to take advantage of the opportunities that an excellent education provides We are committed to working in partnership with our schools, colleges, universities and the business sector to provide the highest quality, socially inclusive provision to all of Lewisham’s communities

To focus our energies on making the biggest impact on the most important things for our residents we have identified three strategic aims: -

• To raise the achievement for all children and young people between the ages of

Lewisham is about to make considerable capital investments in the fabric of its schools The vision is to house a diversity of schools in stunning buildings that express the ambition, aspiration and creativity of the people who teach and learn in them The school workforce will be professional, creative and motivated They will continue to be held in high esteem and be at the cutting edge of change and improvement Lewisham schools will have the best equipment and the most modern technology to ensure that children and young people have access to the very latest teaching and learning techniques, sports

facilities and all the amenities that make for a great education

Background

There are 2 nursery, 70 primary and 12 secondary schools in Lewisham that in January

2003 had 239 nursery, 22,642 primary (including 2433 nursery age) and 11,622 secondary pupils on their roll Some voluntary schools still operate a three-point entry, admitting additional pupils in May For these schools an enhancement is made to their roll to take account of this

The Borough also has 7 Special Schools and 2 pupil referral units Lewisham also currently has 2 Colleges - Lewisham College and Christ the King 6th Form College and 1 City Technology College (CTC) - Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College (HAHC) Independent Secondary Schools in the borough are St Dunstan's College & Sydenham High

School Rolls and Roll Projections

Demand for school places is estimated for Lewisham by the Greater London Authority (GLA) They are derived using the actual numbers of pupils attending Lewisham schools

(the school rolls) and Lewisham ward level population projections, now based on 2001 Census Data Two methods, termed replacement and catchment are used to project

school rolls

The replacement method calculates cohort transfer (for example the numbers of

7-year-old boys as a proportion of 6-year-7-year-old boys in the previous year) and provides more

accurate short-term projections The catchment method calculates the numbers of school

pupils as a proportion of the number of children of the same age in the population of the catchment area (for example, the number of 7 year old boys in schools as a proportion of the number of resident boys in the area) The catchment method provides a sounder basis for longer-term projections because it draws on population projections that take account of birth, migration, housing changes and fertility rates

The results of the catchment and replacement methods are then combined and a method

of weighting is applied over the subsequent years in order to maximise the strengths of each method Projections are likely to be less accurate and become more unreliable the further into the future they project The GLA state that their projections are accurate within

±1% As a result, it is necessary to add a small surplus to ensure that there will always be enough places

In general it should be recognised that the estimates project demand for places and are

not projections of the total number of pupils of school age

Assessing Provision

In order to simplify the process of calculating places, only the first year of intake for each type of school is considered - reception for primary schools and year 7 for secondary schools It is assumed that these numbers are maintained in all the subsequent years, although short term increases and decreases are possible

The net capacity provides a theoretical capacity of the physical buildings within which the

school is based These calculations are used by the government to determine surplus places, and are important when considering how to increase or reduce the number of places available The net capacity is allocated across each year group and the figure for

the first year of intake is compared with the number of places needed for that first year of intake to show if there is a shortfall or surplus in the number of places

The net capacity calculation is reviewed regularly to ensure that it provides an accurate representation of a schools accommodation and that any changes to the premises have been taken fully into consideration

Each school also agrees an annual admission limit, following consultation with the LEA

and the Lewisham Admissions Forum and these limits are published annually The admissions limit can be different to the net capacity Capital investment or redevelopment opportunities for school buildings should aim to bring the net capacity in line with the schools agreed admissions limit This is addressed through the Education Asset Management Plan (AMP) Specific proposals to increase or decrease school places, based on the evidence set out in this plan, should take into account whether a particular school has appropriate and/or sufficient net capacity to accommodate the proposed number of pupils

The admission limit and net capacity cannot be considered in isolation, together with the policies & principles listed in Section B of the plan, they form a basis from which strategies for individual schools and the supply of school places are developed

Planning Areas

For planning purposes Lewisham is divided into four primary planning areas, based on four or five wards (see map Annex 3) Planning areas are not always self-contained and deficits in some areas may have to be covered by available places in adjacent districts The areas are:

Area 1 (Evelyn, New Cross, Telegraph Hill and Brockley wards)

Area 2 (Blackheath, Lee Green, Lewisham Central, Rushey Green and Ladywell wards) Area 3 (Catford South, Bellingham, Grove Park, Whitefoot and Downham wards)

Area 4 (Perry Vale, Sydenham, Forest Hill and Crofton Park wards)

For secondary schools, these areas would be too small Analysis is made on a whole borough basis, but to allow some consideration of borough distribution of places, schools are grouped into north and south using the South Circular Road as the dividing line Again, this is an arbitrary measure – evidence shows that pupils are prepared to travel great distances, especially where there are strong public transport links, to get to the secondary school of their choice

Housing Developments

Known housing developments are taken account of in the projections, the proximity of a significant development may have a direct effect on a particular school, specifically primaries, which have a more local recruitment area than do secondary schools

Those developments that are likely to give rise to, or remove 50, or more family dwellings (i.e 2 bedrooms or more) together with the estimated child yield that they could produce have been included in the population projections The developments are listed in Annex 3

It should be noted however that many of the developments are still at a very preliminary stage and their effect on school population is speculative at this stage The locations of the major developments are shown on a map of the Borough in Annex 4

Early Years Places

Providers offer a mixture of part and full time places In April 2003 it was estimated that

there was a total of 3228 part time places and a total of 2170 full time However, the

assessment of places will vary from month to month as providers can change the ratio of

part and full time places, as voluntary & private sector providers expand or contract and as

providers open or close The situation is very fluid and the assessment given in these

tables should therefore be seen as approximate

The table below shows the total number of places available by type of provision, the

demand for places for three & four year olds (based on 85% of the population projections

of three & four year olds in the planning area for 2004 supplied by the GLA, as described

in Section B of the Plan) and a resultant surplus or deficit

Nursery schools/ Nursery classes 893

Early Years – Demand v No of places by Planning area and year

2003/4 1436 1661 1435 1185 5717 2004/5 1472 1659 1463 1187 5781 2005/6 1415 1575 1414 1132 5536 2006/7 1372 1545 1417 1120 5454 2007/8 1398 1579 1483 1153 5613

85% of GLA Three and Four

Year Old Population

Projections

2008/9 1409 1595 1534 1174 5712

2003/4 5 -109 210 88 194 2004/5 -31 -107 182 86 130 2005/6 26 -23 231 141 375

2007/8 43 -27 162 120 298 Surplus

2008/9 32 -43 111 99 199

It is not possible to distinguish between three and four year old places as most institutions provide places for both in a flexible way Childminder places are available for children of all ages, not just three and four year olds; it has been assumed that each childminder makes available two places for three and four year olds

Proposals for childcare places for three and four year olds are the subject of the Early Years Development and Childcare Plan and details are included here to give a holistic picture of provision By 2008/9 there is an overall surplus of 199 places projected

However, considering the flexibility of the provision on offer in terms of the number of places taken by children and babies under the ages of three and four it is not possible to state categorically that the surplus provision applies to three and four year olds

Primary School Places

There is very little movement across borough boundaries Nearly nine out of ten Lewisham resident pupils attend a Lewisham primary school, with the rest attending schools in Bromley, Greenwich and Southwark in equal proportions

The projections for primary school rolls include a margin of 2% over and above the GLA estimate This is in line with the policy described in Section B of the plan to allow for an element of expansion in the population and also takes account of possible margins of error

in the GLA projections Previous plans have used the schools admissions limits to calculate the number of surplus/deficit places in the borough In line with new Government guidelines the net capacity will also be used to inform the appropriate admissions limits for schools

Table 1 below shows the projected demand for places in the borough overall and by primary planning area By the end of the period of the Plan a surplus of 265 reception classes are predicted in the borough

Note: Projections are based on GLA census data and forecasts taking into account developments over the life of the plan Because a number of projects in the North of the Borough are at a very early stage these estimates will require further work when development plans have been firmed up

Table 1: Surplus Places Analysis for 4 year olds (Reception) by Planning Area

Admission Limits compared with projected rolls

Year Admission Limits Projected Roll Surplus Places

Planning Area Planning Area Planning Area

2003/4 771 730 960 795 3256 702 685 888 753 3028 69 45 72 42 228 2004/5 771 730 960 795 3256 697 677 880 717 2973 74 53 80 78 283 2005/6 771 730 960 795 3256 677 676 875 729 2961 94 54 85 66 295 2006/7 771 730 960 795 3256 687 672 891 727 2979 84 58 69 68 277 2007/8 771 730 960 795 3256 659 654 883 713 2912 112 76 77 82 344 2008/9 771 730 960 795 3256 670 666 921 731 2991 101 64 39 64 265

Table 1A below shows the same source data but provides a comparison between projected rolls and the net capacity showing a borough wide surplus of 145 places by the end of plan

Table 1A: Surplus Places Analysis for 4 year olds (Reception) by Planning Area

Number of Places (Net Capacity) compared with Projected Roll

Planning area Planning area Planning area

Year

2003/4 747 708 912 769 3136 702 685 888 753 3028 45 23 24 16 108 2004/5 747 708 912 769 3136 697 677 880 717 2973 50 31 32 52 163 2005/6 747 708 912 769 3136 677 676 875 729 2961 70 32 37 40 175 2006/7 747 708 912 769 3136 687 672 891 727 2979 60 36 21 42 157 2007/8 747 708 912 769 3136 659 654 883 713 2912 88 54 29 56 224 2008/9 747 708 912 769 3136 670 666 921 731 2991 77 42 -9 38 145

Gender and Ethnicity

It should be noted that the gender balance and ethnic mix of Lewisham primary schools broadly reflects the profile of the borough population of the same age Schools have a mixed, multi-racial intake, and the voluntary schools criteria do not result in any gender or ethnic bias Borough data is provided in Annex 1

Individual schools roll data, admissions limits and net capacity figures are also shown in Annex 1

Secondary School Places

The tables show the projected demand for secondary places for 11 year-olds (year 7) in the Borough as well as those available in the north and south, using the south circular road

as a dividing line The GLA roll projections are based on September rolls (as they are the highest for secondary schools) and 2001 census population data

The projections for secondary school rolls include a margin of 2% over and above the GLA estimate This is in line with the Authority’s policy described in Section B of the plan to allow for possible margins of error in the GLA projections

The projections made by the Greater London Authority (GLA) estimate the future demand for places at Lewisham secondary schools, based on the current recruitment patterns However, Lewisham must plan to anticipate an increase in demand, as the drive to raise standards is likely to increase the popularity of Lewisham secondary schools Lewisham has therefore built in to the projected demand for places an incremental increase over and above the GLA estimate This increase rises to a total of 8% by 2007/8 This estimate should be reviewed annually in light of revised roll projections

The projected demand for places against need for places in the borough is presented below using the two forms of assessment described in detail under Assessing Provision The Admission limits are agreed annually with schools and the Net Capacity Limits are calculated using a DfES formula and assess a schools building physical ability to accommodate pupils Both limits inform the planning process and individual strategic plans for schools and cannot be taken in isolation

Table 2 below shows the projected deficit of places for 11 year olds (Year 7) based on the

current agreed admissions limits of the boroughs secondary schools

Table 2: Surplus Places Analysis for 11 year olds (Year 7) by Region

Admission Limits compared with Projected Rolls

Predicted

Year Projected Roll Admission Limit Surplus places

Borough North South Borough North South Borough North South

Table 2A: Surplus Places Analysis for 11 year olds (Year 7) by Region

Net Capacity compared with Projected Rolls

Predicted

Year Projected Roll Net Capacity Surplus places

Borough North South Borough North South Borough North South

Pupil Movement Across Boroughs

In the secondary sector there is considerable movement across neighbouring boroughs

An analysis carried out by the GLA based on January 2002 school pupil data showed that two out of three pupils aged 11 who live in Lewisham attend a Lewisham secondary school About one in four attend a Greenwich or Bromley school (with Greenwich picking

up more pupils than Bromley) and one in 20 attending a Southwark school Apart from Croydon, very few children attend schools in other boroughs – less than one in fifty

Lewisham also educates a significant number of pupils resident in Southwark (one in eight

of those in Lewisham schools) Considerably fewer numbers of Greenwich (one in 40) and Bromley (one in 75) resident pupils do cross the border into Lewisham

Add Table

11 year olds Resident in Lewisham -

Attending Secondary School, by LEA of

* Table shows LEAs with more that 100 pupils

only, however the “Total” figure includes all

LEAs

* Table shows LEAs with more that 10 pupils only, however the “Total” figure includes all LEAs

Source: GLA - PLASC

2002

Lewisham’s Neighbouring Boroughs

The secondary provision of school places in Lewisham’s neighbouring boroughs is summarised below

Greenwich

In Greenwich, the secondary schools are mostly full There are planned extensive housing developments in the Greenwich Peninsular and redevelopment proposals for the Ferrier Estate in Kidbrooke providing more intensive Housing which will increase the pressure on their schools Proposals to build an 8 Form Entry Secondary School on the Greenwich Peninsula and the expansion of Thomas Tallis by 1 Form of Entry are subject of a PFI bid

by the Borough

Southwark

In Southwark, the pressure on secondary school places has been such that the Borough has had to open additional places at a number of its secondary schools In September even with the increased numbers, most of the schools were completely full With an estimated 5% increase in demand over the next five years, the Borough is planning to

provide additional places through two Academies to meet the pressure on places

Bromley

Bromley's secondary schools are at maximum capacity The Boroughs shortfall in places is met by a high take up of places in the private sector One of its key objectives, is the establishment of a new 6 Form Entry 11-18 co-educational Church of England Secondary School in September 2004 to meet the demand for places

Post 16 Places

Demand for Post 16 Places

Institutions offering post-16 places in Lewisham include secondary schools with sixth forms, Christ the King Sixth Form College and Lewisham College In theory, all of these places might be available for students from Lewisham schools, although students are prepared to travel a considerable distance to go to the college of their choice Also a substantial number of places in Lewisham College and Christ the King Sixth Form College are taken from outside the Borough Provision at both school sixth forms and in particular

at colleges can change quite significantly from year to year

Sixth form rolls and staying on rates

School Name Number of sixth form pupils % of Yr 11 pupils staying on into sixth form

98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 Added and Stanhope 63 71 69 72 73 62 53% 50% 37% 50% 51% 42%

Catford Girls' 48 40 40 23 3 4 26% 23% 20% 15% 3% 3% Crofton 103 110 134 118 102 116 44% 42% 42% 34% 36% 33% Deptford Green 84 99 124 172 153 132 33% 47% 49% 79% 52% 44% Forest Hill 132 160 187 165 204 220 38% 50% 50% 44% 58% 56%

Prendergast 109 121 128 130 141 162 65% 68% 69% 63% 82% 74% Sedgehill 255 228 174 147 158 129 53% 44% 30% 31% 34% 19%

St Joseph's Academy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Sydenham 175 199 233 176 184 215 48% 52% 59% 42% 44% 60%

Total 1112 1112 1097 1003 1018 1040 43% 42% 40% 42% 43% 39% Haberdasher’ Aske's not available 120 125 not available 62% 63%

The table above shows the post-16 roll and staying-on rate for Lewisham secondary schools This shows that the overall staying-on rate is about 40% in recent years However, when the pupils who transfer to other post 16 providers are taken into account the overall staying on rate from Lewisham secondary schools into post 16 provision rises

to about 70%

The table below shows what the demand for places would be if 80% of all year 11 students from Lewisham secondary schools were to seek a full time post 16 course in a school or a college The 2008/9 figure has been determined by applying an 80% stay-on rate to the year 11 figures for May 2008 (as described in Section B of the Plan) To this have been added figures for years 13 and 14 to give an overall estimate of the total number of post-

in many instances be flexible and change from year to year

However, if school sixth form places were to be calculated on the basis of the current DfES capacity assessment method, there would be a total of 1150 school based places Lewisham College estimates that it will cater for approximately 1400 full time post 16 places from 2003 (the college also expects to expand provision into the future) and Christ the King Sixth Form College 1200 full time places However, an estimated 50% of Lewisham College’s roll and 60% of Christ the King College’s roll reside outside Lewisham The question of how many of these places might be available for students from Lewisham schools would need to be determined in discussion with the Colleges themselves in the context of proposals for overall post 16 provision for the Borough These discussions are ongoing and continue to address the proportion of places to be provided in the school and college sectors in the borough Consideration also needs to be given to the number of students who seek places at colleges or school sixth forms outside the Borough

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Places

Children are identified as having special educational needs through an assessment process that can range from school intervention to a formal statement of need Children who do not have a statement will normally have their needs met within mainstream schools

The number of places that are provided in Lewisham special schools is not assessed in the same way as mainstream schools The DfES net capacity calculation does not apply to the accommodation, as it is very specialist, appropriate to meet the needs of the range of pupils with special needs

Special schools have an agreed total number of pupil places that they are able to accommodate in the school The table below shows how the needs of pupils are met within Lewisham Maintained Special Schools and Units and the projected demand for places in this provision over the lifetime of the plan

* Information from health authority indicates that more children with SLD will also have ASD

** Early intervention will result in fewer children with Specific Learning Difficulties, MLD requiring statements

Section B: The Policy and Principles

The need for school places has to take account not only of Lewisham’s legal obligations, but also of policy objectives This section of the plan sets out Lewisham’s principles and policy objectives

Much of the policy and principles derive from existing plans, such as the Education Development Plan, the Infant Class Size Plan, the Early Years Development and Childcare Plan (EYDCP) and the Accessibility Plan Principles are also derived from specific policies adopted by Lewisham or developed specifically in the light of the findings

in section A of this plan, and adopted following consultation on the first Draft Plan

Our Policies and Principles for securing high quality education for our citizens

Working in partnership

Lewisham will work in partnership with parents, schools and local communities to promote

school improvement and meet local needs and preferences Arrangements for school

places will be made with the full involvement and maximum support of local parents, young

people and other residents Lewisham will work with schools in the maintained and

non-maintained sectors to plan coherently for all of our children and young people We will also

collaborate closely with LEAs across borough boundaries to ensure that we take account

of trends in population movement and new developments when we make proposals for

school organisation Our guiding principle will be to ensure that proposals will benefit all

Lewisham pupils and schools

remove

We will not propose change for one institution, which will have a detrimental impact upon

another

Raising standards and quality

Our aim is to ensure that every pupil who wants a place in a Lewisham school will be

offered a high quality place Low standards and poor levels of achievement will not be

tolerated Schools, which are not delivering high standards, will be supported to bring

about rapid improvement We will also explore a range of particular options, many of which

have been employed successfully to raise standards in schools where standards are low

including;

• Development of a federation or collaborative partnership

• Merger with another school

• Removal of places

Where possible we will expand provision in popular schools where standards are high and

where there is parental and pupil demand When we do so we will ensure that increased

provision brings extended choice for parents and pupils

Under-subscribed schools

We will seek to avoid excessive spare capacity in schools and where there is consistent

evidence that spare capacity is having a negative impact upon standards we will take

action to reduce capacity

Comprehensive education and banding

The arrangements under which children are admitted to schools are traditionally seen as

distinct from the organisation of school places However, it is important to record here that

Lewisham is committed to the comprehensive principle, and uses a banding system

designed to balance the ability intake in each secondary school Lewisham encourages all

state-funded schools in the Borough, including those for which the Council is not the

admissions authority, to adopt a banding system to ensure a comprehensive intake

Lewisham aims to increase the number of pupils retained in the Borough across the ability

range This policy is in line with the principles outlined by Lewisham’s Admissions Forum

Formatted Formatted

Local Schools

Lewisham should aim to ensure that there is a primary place for every child in Lewisham whose parents require one, within at most two miles from their home and a secondary school place within three miles from their home Where such a place is not available within that distance, Lewisham will assist pupils with their travelling costs Consideration on a case-by-case basis will also be given to those with SEN, physical disability, and religious preference and other cases of need

Proportion of CE and RC Schools

The existing proportion of places at CE and RC schools within the Lewisham State funded sector as a whole will be retained, except in circumstances where demand for those places is not being sustained Any proposals for changes arising from those circumstances will be discussed with the relevant Diocesan Authority before their presentation to the Schools Organisation Committee for approval

Balance between single sex and mixed provision

It is educationally desirable that there is a balance between the numbers of boys and girls

in mixed schools Lewisham will aim to ensure that there should be no increases in places

at single sex schools that might lead to a greater gender imbalance

Lewisham appreciates that many parents, particularly from some of its faith communities will want their children to be educated in single sex schools It is important however that the proportion of boys to girl’s places in single sex schools does not become so imbalanced that it seriously affects the gender balance in mixed schools

Planning Principles of the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education (Church of England) and of the Archdiocese of Southwark Commission for Schools and Colleges (Roman Catholic)

We have included the planning principles of the two Diocesan authorities, which run church schools in the borough, as an annex to the Plan Whereas for the most part the principles accord with those of the Plan, they are appended for information only and should not be taken as the policy of Lewisham or of the School Organisation Committee

Where an application is made by a religious or non- religious organisation to establish a voluntary primary or secondary school in Lewisham, consideration will

be given to supporting that application

• Where a need for the additional places in Lewisham can be substantiated; and

• The application can show that the proposed school could recruit at least one form

of entry for a primary school and three forms of entry for secondary schools from children resident in Lewisham

The authority will seek to ensure that there is a primary and secondary school place for every pupil in Lewisham whose parents require one

Provision for Early Education

There is clear evidence that children who are exposed to integrated high quality early years provision, childcare and family support achieve better outcomes as they progress through life There are still areas of the borough where provision is not available or is inaccessible Provision is also inconsistent in that services such as health, housing and welfare for families and carers are linked with some early years providers but not with all Over the next three to five years we will develop Children’s Centres across the borough in partnership with schools, the PCT, Sure Start initiatives and other agencies We will use this initiative to knit together providers for children, families and carers We will encourage them to work ever closer together providing comprehensive cover throughout the borough ensuring that there is consistency and quality in the range of services available to everyone

Lewisham will meet a Government target to provide for all children of 3 & 4 years of age, whose parents wish to take up the offer of three free terms of good quality half-day pre-school education In order to determine the level of parental demand, the DfES has recommended that Authorities operate on the basis of an 85% take up Lewisham will adopt this recommendation

The provision itself may be made from any of the following:

(a) a nursery class in a primary school or nursery school;

(b) a reception class of a primary school;

(c) a Council day nursery; and

(d) equivalent provision in private or voluntary day nurseries, playgroups or with childminders within a formal childminder network

Where, in any planning area, the total existing provision is below the target, Lewisham will, following consultation with the Lewisham Early Years Development and Child Care Partnership, encourage the private and voluntary sectors to expand to meet the identified deficits However, if those sectors are unable to provide sufficient additional places, and only the LEA can meet the deficit, Lewisham will seek to meet the shortfall by new nursery places in primary schools

Provision in Primary Schools

Primary education is a vital stage in children’s development Our primary schools are characterised by high standards in literacy and numeracy, a rich, broad and balanced curriculum and a happy safe and supportive atmosphere They also have strong relationships with parents and the community We will continue to support our schools as they build on the success they have achieved so far We will encourage them to be autonomous, creative and innovative in how they teach and run their schools We also want to provide opportunities for them to work together sharing skills, knowledge and resources as they continue in their drive to raise standards for all of our pupils and close the gap in performance with the national average Many schools want to become

“Extended Schools” offering activities, opportunities and services outside school hours to parents, children and the wider community We will invest substantial resources to enable them to achieve this and we will help them link up with partners in the health, adult education and voluntary sectors

The principles that guide the provision of primary places are set out below;

• Lewisham will aim to maintain an optimum 2% margin of spare reception primary school places in each of its planning areas in any one-year

A margin of spare places is desirable to ensure an element of parental preference and to cushion against sudden variations in demand However, there could be some circumstances where a larger margin for specific localities may be appropriate e.g potentially large & significant new developments may not be at a stage where it is

possible to determine their full effect on demand

• Where feasible, each primary school should have an admissions limit that produces

a regular form of entry i.e 30

• In the context of an inner City area, it is normally educationally and operationally desirable that a primary school should have at least one full form of entry

Provision in Secondary Schools and 14-19

Our aim is to work in partnership with our schools to deliver a secondary education system that is excellent – matching the best or better than anywhere else We will work with our schools to further extend and explore new ways of collectively offering our pupils the best opportunities to achieve success In the drive to accomplish a step change in pupil achievement schools will increase their work together and with others in the Health, Business, Further and Higher Education sectors in pioneering partnerships, Federations, Academies and Extended Schools

Pupils will have access to a 21st Century tailored technology with an expansive curriculum regardless of which school they attend Already lively, vibrant and creative schools will further extend horizons for all of their pupils with an array of subjects and courses tailored

to individual pupils’ needs Schools will play an increasing role in the regeneration of their communities acting as a resource for children, parents, residents and the local community They will be in the vanguard of the drive to increase participation and citizenship engaging with and involving Lewisham’s diverse communities

To achieve our aim we will work closely together in a strategic partnership designed to raise achievement, increase participation and improve progression routes across the secondary years with particular emphasis on the 14-19 phase Together we will continue

to develop our blueprint for all of our schools collectively and individually, which will provide a coherent picture of what is possible for secondary education in Lewisham The coherence stems from the principle that schools will move forward together embedding consistently high rates of improvement in all schools for all pupils Improvement plans for one school will not be at the expense of any other The concept of shared responsibilities and accountabilities for all pupils will guide policy and behaviours

Our aim is to strengthen the strands of collaboration linking all the partnerships at every opportunity including strong cross-sector working between schools and Lewisham College ensuring that the range of progression routes for pupils is comprehensive Complementary specialisms are planned across the partnerships to provide pools of expertise and resource for schools across the borough

We will combine the opportunities provided by specialist status, federations, Academies and extended schools to build collaboration in curriculum design and delivery, including using a range of technologies, and professional development across the school, Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) sectors We currently have one ‘hard’ 14-19 federation of 5 schools including a new 16-19 school; we have an established 6th form consortium, developing into a 14-19 consortium; a strong single 6th form which works collaboratively with others; a planned ‘hard’ federation of two new Academies with a single Chief Executive and 6th form; we have also planned a federated 2-16 Catholic Academy which will link to Christ the King 6th form College which is developing new vocational courses with a number of schools, linking with other denominational schools

The principles that guide the provision of secondary places are set out below;

• It is educationally desirable that no secondary school should have fewer than three forms of entry

• One of Lewisham’s priorities is to raise the standards of attainment at Key Stage 4 (KS4) and to improve school performance Lewisham will plan to anticipate an increase in demand for Lewisham secondary schools as a result of this improvement in school performance

• The authority will seek to ensure that there is a secondary school place for every pupil in Lewisham whose parents require one

The projections made by the Greater London Authority (GLA) estimate the future demand for places at Lewisham secondary schools, based on the current recruitment patterns However, Lewisham must plan to anticipate an increase in demand, as the drive to raise standards is likely to increase the popularity of Lewisham secondary schools Lewisham will therefore plan, over the five-year period of this School Organisation Plan, for an 8% increase in demand over the current estimates This could be a conservative estimate and should be reviewed annually

To this increased figure, Lewisham will also add a 2% margin, similar to that proposed for primary schools

Provision of post 16 places in schools

Lewisham recognises the importance of Post 16 education and encourages an increase in the staying on rate in both the school sixth form and college sectors

It would normally be educationally desirable that no sixth form in a secondary school should be less than 150 places, unless it is supported through an appropriate and effective consortium arrangement

It is important that sixth forms are large enough to be able to offer a broad curriculum choice and thereby present students with a wide range of opportunities for further and higher education and employment

An appropriate post 16 place should be available in Lewisham, to any student who wishes one, and sufficient places should be provided by the end of the period of this Plan, on the assumption that 80% of Year 11 pupils would have successfully been encouraged to seek such a place Lewisham will collaborate with other providers of post 16 education in the Borough in determining how those places might most appropriately be provided

Add

Out of School Children

In recent years significant pressure has arisen for places at KS4 during the academic year This pressure is often as a result of highly mobile pupils In order to meet the specific needs of this particular group Lewisham intends to ensure that provision of up to 100 places is available for these pupils The curriculum offer will be targeted to meet the needs

of these particularly vulnerable students

Special Educational Needs

Lewisham’s aim is to ensure that all of our children & young people have access to an excellent education In line with this aim we are committed to implementing the SEN and Disability Act & the Disability Discrimination Act which sets out an expectation that provision for pupils with special education needs will increasingly be met within mainstream schools where appropriate and where it is in their best interest Our aim is to increase over time the accessibility of all schools This includes curriculum areas, physical access and all form of communication

Where possible we will seek to invest resources locally in our schools to reduce the necessity for pupils travelling over long distances to Special Schools or Independent Schools outside the Borough

We will build on our approach to special education needs by developing better and earlier use of intervention and resources to ensure that individual pupils needs are established and met earlier, providing the maximum opportunity to achieve the best outcomes for all pupils

We will establish an innovative and flexible approach to meeting special educational needs

by developing strong partnerships & collaboration between, mainstream schools special schools, the independent sector, Social Care & Health, the Primary Care Trust and parents & carers

We are committed to encouraging the dissemination of best practice across all of our provision and will extend the amount of outreach work and support which our Special Schools are providing to the mainstream sector to promote the retention of pupils with SEN in mainstream provision

We will underpin our commitment by ensuring that our schools have access the best training and development opportunities, which will enable them to support pupils with SEN fully

As we invest in the physical infrastructure of our schools we will ensure that they are rebuilt to the highest standard to increase accessibility both from a physical & curricular perspective

We will use our extended schools initiative to develop the expertise of our mainstream schools to support children with Special Educational Needs This will include some of our schools specialising in a particular type of Need (for example Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Visual/Hearing impaired Specific learning difficulties)

Section C: Conclusions

This section draws conclusions, from matching the general principles with the statistics, and indicates in broad terms where consideration needs to be given to any adjustment of provision

In order to sustain, or implement, the principles set out in Section B, in the light of the statistics presented in Section A, the following action will need to be taken over the 5-year

period of the Plan

Early Years

Bearing in mind that even based on an assumption of potential 85% parental take up there appears to be a sufficiency of places in all but one planning area The exception is planning area 2 where there is a need to consider additional 43 places by 2008/9

However, it must be emphasised that these can only be approximate figures due to the

changeable nature of provision

Primary School Places

Action Proposed Primary Planning Area 1 - Based on the policies and principles in Section B, consider adjustments to provision in the light of an estimated 77 surplus capacity in reception class

places by 2009 However, as some of the developments listed below are at an early stage the situation will need to be monitored carefully to ensure that the actual yield of children and young people in future years reflects the forecasts

‰ Kender Housing Estate (modernisation)

‰ Deepway Home for the Elderly (redevelopment)

‰ New Cross Hospital (redevelopment)

‰ Convoys Wharf (redevelopment)

‰ Creekside – Meridian Wharf and Kent Wharf (redevelopment)

‰ Seagar Buildings – Brookmill Road (new development)

‰ Deals Gateway (redevelopment)

‰ Silwood Estate (rebuilding)

Significant capital investment is proposed through the Lewisham Schools Modernisation Programme in the rebuilding / redevelopment of Ashmead, Childeric and Monson Schools

in this planning area

Primary Planning Area 2 – Based on the policies & principles in Section B consider adjustments to provision in the light of an estimated 42 spare reception class places by

2009 The following developments could have a local effect on this planning area:

‰ Sundermead Housing Estate (rebuilding)

‰ Hither Green Hospital (redevelopment)

‰ Conington Road ( new development)

Significant future proposals in planning area 2 is the redevelopment of Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School as an Academy joining with St Joseph’s RC Secondary School to become a 2 -16 School from September 2005 and the rebuilding of Gordonbrock Primary School as part of the Schools Modernisation Programme (PFI) in 2006 at 3FE providing an additional 15 reception class places

Hither Green Primary School will also benefit from major capital investment further to its expansion to 3 forms of entry from September 2003

Primary Planning Area 3 – Based on the policies & principles in Section B consider adjustments to provision in the light of an estimated deficit of 9 reception class places by

2009 The following development could have an effect on this planning area

‰ Downham Depot ( new development )

Downderry Primary School will be redeveloped as part of the Schools modernisation Programme 2006 (PFI)

Primary Planning Area 4 – Based on the policies & principles in Section B consider adjustments to provision in the light of an estimated 38 spare reception class places by

2009 The following development could have a local effect on this planning area:

‰ Forest Hill - Crown Graphics (redevelopment)

Full details (as far as they may be known at this stage) of the developments mentioned above can be found in Annex 4 In many cases the proposals are at a very preliminary stage so the likely effect on a particular school or planning area may only be tentative at this stage The information is given only so that any decision on the future of a particular school might be taken with the best information on potential local developments in mind