Maendy-Primary-School-Consultation-Document

4 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council If successful, the capital cost of the project will be funded by Welsh Government 65% and the council 35%.. 5 Maendy Primary Sc

MAENDY PRIMARY SCHOOL - CONSULTATION DOCUMENT – FEBRUARY 2020

Dermot McChrystal BA (Hons) PGCE MSc

Your re/Eich cyf:

Our ref/Ein cyf: MH/

Date/Dyddiad: 24th February 2020

Please contact/Cysyllter â Mark Horton

Direct line/Llinell union: 01495 766910

To: Statutory Consultees and Other Interested Parties

Dear Consultee,

PROPOSAL TO EXPAND MAENDY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Torfaen’s Cabinet has agreed to commence consultation on the development of a new school for Maendy on its existing school site with effect from September 2023

The proposal specifically refers to a new 420 place school with 30 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Nursery, Pre-school and community facilities on the existing school site Catchment areas will remain unchanged but the larger school will cater for additional pupils expected from the new housing developments in the area A new vehicular driveway/access off Maendy Way also forms part of this proposal

The regulations require that consultees must be given at least 42 days to respond to the document, with at least 20 of these being school days Taking this into account, the consultation period will begin with the issue of this letter (24th February 2020), and will close

on Monday 6th April 2020

Any comments/observations on the proposal can be made:

 By writing to the Chief Officer, Education & Lead Director for Children and Young People (FAO Mark Horton) c/o Torfaen County Borough Council, Civic Centre, Pontypool, Torfaen NP4 6YB

For information on how we handle your personal data please refer to our Privacy Notice at Torfaen.gov.uk

I gael gwybodaeth am sut rydym yn trin eich data personol, gweler ein Hysbysiad Preifatrwydd ar Torfaen.gov.uk

-

THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE IN LARGER PRINT AND BRAILLE UPON REQUEST

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg Cewch ateb Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn

Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain at oedi./ We welcome correspondence in Welsh and English

Correspondence received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and will not lead to delay

Civic Centre, Pontypool, Torfaen, NP4 6YB Tel 01495 762200 Fax 01495 766904

Y Ganolfan Ddinesig, Pont-y-pŵl, Torfaen, NP4 6YB Ffôn 01495 762200 Ffacs 01495 766904

www.torfaen.gov.uk

Maendy Primary School,

Cwmbran, NP44 1NH

Officers will attend this session to answer questions and ensure all comments/views made are recorded to allow Elected Members to make an informed decision at the appropriate time

Further information on this specific proposal (including the consultation document) and the authority’s other 21st Century Schools proposals can be found on the Council website at: www.torfaen.gov.uk

A Welsh Medium Executive Summary of this document can be obtained by telephoning

01495 766910 or by visiting the Council’s website: www.torfaen.gov.uk

If you are unclear about anything or require further information please do not hesitate

to contact me on 01495 766910 (email: mark.horton@torfaen.gov.uk)

Yours sincerely

Mark Horton

PRINCIPAL OFFICER, FORWARD PLANNING

For information on how we handle your personal data please refer to our Privacy Notice at Torfaen.gov.uk

I gael gwybodaeth am sut rydym yn trin eich data personol, gweler ein Hysbysiad Preifatrwydd ar Torfaen.gov.uk

-

THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE IN LARGER PRINT AND BRAILLE UPON REQUEST

We welcome correspondence in Welsh and English

Correspondence received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and will not lead to delay

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg

Cewch ateb Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain at oedi

Civic Centre, Pontypool, Torfaen, NP4 6YB Tel 01495 762200 Fax 01495 766904

Y Ganolfan Ddinesig, Pont-y-pŵl, Torfaen, NP4 6YB Ffôn 01495 762200 Ffacs 01495 766904

www.torfaen.gov.uk

2 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

CONTENTS

Introductory Letter

Contents

1 Introduction

2

3 - 4

2 Consultation arrangements

3 The proposal to expand Maendy Primary School

4 - 5

5

4 Rationale and background information

5 Options considered

6 Admission arrangements

5 - 11

11 -14

15

7 Home to school transport

8 Human resources

9 Community impact/Equality impact assessment

10 Welsh Language Impact Assessment

11 Frequently asked questions

15

15

15 -16

16

16 - 17

12 What happens next? 17

13 Response pro forma 14 Other information 17 18 Appendix 1 – Distribution list for the consultation document 19

Appendix 2 – The quality and diversity of education 21

Appendix 3 – Community and Equality Impact Assessment 25

Appendix 4 – Your views 32

3 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

Maendy Primary School

Consultation Document

1 Introduction

The 21st Century Schools programme has been well documented, with the council taking the decision to include every school as part of it in October 2010 The council sought the views of all interested parties on its programme during a series of roadshows that were held across the county borough in March 2011

The outcome of this public engagement was reported to cabinet in July 2011 Subsequent to this meeting, Welsh Government asked councils to revise their original Band A proposals (originally submitted in October 2010) against the following prioritisation criteria:

 The poorest condition of the estate (prioritisation to reside with the council although the independent school survey data will be applied)

 Surplus capacity – the key indicator being surplus places (both as a percentage and as an estimated actual reduction in a number of places)

 Running efficiencies (e.g reduction in running costs, backlog maintenance)

The revised Strategic Outline Programme was approved by Council in November

2011 with the Welsh Government confirming match funding in principle in December

2011

Maendy Primary School was included as one of the council’s Band B priorities in the Programme submitted to Welsh Government at that time and confirmed again following review in 2017

Torfaen’s Primary School estate has some schools that:

 Are trying to operate in buildings or grounds which are not fit for purpose and have an unaffordable maintenance backlog

 Are too small to run economically in todays financial climate

 Have significant surplus capacity in their local cluster of schools

 Are not located where the demand for school places is concentrated

The 21st Century Schools Programme in Torfaen and across Wales is intended to tackle these issues in a strategic rather than piecemeal way

A number of projects have now been successfully completed in Band A (2014 to 2019) as the council now moves to Band B (2020 – 2025) of the agreed programme

of which this proposal forms part of that Although agreed in principle by Welsh Government, the investment will not go ahead until the Full Business Case (FBC) is approved

4 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

If successful, the capital cost of the project will be funded by Welsh Government (65%) and the council (35%)

2 Consultation arrangements

Before any decision is made on the proposal to expand Maendy Primary School the council is required to hold a statutory consultation with all interested parties, and the following information is provided to set out the process by which consultation will be conducted This is necessary because the proposal will see the capacity of the school increase by at least 25%

The School Organisation Code provides a list of consultees who must be advised by letter or email of the availability of the consultation document and that recipients can, if they wish, obtain a hard copy of the consultation document on request A list

of all those being consulted is attached as appendix 1 to this document

A ‘drop-in’ session in relation to this proposal will be held as follows:

2020

3.30pm until 6.00pm

Maendy Primary School, Wayfield

Crescent, Cwmbran, NP44 1NH

This will allow interested parties to attend at a time that is convenient for them during the late afternoon/early evening Officers will attend to answer questions and ensure all comments/views made are recorded to allow Elected Members to make

an informed decision at the appropriate time

In addition, any views or comments can be made:

 By writing to the Chief Officer, Education & Lead Director for Children and Young People (FAO Mark Horton) c/o Torfaen County Borough Council, Civic Centre, Pontypool, Torfaen NP4 6YB

The views of children and young people are important Therefore separate consultation and engagement arrangements will be made specifically tailored for

5 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

children and young people Pupils will be issued with their own version of this consultation document and will have an opportunity to discuss the proposal and submit their views and comments which will be included in the report to Cabinet

3 The proposal

The proposal is as follows:

 Torfaen County Borough Council propose to expand Maendy Primary

School to 420 places plus Nursery with effect from the 1 st September 2023

The proposal forms part of the council’s 21st Century schools programme, the aim of which is to provide appropriate places and choices through investment in new and/or refurbished school building

The council is proposing to invest £11,460,000

In this case, a new school will be built on the existing school site to replace the current provision.The new provision, will have a low carbon/Passivhaus design and benefit from a new site entrance from Maendy Way removing the need for vehicular access to the school from the Northville housing estate

It is proposed that the nursery will cater for 30 (full time equivalent) 3 and 4 year old children

The new and expanded school will continue to cater for pupils with Special Educational Needs/Additional Learning Needs (SEN/ALN) as is the case now A Flying Start provision currently on site will also continue and childcare will be added

4 Rationale and Background information

The quality and diversity of education

It is the view of the council that the proposal if implemented, would at least maintain the current standard of outcomes and attainment of Maendy Primary School

Appendix 2 details the current performance of Maendy Primary School including its most recent Estyn inspection report and it is expected that the school will build on this performance

Adequacy of the existing buildings

The existing school building is in need of significant investment just to bring it up to

an “as built” standard Such investment would do nothing to improve the suitability of the current buildings

The school is of a mixed external wall and glazing infill and cladding design with the infants building constructed in 1958 and the junior building in 1962 The schools were amalgamated in 1984

6 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

The junior building is double storey and non DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) compliant The Infant building although single storey is on two levels, and also non DDA compliant

Suitability is poor, with Welsh Government assessment being condition grade C (“A” being good to “D” poor)

The cost of the backlog maintenance requirements for Maendy Primary School is estimated at £523,105 Maintenance backlog issues include, but are not limited to:

 Electrical (Replace obsolete main panels, rewire of power and lighting systems

to both buildings) - £200,000

 Mechanical (boiler plant replacement to both boiler houses) - £180,000

 External Painting - £20,000

 Window and door Framing - £20,000

 Roofs (flat & Pitched) - £30,000

School Numbers on Roll/Pupil Projections

In terms of the provision of pupil places, the school directly affected by this proposal

is Maendy itself, with capacity increasing to 420 places (currently 231) However there may be an indirect impact on other schools in the area so for the purposes of this exercise, the partner/feeder schools for Croesyceiliog School are included as follows:-

NP44 1JW

Maintained English

Medium

3 - 11

7 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

A map showing the location and catchment areas for these schools can be found in

appendix 3

The following table provides details of numbers on roll for the previous four annual school census years, currently on roll (as of September 2019) and a five year forecast for those schools in the cluster that may be affected by these proposals

School (current

capacity)

Act Sept

2015

Act Sept

2016

Act Sept

2017

Act Sept

2018

Act Sept

2019

Proj Sept

2020

Proj Sept

2021

Proj Sept

2022

Proj Sept

2023

Proj Sept

1) Numbers exclude nursery aged children and SNRB pupils

2) School capacity is calculated using Welsh Government guidance, specifically the Welsh Government Circular No 21/2011”Measuring the Capacity of Schools in Wales” Current School capacities are provided in above table

3) Projected/forecasted numbers are based on current admission and parental preference trends and health authority live birth data Any future admissions should be restricted to published admission numbers for individual schools during the appropriate admissions round, with oversubscription criteria and the requirements of Government Infant Class Size legislation applied where necessary

4) Potential pupils from new housing developments have been included in the above projections

5) For Maendy Primary School, the fall in projected numbers (marked *) can be attributed to current admission/parental preference trends resulting in a high number of applications going to other schools in the area against the “in

8 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

catchment” live birth data for the relevant admission round It is expected that numbers will recover significantly as a result of new housing in the Cwmbran area as a whole which will have the impact of “pushing back” pupils to their catchment area schools as the admission criteria are applied The tables below provide a perhaps more realistic scenario based on “in catchment” live birth admissions

At the present time, whilst more houses have been built in the Maendy catchment area than the Pontnewydd catchment area, the indication from the Planning Department is that an equal number of houses will be built in both catchment areas

by the end of the development The following table shows the South Sebastopol pupil projections split equally between current Pontnewydd and Maendy catchments Therefore, based on existing pupils and Health Authority (in-catchment) live birth data going forward, the pupil projections are as follows:

(407) 414 256 391 367 335 298 267 267 267 267 267 Maendy

(231) 209 297 249 285 301 338 361 365 366 365 351 Pontnewydd

(386) 351 316 363 378 382 386 387 391 393 392 378 Llantarnam

(315) 287 362 361 333 367 392 402 402 402 402 402

Cluster Total

(1759) 1670 1577 1757 1746 1758 1773 1760 1768 1771 1769 1741 Surplus places 89 182 2 13 1 -14 -1 -9 -12 -10 18 Surplus places

% 5% 10% 0% 1% 0 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1%

9 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

Notes:

1 Live birth data only extends to September 2023 September 2024 figures takes

an average of the previous 3 years September 2025 onwards just rolls these totals forward

The current capacity of the cluster is 1759 and 0% to 1% surplus places is insufficient to allow for fluctuations in demand The proposal is to increase the capacity of Maendy from 231 to 420 places The new cluster capacity would be

1948 places from September 2023 This gives a manageable level of surplus places

of 9% to 11% in the cluster as shown in the following table

Early Years/Nursery Provision

A nursery provision will be maintained in the new school building Through a separate Childcare Offer Capital Grant application, Torfaen has also been awarded

£622,000 to develop a new childcare facility on the same site as Maendy Primary School to serve the local area The facility will enable the provision of a wrap-around early years and childcare service along with an outreach centre for parents and the community There are clear benefits in the establishment of early years and wrap-around care centres for children They are known to provide support and nurture educational and social inclusion and development, especially among those in the community who are subject to social and economic deprivation

10 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

The Key considerations in respect of early years/nursery provision are:

The sufficiency of accommodation and facilities offered, both in the classroom and outdoors, and the viability of any school that wishes to add nursery places

This is a complete replacement of existing facilities, with available nursery places at the school increased, to reflect the larger school being provided that the nursery unit will support

Whether there is a need for additional nursery places in the area

The size of the nursery needs to increase because the size of the school is being increased to meet local demand

The levels of demand for certain types of nursery education e.g Welsh medium or provision with a religious character

As this is an English medium setting, there is unlikely to be any impact on Welsh medium or faith based provision, as those particular provisions will remain unchanged in the local area It is perhaps worth noting that additional Welsh medium nursery (and primary) provision is also being provided at Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw from September 2021, increasing the availability of Welsh medium provision across the borough as a whole

The effect of the proposals on other institutions, including private and third sector providers

This proposal is subject to formal consultation and therefore as part of this process, any independent or voluntary providers who may be affected including Mudiad Meithrin will be advised of the availability of this document should they wish to comment This will also include all Registered Private/Voluntary Early Years Settings/Providers in Torfaen

The Local Authority (LA) would undertake a tender for a private childcare provider to deliver the provision

The extent to which proposals will integrate early year’s education with childcare services or are consistent with an integrated approach

The provision will be required to offer wrap around and signed up to deliver the childcare offer as part of the specification within the tender process This would be

in line with the Childcare Offer guidance, ensuring a seamless transition between nursery and childcare This will be managed by the LA to ensure there is an integrated approach, working in close collaboration with schools

Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Provision

There is currently a Local Authority (LA) Special Needs Resource Base with 16 places and an assessment centre based at the school It is proposed that provision for children with additional learning needs will continue to be provided in the new build

The key considerations in respect of ALN provision are:

The impact on SEN (Special Educational Needs) provision

Please note this is an LA provision not the schools provision

11 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

How proposals will contribute more generally to enhancing the quality of education and support for children with SEN

By having staff with the knowledge and skills required for this provision will mean that the quality of advice and provision available for all children in the school and across Torfaen with ALN is enhanced

The SOP incorporated a long list assessment for the Croesyceiliog cluster that included 6 options around modifications to the existing schools and a new school on the planned housing development in South Sebastopol The long list in 2010 was:

Option

number Description Details Conclusions

Option

Discounted - does not address condition or pupil projections

Option

2

Rebuild or refurbish

existing schools on

current sites at existing

capacities and build a

new school on South

Sebastopol

 Llanyravon – refurbish

 Croesyceiliog – refurbish / new

 Maendy – new

 Pontnewydd – refurbish / new

 South Sebastopol – new

Discounted - does not address pupil

projections across the cluster

catchment needs and

build a new school on

 Pontnewydd – refurbish / new

 South Sebastopol – new

12 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

catchment needs, and

add South Sebastopol

 Pontnewydd/Sebastopol – new on current site

 Croesyceiliog/Llanyravon – new, located on the County Hall site

 Pontnewydd/Sebastopol – new on current site

 Croesyceiliog/Llanyravon – new, co-located on the secondary site

Preferred

It should be noted that since this initial review was completed some of the proposals were changed in November 2011 as part of the finalisation of the programme; school reorganisation proposals have seen Llantarnam Community Primary School added to this cluster of schools

Options have been further re-evaluated, and going forward are as follows:

Business as Usual

Continue with existing provision

structure and capacities Maendy and

Pontnewydd unchanged and no new

school for South Sebastopol

Although this option will have the lowest initial capital cost and cause the least disruption, it fails to address business need, strategic fit or benefits

optimisation It would eventually result in

a shortage of places

Intermediate

Continue with existing provision

structure, adjusting capacities of

primary schools to meet projected

demand Adjust capacities of Maendy

and Pontnewydd to cater for South

Sebastopol demand

This addresses all the critical success factors The condition of Maendy is poor and requires investment in Band B and increasing its capacity to 420 will meet additional demand from the South Sebastopol development Pontnewydd is not scheduled for investment until Band

C and its capacity will be reviewed then

Do Maximum

Retain existing schools and their This addresses many of the critical

13 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

capacities and add a new 210 place

school for South Sebastopol demand

success factors, but crucially, retains Maendy as a smaller school (231) and creates another one in South

Sebastopol (210)

The Council submitted a Business Case to Welsh Government on the “Intermediate” option in November 2019, and following its approval, now forms the basis of this formal consultation on the proposal

Risks of the proposal

A number of risks and counter measures have been considered as part of this

proposal:

Critical building failure leading to

Education service failure

Approval of the business case will avoid this risk If it is not approved, funding will need to be found to clear maintenance backlogs in the immediate future

Insufficient capacity for future

demand

TCBC Education Forward Planning annually reviews demand for school places This includes assessment of all future planned housing developments and takes them into account when planning school sizes The new housing development in South Sebastopol will increase demand for school places significantly in this area

Site development costs exceed

budget

Carry out site surveys and also ensure sufficient budget is available for abnormal costs

Construction cost exceeds budget Ensure cost planning throughout pre-con

phase and be prepared to carry out Value Engineering exercises

Project delivered late due to

excessive abnormal ground

conditions

Undertake thorough site surveys and plan for worst case scenarios

Failure to achieve BREEAM Excellent

may impact the WG funding

The preferred option (new build) is likely

to be able to achieve BREEAM Excellent and the location close to amenities should

14 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

also help to achieve this

In addition, We are proposing a low carbon/Passivhaus development because

of the benefits to the end users and to the environment, and because it will reduce energy costs

Project delayed by statutory

undertakings (e.g Welsh Water,

Bats, FIT for Wales, Countryside

Alliance, Slow worms)

Carry out surveys early on in construction programme in order to plan accordingly

pre-Benefits of the proposal

As a consequence of the above, the main benefits for the project would be:

 Life expired buildings and facilities replaced

 High quality buildings and facilities that inspire learners and the community

 The new building will provide pupils and other users with accommodation in modern buildings that are more accessible (DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) compliant)

 Newer buildings are also more economical to run and minimising CO2 emissions This is particularly so of low carbon designed buildings

 Larger schools are more viable financially, compared to cost inefficient small schools

Costs of the proposal

The scheme budget is £11,460,000 funded on a 35/65 basis between Torfaen

County Borough Council and Welsh Government to develop a new 420 place

primary school plus 30 place nursery provision on the existing Maendy Primary School site The scheme will also include a new driveway/access off Maendy Way

to the school

There will be revenue costs associated with this project due to the increase in the size and pupil capacity This is estimated to be £75,000 per annum for premises costs (buildings maintenance, caretaking, cleaning, grounds maintenance, energy and rates) and leadership costs

It should be noted that any revenue costs will not be include home to school

transport costs Home to school transport as a non-delegated budget is held and administered centrally by the Council

15 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

6 Admission arrangements

As Torfaen County Borough Council is the admission authority for Maendy Primary

School, admission arrangements will remain unchanged as a result of the proposal

7 Home to school transport

There are no changes proposed to the current home to school transport policy

Therefore, eligibility for free transport will be assessed using the mileage criteria (2

miles for primary aged children), and will be provided to those pupils attending their

catchment area school who reside over this distance

8 Human resources

Staffing levels at Maendy Primary School will need to be increased as a result of the

proposal as more children enter the school

9 Community/Equality impact assessment

In addition to the Special Needs Resource Base and the ALN assessment centre,

there are currently the following community facilities on site:

 Flying Start

 Playgroup and after school club

The above services will be provided for in the new building In addition, Torfaen Play

Service currently use the school facilities in the summer holidays For the duration of

the build project, they can arrange to use neighbouring school facilities

We have consulted the Youth Service and Sport Development teams which do not

have a requirement for additional school-based facilities in this area Nonetheless,

when looking at the design of the new school, attention will be paid to the location

and accessibility of the school hall and outdoor provision to enable to the school to

let out the facilities for community use in the future

As part of the consultation process, a Community and Equality Impact Assessment

has been undertaken and is attached at appendix 3 to this document

Should this proposal be implemented, it is likely to benefit children in accordance

with the seven core aims of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the

Child, specifically:

Core aim 1 - have a flying start in life;

Core aim 2 - have a comprehensive range of education and learning opportunities;

Core aim 3 - enjoy the best possible health and are free from abuse, victimisation and exploitation;

Core aim 4 - have access to play, leisure, sporting and cultural activities;

Core aim 5 - are listened to, treated with respect, and have their race and cultural

identity recognised;

16 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

Core aim 6 - have a safe home and a community which supports physical and emotional wellbeing; and

Core aim 7 - are not disadvantaged by poverty

10 Welsh Language Impact Assessment

As the school involved is English Medium, there is no expected impact on Welsh Language provision The proposed development will not change the current situation with regard to the Welsh Language Measure (2011)

11 Frequently asked questions

 When would building work start?

If this proposal is approved the aim is to start building work on the Maendy Primary School site in the Spring/Summer of 2021 We anticipate the new school opening in September 2023

 Will the catchment area of the school change?

There are no plans to change the catchment area at this stage The school is being expanded to accommodate pupils from the South Sebastopol housing development, an area of which has already been allocated Once the development has been completed, there may however be a need to review catchment areas in the future given other housing development that may impact on school provision in the area

 Will school transport be provided?

The current home to school/college transport policy provides free transport to those primary aged children who reside 2 miles or more from their catchment area school

 What about staff

There should be no impact on staff as the school is simply relocating to a new building As pupil numbers increase in the future however, there will be new opportunities and any new appointments to the staff structure would have to be approved by the Governing Body and the Council through the formal Human Resource (HR) arrangements as is the case now

 What about the increased traffic in the area that the new school will

generate

Traffic and Parking congestion outside schools at the start and end of the day are acknowledged by the Council A Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) will be undertaken as part of the planning process The proposed new driveway will remove the need for vehicle access to the school site from Northville, which

is currently the case