Maendy-Primary-School-Consultation-Report

The proposal, now the subject of the appropriate statutory consultation, is as follows:  Torfaen County Borough Council propose to expand Maendy Primary School to 420 places.. 3 Maend

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EXPANSION OF MAENDY PRIMARY SCHOOL TO 420 PLACES

CONSULTATION REPORT

April 2020

1 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

Contents

1 Background………2

2 Methodology……… 2

3 Responses and comments……….3

4 Estyn response……….8

5 Consultation with children and young people……… 10

Appendix 1 ……… List of consultees Appendix 2 ……… Letter to Parents/carers Appendix 3 ……… Summary list of responses Appendix 4 ……… Results of consultation with pupils

2 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

1 BACKGROUND

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 revised Strategic Outline Programme was approved by Council in November

2011 with the Welsh Government confirming match funding in December 2011

A number of projects have now been successfully completed in Band A (2014 to 2019)

as the council now moves to Band B (2020 to 2025) of the agreed programme The proposal as it affects Maendy Primary School forms part of that and was confirmed again following review in 2017

The proposal, now the subject of the appropriate statutory consultation, is as follows:

 Torfaen County Borough Council propose to expand Maendy Primary

School to 420 places

Statutory consultation is necessary because the proposal will see the capacity of the school increase by at least 25%

As part of this proposal any existing Pre-school and any community facilities will transfer to the new building A new vehicular driveway/access off Maendy Way is also proposed

Catchment areas will remain unchanged at this stage but the larger school will cater for additional pupils expected from the new housing developments in the area

It is further proposed that these proposals are implemented in the Autumn term of

2023

It is proposed that the nursery will cater for 30 (Full time equivalent) children

2 METHODOLOGY

Consultations on these proposals were undertaken with prescribed consultees contained within the School Organisation Code 2018 A list of those consultees is attached at Appendix 1 to this report

The consultation ran from Monday 24th February 2020 to Monday 6th April 2020 and was conducted through a consultation document and accompanying response form The document outlined the changes being considered, the rationale for these,

details of the consultation process and incorporated a response form

Letters were also delivered to Maendy Primary School for distribution to pupils and their parents/carers advising of the availability of the consultation document (letter attached as Appendix 2 to this report)

Consultation was also undertaken at the same time with children and young people Separate arrangements were made which included seeking the views of the school council Pupils were issued with their own version of the consultation document with the opportunity to discuss the proposal and submit their views and comments

3 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

The consultation process was also promoted online (“Get Involved” online

consultation) via the Torfaen council website, and social media channels

Finally, a consultation event in relation to this proposal was held as follows (this took the form of a “drop in” event allowing consultees to attend at a time that was convenient to them):

DAY/DATE TIME VENUE INTENDED AUDIENCE

Tuesday 10th

March 2020

6.00pm

Maendy Primary School, Wayfield

Crescent, Cwmbran

Staff (teaching, non-teaching & support), Governors, parents/carers and other interested parties

Officers from the council were in attendance at this session to answer questions and ensure comments/views made were recorded to allow Elected Members to make an informed decision at the appropriate time

3 RESPONSES AND COMMENTS

The council received a number of responses to the consultation exercise

A file of all the comments and views received during the consultation period has been made available to Elected Members as part of this process ahead of any decisions being made

Approximately 30 persons attended the consultation event held at the school

A list of those who responded to the consultation is summarised at Appendix 3

There were many supportive of the proposal, but some questions were raised which along with the council’s responses are summarised below

COMMENT RESPONSE

Community Facilities

 Ideally the Community

Group/Hub can have a

dedicated space in the new

building for meetings and

storage Access to the school

during evenings and weekends

would be particularly welcome

Access /building for community

could be off the lane by the

current boxing club

 There will not be a dedicated space for the Community Group/Hub, but there will be space available for the

community as is the case now

Working with the school and other users will allow the community group/hub to continue to provide its services

 See above

4 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

 There should be room for the

Northville Community

Group/Hub with a separate room

for First Aid and a “Take 5”

room

Staffing

 We welcome the expansion of

the school and influx of higher

pupil numbers to the area As

part of the process of opening

the new school we would expect

jobs at the old school to be ring

fenced and staff slot over to the

new roles in the new school Any

surplus posts should then be

offered to those employees in

the Torfaen area on the

redeployment list that have been

made compulsory redundant

 We would also expect the school

to have regard to the Welsh

Government’s drive to reduce

class sizes and bear in mind the

maximum class size of 30 pupils

per mainstream class

 Maendy School is not closing Although

a new building is proposed, the Head teacher and staff will simply transfer over when the new building is ready to

be occupied As the school grows there will be opportunities for those existing staff as well as staff from elsewhere Wherever possible, the Council will seek

to secure alternative suitable positions for staff at risk of redundancy at other Torfaen schools This has previously been achieved for other school reorganisation proposals by negotiating

a local agreement with the relevant professional associations, and it is expected that this would continue for this proposal as well as others arising from the 21st Century Schools Programme

 Foundation Phase classes are restricted to no more than 30 pupils as part of the Infant class size legislation Although, non-statutory for Key Stage 2 classes, a maximum of 30 pupils per class remains a Welsh Government target

Special Educational Needs

(SEN)/Additional Learning Needs

(ALN)

 Will the school include a Special

Needs Resource Base?

 There is currently a Local Authority 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

5 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

 Torfaen needs additional ALN

places and Maendy already

meets some of the need This

would be a concern if they didn’t

include an SNRB

 See above

Existing/Proposed provision

 Will there be specialist facilities

(e.g ICT/Media suite; Cookery

facilities, Sports/Drama Halls

etc)?

 Maendy have started their own

outdoor rugby/football clubs It

would be great to see an

astroturf pitch with floodlights for

outdoor training which could

bring in extra income for the

school when renting out to local

sports clubs

 We are a hardworking school

who would love the new build,

because the current building is

worn and needs to be brought

up to standard

 The school will be designed and built to deliver the curriculum for the 21st

Century Whilst there are unlikely to be areas provided for specific subjects or uses as suggested, the spaces will be flexible to allow such use

 Outdoor play is an important part of the curriculum and will therefore be catered for There will be hard and soft play areas, but the provision of an all-weather floodlit pitch whilst desirable will be subject to ensuring first of all that the curriculum requirements are met and surplus budget is available There may also be planning implications for floodlights given the location of the school site

 This is not in question The new build will continue to support the school and with the “Passivhaus” design enhance the environment in which the school operates

Early Years/Pre School Provision

 As the manager of Maendy First

Steps Playgroup, it will be lovely

to have a nice new room, nice

and warm; it will be lovely to

have a nice dry garden

 The school will continue to provide facilities for the playgroup

As part of the proposal (and through a separate Childcare Offer Capital Grant that Torfaen has been awarded) a new childcare facility will be developed to serve the local area This facility will enable the provision of a wrap-around early years and childcare service along with an outreach centre for parents and the community

21 st Century School Banding

6 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

 As things stand, the

refurbishment of Pontnewydd

Primary School is allocated to

band C with an unclear

timescale, whereas Maendy is in

band B with a defined timescale

The two schools are designated

to share equally the intake of

pupils from South Sebastopol,

and the work on the two schools

should go ahead to the same

timescale

 Although investment has been proposed at both schools it was agreed

by Council in November 2011 that Maendy will be in Band B and Pontnewydd in Band C Current Welsh Government timescales are Band B (2019 – 2024) and Band C (2025 – 2029)

Pupil Projections

 As regards the proposed

expansion of Maendy, we

consider that the pupil

projections are unduly optimistic

No doubt some parents will

choose Maendy as having a new

building, but geography

suggests that many parents in

South Sebastopol will prefer to

go to the Griffithstown and

Panteg schools (Panteg being a

relatively new school) As a

result, if Maendy is rebuilt on the

basis of 420 pupils there is liable

to be substantial, costly surplus

capacity We consider therefore

that the capacity of the new

school should be limited to 360

pupils

 The council uses Supplementary Planning guidance to calculate potential pupil numbers from new housing

developments On this basis the South Sebastopol development, when

eventually built out (c1200 houses) could potentially deliver 348 primary aged children (29 pupils per 100 units

or 0.29 per individual dwelling)

Although the council will not know the age of the children, if they are new to the area or already enrolled at a Torfaen school, the council must plan for the maximum children in the area The Council’s preference is to build 2 form entry/420 place schools where possible or failing that 1.5 form entry/315 place schools In exceptional circumstances, a 210 place school might be built

On that basis, based on current numbers, and other considerations (i.e live birth data, admission trends, other housing in the area and Torfaen as a whole) the council is satisfied that 420 places is an appropriate size for Maendy Primary School

Parents can express a preference to attend any school where places are available, however priority will be given

to those residing in the catchment area

of the relevant school South Sebastopol is not part of the catchment

7 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

area of Griffithstown Primary School although with effect from the

September 2021 admissions round it will be part of Ysgol Panteg (Welsh Medium primary provision)

Catchment areas

 The consultation document

states that at present there is no

plan to change the catchment

areas of the two schools

(Maendy & Pontnewydd), which

are shown as taking an equal

share of the South Sebastopol

area It is vital for the future of

Pontnewydd Primary School that

this continues to be the case,

and no change is made in

catchment areas to the

disadvantage of our School The

Governing Body and the whole

School community would very

strongly oppose and resist any

such change

 The council can confirm that there are

no plans at present to change catchment areas If changes are required, because of demographics in the Cwmbran area or further afield in Torfaen appropriate consultation will be undertaken with all interested parties

Prioritised Investment

 The Governing Body of

Pontnewydd Primary School is

aggrieved that the Council is

prioritising investment in Maendy

Primary School over our School

 When the Programme was launched, every school in Torfaen was named as part of the Strategic Outline Plan (SOP) Priority was based on a number

of factors, including building condition (undertaken by Welsh Government independent surveyors), suitability, and sustainability Backlog maintenance was only a part of the priority factors The bandings for Maendy and

Pontnewydd was agreed by Council in November 2011

All Schools were visited ahead of the launch (Autumn Term 2010) to explain the process and were prioritised

accordingly for consultation A county wide consultation on the programme followed in March 2011

8 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

 The buildings of the two schools

are of a similar age while the

maintenance backlog for

Pontnewydd at £640,460 which

is significantly greater than

Maendy at £523,105

 The original proposal arising

from the South Sebastopol

development was to rebuild both

schools on the same timescale

 Treat Pontnewydd Primary

School fairly!

 See above

 The revised bandings for Maendy and Pontnewydd were agreed by Council in Nov 2011

 The council has developed a SOP within the constraints of the 21st

Century Schools programme The council believe that no school has been treated unfairly

4 ESTYN RESPONSE

The report received during the consultation period, and based on the consultation document is provided below in its entirety

Estyn’s response to the proposal to expand Maendy Primary School to 420 places from 1st September 2023

Introduction

This report has been prepared by Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education and

Training in Wales

Under the terms of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 and its associated Code, proposers are required to send documentation to Estyn However, Estyn is not a body required to act in accordance with the Code and the Act places

no statutory requirements on Estyn in respect of school organisation matters

Therefore as a body being consulted, Estyn will provide their opinion only on the overall merits of school organisation proposals

Estyn has considered the educational aspects of the proposal and has produced the following response to the information provided by the proposer

Summary/Conclusion

The local authority has taken good account of Welsh Government regulations in putting forward its proposal for the replacement of the current Maendy Primary School with a new build school

The local authority makes a clear case based on relevant evidence of the need for expansion of pupil numbers and the improvement of school and community facilities

in eco-friendly buildings at the current location The proposal shows that that the

9 Maendy Primary School | Torfaen County Borough Council

local authority has taken good account of the impact on other local schools, as well

as giving to the consideration to housing developments that may increase pupil numbers in the future

In terms of educational impact, the proposal takes good account of the potential benefits of having educational provision from early years through primary school on one site and how the future school with its additional facilities can play an effective role in the Welsh Government’s priority of tackling social and economic deprivation

It is Estyn’s view that the proposal will at the least maintain, and is likely to improve the present educational provision in the Maendy area

Description and benefits

The proposal shows that the local authority has researched a range of options for improving school provision on the Maendy Primary School site It has provided a clear rationale for its preferred option of replacing the school buildings dating from

1958 with a new build school These reasons include:

 modern buildings that will better support the learning and teaching in the 21 century and provide better access and inclusion for pupils with special

educational needs

 retaining Flying Start provision and adding child care provision with a view to making a greater impact on social and economic deprivation

 greater financial viability through larger numbers of pupils attending the school

 buildings which are more environmentally friendly and easier to maintain, and

 the reduction of traffic hazards eliminating vehicular access to the site from Northville

To come to its conclusions, the local authority has undertaken a thorough review of school provision in its territory under the ’21 Century Schools Programme’ It has considered and set out the benefits and risks for six options It provides a clear rationale to support the option to build a new school on the site of the current

Maendy Primary School is the preferred option

The local authority has taken good account of the current and future needs of the local population and developments in the area, such as the building of Llanfrecha Grange Hospital and the increase in population that is likely to bring, as well as new housing projects in the whole area generally and in the school catchment area specifically It has taken appropriate account of longer-term considerations, such as ensuring the design of the building will enable it to be fully utilised by community groups, for example youth and sports groups

The local authority has taken appropriate account of pupils’ travel arrangements and

it estimates that, as the new school will be built on the current site, the catchment area, admissions and travel policies will remain as currently It does not envisage that the school will encroach on pupil numbers in other cluster schools However, the local authority estimates that the new school will provide for 9% - 11% surplus places across the authority, giving it greater flexibility to manage the surplus

capacity