Maendy-Primary-School-Final-Objection-Report

PROPOSAL TO EXPAND MAENDY PRIMARY SCHOOL TO 420 PLACES OBJECTION REPORT OCTOBER 2020... Introduction At their meeting held on 7th July 2020, Council Cabinet decided to proceed with the

PROPOSAL TO EXPAND MAENDY PRIMARY SCHOOL TO 420 PLACES OBJECTION REPORT

OCTOBER 2020

Introduction

At their meeting held on 7th July 2020, Council Cabinet decided to proceed with the following proposal:

i) To expand Maendy Primary School on its existing site to 420 places;

ii) As part of i) above to establish a nursery for 30 (Full time Equivalent) 3 and 4 year olds;

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the above mentioned decision was subject to a challenge process Challenges had to be notified to the Chief Executive and the Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer by Noon on Wednesday 15th July

2020 Please note that this decision was not subject to a challenge

Following that decision, the Council then had to publish these proposals by way of a statutory notice A copy of the statutory notice is attached as an appendix to this objection report

Anyone wishing to make an objection to this proposal was able to do so To be

considered as a statutory objection, objections had to be made in writing or by email, and sent to the Council within 28 days of the date on which the proposals were

published This is referred to as the objection period

Notices were published on Friday 4th September 2020 as follows:

 On the council website Link:

http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/EducationLearning/21st-Century-Learning/Latest-News.aspx

 On or near the main entrance of the schools which are the subject of the proposals

 By providing schools which are the subject of these proposals with copies of the notice to distribute to pupils, parents/carers, and staff (schools may

distribute the notice by email)

 In the case of proposals affecting secondary provision, parents of pupils

attending primary schools from which pupils normally transfer to that

secondary school

 By notifying prescribed consultees as listed in the School Organisation Code

In accordance with the Act, the Council must publish a summary of the statutory objections and the Council’s responses to those objections (“the Objection Report”)

Statutory Objections

The objection period ended on Monday 5th October 2020 One statutory objection

was received in that period

The following table provides a summary of the objection and the Council’s response

to the issues raised in it

REASON FOR OBJECTION COUNCIL RESPONSE

CATCHMENT AREAS/SCHOOL ADMISSIONS

 The Council’s rationale is that the

expansion is needed to cope with

the additional demand for primary

education arising from the new

housing development at South

Sebastopol However, the South

Sebastopol catchment area is

shared equally between Maendy

and Pontnewydd Schools, and the

Council has failed to take into

account the position of our School

 In addition, geographical realities

suggest many of the South

Sebastopol residents will choose

to send their children to the

Griffithstown and Panteg Schools,

which are closer and more

convenient than Maendy and

Pontnewydd

 As noted, the area of new build is

“split” between the two schools with the canal being the natural boundary Given the extent of the development (c1200 dwellings), it

is the view of the council that the council has taken into account the position of both schools

 Parents/carers can express a preference for their child(ren) to attend any school and wherever possible, that preference will be met However where applications exceed the number of places available, priority will be given in accordance with the council’s published admission policy

It should be noted that for the September 2021 admissions round, South Sebastopol will be included in the Welsh Medium primary catchment area of Ysgol Panteg the adjustment to which reflects the additional Welsh Medium primary setting being provided at Ysgol Gwynllyw from that date

SCHOOL CAPACITY/SURPLUS PLACES

 The danger is that expansion of

Maendy capacity from 231 to as

much as 420 places will result in

significant, costly surplus capacity

at Maendy Consequently, the

Council may alter the boundaries

of the South Sebastopol

catchment area in favour of

Maendy, and to the detriment of

Pontnewydd

Our Governing Body would very

strongly resist such a move, and

the likely outcome would be the

 There are significant housing developments proposed in Torfaen, particularly in the south

of the borough, and the council must be mindful of that when planning future school places If

no new schools are provided as part of the planning process, the council must be able to manage the provision, ensuring there are sufficient places in the right place

to meet demand This may require changes to catchment areas, but there are however no current

two schools competing against

each other across the whole of the

South Sebastopol area

The Governing Body of

Pontnewydd Primary School

therefore is firmly of the view that

the expansion of Maendy Primary

School should be limited to, say,

360 places

plans to change English medium primary school catchment areas

 Given the above comments, it is the view of the council that a 420 place primary school is

appropriate for this location

Appendix 1 – Statutory notice in relation to this proposal

Torfaen County Borough Council, Civic Centre, Pontypool, Torfaen NP4 6YB

Notice is given in accordance with section 42 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 and the School Organisation Code that Torfaen County Borough Council, having consulted such persons as required, propose to alter Maendy Primary School,

Wayfield Crescent, Cwmbran NP44 1NH so that the capacity is increased to 420 places and the new replacement school is located on its current site The school is currently maintained

by Torfaen County Borough Council

Torfaen County Borough Council undertook a period of consultation before deciding to publish this proposal A consultation report containing a summary of the issues raised by consultees, the proposer’s responses and the views of Estyn is available on:

http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/EducationLearning/21st-Century-Learning/Latest-News.aspx

It is proposed to implement the proposal on 1st September 2023

The current number of pupils at the school is 212 (January 2020 and, excluding nursery and SNRB pupils) and the pupil capacity of the school is 231 and the proposed capacity once the proposal is implemented will be 420 places

The admission number for each age group that will normally be admitted at the school in the first school year in which the proposals have been implemented will be 60 There will be

30 full-time equivalent (60 part-time) nursery places

Within a period of 28 days after the date of publication of these proposals, that is to say by Monday 5th October 2020 any person may object to the proposals

Objections should be sent to Alison Ward, Chief Executive Officer, Torfaen County Borough Council, Civic Centre, Pontypool, Torfaen, NP4 6YG Email:

21stcenturylearning@torfaen.gov.uk

Torfaen County Borough Council will publish a summary of any such objections made (and not withdrawn in writing) within the objection period, together with their observations thereon, within the period of 28 days after the end of the objection period

Signed: Alison Ward, Chief Executive Officer

For the Torfaen County Borough Council

Date: Friday 4th September 2020

Explanatory Note

(This explanatory note does not form part of Notice but is offered by way of explanation)

This statutory notice is the outcome of discussions to replace and expand Maendy Primary School The proposal is one of a number arising from the Authority’s 21st Century Schools Programme This is a strategic plan to create a generation of 21st Century Schools across the Borough

A “drop in” public engagement event was held for interested parties during March 2020, as part of the consultation process

The site of the proposed new primary school will remain unchanged from its current

location although a new vehicular driveway/access to the school will be formed off Maendy Way

The proposal would see the new school open in September 2023, but until the new school is ready for occupation, Maendy Primary School will continue to use accommodation on its current site

It is the intention of Torfaen County Borough Council that transport shall be provided free of charge for pupils to their new school in accordance with the Council policy at that time The current policy is that primary school aged pupils are eligible for free transport if:

a) They live more than 2 miles from the catchment school

b) The Authority is satisfied that the route between home and school is sufficiently dangerous to warrant such provision, even though the distance is under that quoted above

END OF NOTICE