Initial consultation

Transforming secondary education in North Lincolnshire - initial consultation

Secondary schools in Scunthorpe are to be transformed thanks to a £73.5m (now £88m) scheme called Building Schools for the Future (BSF). This investment will come from the government.

Every secondary school in Scunthorpe needs major investment - some require completely new buildings. We are committed to doing all we can to make sure this investment comes to the area.

The council has consulted widely on the proposals and held meetings at all secondary schools. A number of options were considered. These included retaining all schools, merging certain schools and locating new schools on new sites.

On 28 April 2006 North Lincolnshire Council's Cabinet decided that both Thomas Sumpter and South Leys Schools will close and a new school will be built to replace both schools. The Cabinet also decided that the proposed new school be built on the Thomas Sumpter School site and that the site of South Leys School be considered for other educational and community uses.

There is now a period when we consult on this proposal with interested parties. This consultation period is to consider the specific proposal to close both Thomas Sumpter School and South Leys School. And immediately after, create one school to serve the communities within this area of Scunthorpe.

Public meeting

A public meeting at Riddings Junior School in Scunthorpe took place on 6 June 2006. It gave people the chance to give their views on the proposals.

There were also meetings between council officers, governing bodies of both Thomas Sumpter and South Leys Schools and the staff (and their representatives) in June.

Pupil numbers

The current capacity of the existing schools is:

Forecast pupil numbers are:

Forecast numbers are calculated from historical patterns of parental preferences from feeder primary schools together with actual pupil numbers attending existing feeder primary schools. We have also taken into account the number of children under four years registered with GPs.

The number of children living in the south west area of Scunthorpe continues to decline and there are no major new housing developments planned that will significantly impact on these schools. The pupil numbers at South Leys School will fall to a level that makes the school financially unviable to offer a full range of options and to meet the BSF educational vision.

School buildings

Condition assessments of the existing school buildings recommend that the Thomas Sumpter School buildings should be totally replaced with new buildings. This is except for the sports hall, which could be refurbished. South Leys School requires some capital investment to refurbish and upgrade the facilities.

Site options

The site options that were considered included:

• Build a new school on part of Thomas Sumpter playing fields, then demolish the existing school and realign playing fields.
• Build a new school on South Leys site or extend and modernise South Leys School and then demolish Thomas Sumpter School.
• Build a new school on Manor Park, demolish Thomas Sumpter School and either demolish South Leys School or use the buildings for an alternative community or educational use.

Specific proposals

• That both Thomas Sumpter and South Leys Schools formally close on 31 August 2007.
• That a new community secondary school opens on 1 September 2007, initially using both school buildings and sites under the governance of a new governing body and a newly appointed school management team.
• That a new school be built - using BSF capital money - on the Thomas Sumpter site. Once the school is built all pupils will transfer to the new school. The target date for the new school opening is on, or before, summer 2010. Once the new school building is open, the existing Thomas Sumpter buildings will be demolished and the site reinstated to green space. The existing sports hall would be retained.

The new school will have minimum capacity for 950 boys and girls aged 11 to 16 years.

Once the new school building is open the existing South Leys School buildings will be vacated and the council will determine its future use for community and educational purposes.

Advantages of early amalgamation

The early amalgamation of the two schools using existing buildings allows the governors, management team and staff the opportunity to create the ethos and stability required to move the new school forward. It gives the opportunity for staff and parents to work together and for the new school to establish good links with all feeder schools prior to moving into a new school building. The amalgamation also allows the new governing body and school management team to participate fully in planning and designing the new school.

Next steps

At the end of this consultation period the views expressed will be taken into account by the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People. The Cabinet Member will then decide whether or not to issue a public notice. If a public notice is issued there will be a specified period for representations to be made. The representation period is the final opportunity for people and organisations to express their views about the proposals. All representations, together with comments on them, will be submitted to the Schools Organisation Committee (SOC). If there are no objections the council will make the decision. If there are objections, the decision will be determined by the SOC.

If the SOC decides to implement the proposals, the council will establish a temporary governing body and make arrangements to appoint a headteacher and staff. In the meantime the existing schools will continue to provide education and services to their respective communities.