Statutory consultation on the proposed reduction in Published Admission Number for Peel Park Primary School for the 2023/24 academic year

Consultation Document

Background

The current Published Admission Number (PAN) at Peel Park Primary School is 90. This means that the number of children admitted to the school in reception each year is a maximum of 90.

When planning primary school places in Bradford, the District is split into 26 primary school planning areas. Peel Park Primary School sits in the North East 3 planning area.

The population growth in Bradford from 2010 increased pressure on primary school places, resulting in a large-scale expansion programme to meet the growth in demand. Due to an increase in demand in the North East 3 planning area, Peel Park Primary School increased their PAN from 60 to 90 in September 2011. This moved through the school each year until all year groups had a PAN of 90 in 2017. The net capacity of the building is 630, made up of 90 places in each year from reception to year 6.

In addition to Peel Park, the following PAN increases were also implemented at schools in the North East 3 planning area in 2011:

Killinghall increased from 60 to 90

Westminster CE increased from 60 to 90

Barkerend then increased the PAN from 60 to 90 in 2016, which increased the overall PAN for the planning area to 780 places.

Overall across the Bradford District, there is a decrease in the number of younger children registered with the NHS. This has led to a high level of surplus places in some of the primary school planning areas, including North East 3, where Peel Park Primary School is situated.

According to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the number of live births nationally has fallen for four consecutive years, with the total number of live births in 2019 being the fewest since 2004. Official birth data has not yet been released for 2020 but provisional data shows that there were fewer births nationally in 2020 than in 2019. Given the falling number of births nationally and across the District, the Council does not anticipate that the numbers of children requiring school places in the North East 3 planning area will increase significantly in the near future.

Over recent years, there has been a significant reduction in the number of reception places required across this planning area. In response to this reduction, a number of academies have reduced the PAN to minimise the number of surplus reception places:

Barkerend and Thornbury reduced their PANs from 90 to 60 in 2021, and Westminster CE will reduce the PAN from 90 to 60 in 2022. The current total PAN across North East 3 is 720 places and will reduce to 690 in 2022 when the PAN reduction at Westminster CE Primary School takes effect.

The number of reception pupils at Peel Park as recorded on the January Census has not reached 90 pupils in any year since the PAN was increased, and 66 reception children were placed on roll in September 2021. Across the North East 3 planning area, there were 720 reception places available with the total number of places allocated on National Offer Day being 552. This has since increased to 612 on roll in September 2021 and is still considerably below the number of available places.

The proposed PAN reduction will provide 660 places in the planning area. Current published forecasts indicate that the numbers of reception places required in reception for the next four intake years across North East 3 are:

2022/23:        634

2023/24:        636

2024/25:        624

2025/26:         624

Forecast information has been used to model the school’s budget over the next five years. This process showed that if the PAN remains at 90 the school will face financial difficulty. The proposed PAN reduction will help to ensure the school returns to a financially stable position.

The School Admissions Code requires that all admission authorities consult where they propose to reduce a PAN. Bradford Council, as the Admission Authority, is therefore seeking representations on the proposed change to the PAN for Peel Park Primary School in the North East 3 planning area.

In accordance with the School Admissions Code (2021), the Council is consulting with key stakeholders, including;

• Peel Park Primary School – Head/Governing Board/Staff
• Parents/carers of current pupils and prospective parents of pupils
• All other Admission Authorities within the District
• Neighbouring Local Authorities
• Councillors and MPs
• Trade Unions
• Anyone else who has an interest in the proposed changes

A copy has been sent to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator and the proposal will be published on Peel Park Primary School’s website.

This consultation will run for six weeks from Monday 1st November 2021 to Monday 13th December 2021, after which time any representations received will be considered and a report taken to the Council’s Executive Committee for a decision to be made on the PAN for Peel Park Primary School.

Specific Proposal

Bradford Council proposes to reduce the PAN at Peel Park Primary School from 90 to 60 from 1 September 2023.

This means that the maximum number of pupils intended to be admitted in Reception in 2023, and all subsequent Reception cohorts, will be 60. For children who already have a place at the school in other year groups there will be no change.

Factors that have been considered by the Council when deciding to consult on this proposal include:

• A large portion of funding received by schools is directly related to the number of pupils attending the school. Too many vacancies mean that schools will not receive the maximum possible revenue. Therefore, the Council is proposing to reduce the number of available places to enable the school to operate more efficiently and cost effectively.
• The school is located in North East 3 planning area where there continues to be a falling demand for primary school places, resulting in a significant surplus across the area.
• The total number of pupils from reception to Year 6 recorded by the school on the May 2021 census was 585, which is below the current capacity of 630.

·         Due to the lower numbers of younger children registered with the NHS who will require a school place in the coming years, the Council expects that there will be sufficient school places available for local children if the PAN is reduced. If agreed, the overall PAN for the North East 3 planning area will be 660 from 2023.

• Peel Park Primary School and the Council will look creatively at solutions in the future which may help to solve any problems resulting in a shortage of school places in the North East 3 planning area – eg a bulge intake.

Peel Park Primary School Governors and Bradford Council believe that reducing the PAN will assist the school to provide stability in their long-term planning and allow them to deliver high quality educational outcomes for the pupils currently on roll. The reduction in PAN will ensure that an appropriate number of places are provided for future pupils, in line with forecasts.

Please complete the online survey to tell us your thoughts on the proposal to reduce the Published Admission Number at Peel Park Primary School from 90 to 60 from 1 September 2023. Alternatively you can email SufficiencyConsultation@bradford.gov.uk to request a copy of the response form.