New Secondary Schools for Richmond 3

[BayJay]

Hello and welcome to the Mumsnet thread about Richmond Borough Secondary Schools. The discussion started in February 2011 in two parallel locations here and here.

In November 2011 the most active of those two threads, in Mumsnet Local, reached 1000 messages (the maximum allowed) so we continued the conversation here.

Now its May 2012 and that thread has also filled up, so the conversation will continue here ......

Here is the May 25 story about Kingston (ChrisSquire Fri 25-May-12 18:05:41):
Uncertainty over funding for Kingston's new secondary school:
" . . The government announced 261 schools across the country would receive money from a school building fund but had not released details of which of the 587 applications had been successful.

A list of 42 schools being prioritised for the cash from the Priority School Building Programme was released but the planned north Kingston secondary school was not one of them, leaving the future of children?s education in the borough uncertain. Kingston?s executive member for education councillor Liz Green said she was currently unsure of what the move meant for Kingston and would need to find out more about what the priority list meant . . "

Having checked the PSBP website its seems there has only been one announcement, which is the one on May 24th.

Reading between the lines I'd say because the announcement only addresses those schools that applied for rebuilding funds, some people assumed there'd be another announcement targetted at those that were applying for new-build funds. However, presumably Kingston have now received their letter of non-success attached the original announcement. That has confirmed that they won't be getting any funds and has triggered the new story this week.

BayJay, was the north Kingston school proposed to be an LA maintained school or academy?

Muminlondon, the competition was won by a trust that was a consortium of the local council, college and uni.

I assume that means it would have been an academy, but I'm not 100% sure. Ironically, if the same trust had put in a free school bid in February then they could have got the go ahead this summer (though presumably the rival CofE bidders could have done the same).

I think this proposal has suffered from taking so long in consultation/competition, with changes of government in between. I don't think LBRuT was too keen on it in the original consultation because of the proximity to Grey Court. Before that there had been a proposal to expand Grey Court and for the two councils to work together - not sure who decided against that. It would make more sense if central government considered the impact of a free school there, taking account all surrounding schools and not just those within the political boundaries.

But it is a lesson on what could happen at Egerton Road.

But it is a lesson on what could happen at Egerton Road
Yes, as I said a few days ago, the hypothetical school at Egerton road would probably need to be a Free School under current legislation.

Who knows what would happen if we had another change of government in the meantime.

Another potential source of funding for Egerton Rd from the existing Government would be the UTC intitiative, though from this announcement today it sounds like they have already created more of those than they originally intended, and one of the new ones will be near Heathrow.

Copthall - where did you get 4% at secondary. Also has someone seen data that shows what % spare spaces are in all London boroughs - I cant imagine all of them are 100% full

Jeev: 20/32 of the boroughs have experienced an increase in their birth rate between 2001 and 2010 greater than Richmond's [i.e. 25.0 % which is below the London average] (Source: GL Intelligence Unit). No doubt, therefore, that their primary schools are full and their secondary schools soon will be. So you need to give your imagination freer rein if you wish to understand the world you live in!

Muminlondon: the competition was for an academy as it was run under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, before the Education Act 2010 enabling free schools became law. Here's the Adjudication.

thanks Chris, so in fact they still followed procedure as it would be under the new Act. Can councils be proposers of free schools?

muminlondon, independence from the Local Authority seems to be core to the definition of a Free School, so I suspect not, but can't find any evidence of that.

Sorry some more questions/speculation! I notice that Kingston needs £30 million to build the new school. Does it already own the site or does that figure include buying it from a separate adult education provider in the same way that Clifden is having to be bought from RACC? Given that there is a lot of opposition to using the North Kingston Centre at all because it's a well-used adult education centre, if the only option in Kingston is a free school or schools not run by the Council, won't a free school be more likely to go ahead on another site and therefore not free up places at Grey Court?

Another bit of info I haven't seen before is whether the Maharishi or C of E would be buying the Oldfield site and how much for or just getting it for a peppercorn rent like the Catholics? How much is the total pot available from the Government for free schools? It seems as if it's going to be extremely expensive to build them around here so I would have thought funding several of them in one corner of SW London where land is at a premium is unlikely unless it is a massive pot and they really intend to build five hundred plus across the UK and to pursue a policy of a free school in every local authority.

Kingston is certainly suffering from the madness of hosting/owning grammar schools with exclusive admissions policies that don't prioritise its own children when it has such limited space.

Hi Lottie. According to this BBC report on the chancellor's Autumn Statement the total Free School budget over the next 3 years is £600m. They're aiming for 100 new schools, with 12 of them being specialist 16-18 maths colleges. That's an average of just £6 million per school. One of the aims of the free school programme is that it should use existing public buildings with minimal refurbishment costs, allowing new schools to be set up quickly.

I think the North Kingston project involved a complete re-build, so its not surprising the cost was projected to be so high. The Teddington School rebuild cost a similar amount. That sort of pot was available through the previous government's Building Schools for the Future programme, which the current government scrapped.

I think the Oldfield centre is already council owned isn't it? If one of those schools was approved then the Government would presumably negotiate rental terms with the council. A peppercorn rent would seem reasonable, similar to other Academies. I'm speculating though.

There must be a limit to the number of empty ex-school buildings around. Michaela free school in Tooting. has now been delayed because of problems with the site and local opposition. Though I'm surprised it can open in Wandsworth because I thought the school won its bid for Lambeth?

"There must be a limit to the number of empty ex-school"
They don't have to be ex-school, but obviously it minimises the refurb costs if its is an existing school building. That's why Clifden Road was an obvious first choice for NLS4T. Any other site will inevitably be more expensive to turn into a school.

Thanks BayJay. For £6 million or not much more I can't see how anyone can set up a secondary school round here unless they are being presented with a site that already has suitable buildings and is rent free. That is roughly the figure it's going to cost to refurbish Clifden. That seems to mean any site would have to be already owned by the local authority (or a generous benefactor/failed private school) and be already school-like in its buildings and layout and outdoor space? I don't know what state the North Kingston Centre buildings are in as the courses I have done there are in portacabins out the back eg. the IT suite. Presumably they had good reasons for wanting to knock it down and rebuild it but sounds like that will now not be possible.

Yes, Oldfield Centre is Council owned but buildings much too small for a combined primary and secondary school so would have to be rebuilt if Maharishi plan were to go ahead (which is what they proposed). Seems to indicate that it would be better to make it a primary school as that would be possible with just refurbishment costs.

so would have to be rebuilt if Maharishi plan were to go ahead (which is what they proposed)
Perhaps the Maharishi foundation were planning to put some of their own money into that too. Don't know the answer to that one I'm afraid.

That is roughly the figure it's going to cost to refurbish Clifden
Yes, that's why it would have been perfect for a Free School.

NLS4T haven't announced their second site preference as they don't yet know if its viable, and the info may be commercially sensitive.

Jeev It's currently 12%, 209 spare places out of 1610 places, but by 2014 their forecasts have it at 3.8% 65 / 1680, back up to 7% in 2016 when the Egerton Road school comes on stream, if it doesn't for any reason that will be 0%.

I guess if you do get approval, it would be in the council's and residents' interests if it works with you, either for a permanent site or temporary, or both.

"it would be in the council's and residents' interests if it works with you"
Yes, people need to realise that since the passing of the 2011 Education Act legislation, free schools aren't 'alternative' provision, they're the only way for communities to get new schools.

Also, after reading about Michaela community school's experience so far of securing sites, it would also be important for you to have the support of the council and/or local residents. I don't know whether Richmond borough is special in this regard but last week I read about an ancient footpath across Petersham meadow rediscovered just as the National Trust erects a rather modest electric fence to protect the cows, and I'm told Premier Inn was refused permission to convert some ugly asbestos-filled offices into a hotel. So planning or coservation issues can meet pretty fierce opposition. And that's nothing compared to Twickenham riverside!

muminlondon, yes, another advantage with Clifden Road is that is existing status as a building for educational use means that those sorts of planning issues won't arise.

Any other site could potentially have planning issues.

Sorry and one more question: Michaela free school was accepting applications direct so in effect some people could have had two offers. In fact, it was doing that without having an agreement on the site anyway, so at least applicants will have a concrete place somewhere.

Would the intention of NLS4T be to administer admissions independently too? I have to say, I think that's wrong - VA schools used to do that but now are part of the common applications process.

May 29: New school funding announcement: Kingston Council has expressed extreme disappointment after learning that it has been unsuccessful in its bid for funding for a new school through the Government?s Priority Schools Building Programme. Duncan Clark, Director of Education at Kingston Council said:

?Having submitted its bid in October 2011 we have been waiting for a decision for a long time. Throughout this bidding process the Government has amended and changed the criteria for allocating funding to local authorities. This long-awaited announcement will be of great concern to a large number of parents in Kingston. At the heart of our bid is the rising demand for school places that comes from the rapid demographic growth in the Borough.?

Following a lengthy delay in making their decision, the Education Funding Agency has said that a rising demand for school places caused by population growth has not been supported by the Programme. Funding has been targeted only at existing schools that are in a poor condition and no funding has been allocated to bids for brand new schools (like Kingston?s bid).

Duncan Clark added: ?The rapid rise in the number of children and young people has put a huge demand on secondary school places in Kingston. The Council has a statutory duty to provide sufficient school places and additional Secondary School places will be needed by 2015/16. Without sufficient funding for a new school being available through Basic Need funding channels, the Council will continue to explore all other routes for providing the secondary school places to meet the needs of local children. We will continue to lobby central government to ensure that they recognise the high basic need that we have in Kingston for additional secondary school places.

?The Council needs to explore all of the options for providing additional secondary school capacity. We will continue to work with our partners to maximise the opportunity to provide a new secondary school that will meet the needs of all local children. One such route for meeting demand for school places could be a Free School option for which there is a separate pot of capital funding available. The Council remains open-minded to all options and would especially support a proposal that would increase the capacity of non-selective, co-ed places in the Borough that were open to all resident children. The important aspect of this potential route is that the secondary school places are provided where they are required and that they provide the education setting that parents have told us they want in the Borough.?

Muminlondon, NLS4T intends to be fully part of the local family of schools, and that includes being part of the pan-London admissions system. The website here says:

"Due to the timing of the Free School approval process it is likely that for the first year of admissions (for Sept 2013) our application process will run separately to the pan-London admissions process used for other local schools. In subsequent years it would be part of that process"

It's one of the things that's a bit unfortunate about the tight timescales of the free school programme, and something that's being actively discussed with the council to work out the best solution all round.