Return to Agenda

ITEM EX9

EXECUTIVE – 13 MAY 2003

HEADINGTON QUARRY FIRST SCHOOL: PROPOSED CLOSURE

Report by the Director for Learning & Culture

Introduction

  1. The governing body of Headington Quarry First School have been concerned for some time over the future viability of the school. Following a protracted period of discussion with parents and other interested parties, during the Autumn Term 2002, and January/February 2003, the Governing Body resolved that they felt the school should close. Statutory Notices were accordingly issued in late February, with expiry in late April (such Notices are valid for two months). A meeting of the School Organisation Committee (SOC) who finally determine such matters is scheduled for 15 May.

  2. Headington Quarry is a Church School. As such, proposals for closure can either be published by the LEA, or by the governing body. In this particular case, the governing body elected to issue its own Notices. The LEA, therefore, is in the position of being able to offer comments on the proposals (either supportive, or otherwise), rather than take a "decision" per se. Given the proximity of the SOC meeting, the role of the Executive, in this instance, will be to determine what advice to offer to the SOC.

    3. School Viability

  3. The Governing Body of Headington Quarry has mainly been concerned about pupil numbers. During the Autumn of 1999, the LEA carried out widespread consultations on the City schooling structure issues: Headington Quarry was a part of those consultations. At that time, two options for the future of the school were canvassed: either the school could close, or the school could become an infants-only school, taking children from the ages of 4 to 7. It was not thought possible to develop the school into an all-through primary school, taking children up to the age of 11, because of the very restricted nature of the site, the lack of external play areas, and the severely limited scope for premises improvements (the building is listed). The governing body and public consultation and subsequently the LEA and SOC, all endorsed the option of the school becoming an infants school.

  4. It has become clear to governors that there will be insufficient children in the school to enable it to thrive in the future. In the Spring Term of 2003, there were 31 children in the infants age range on roll. However, 9 of these are in Yr 2, and will move on, as will the junior age range, in the Summer of 2003. The governing body do not think any increase in pupil numbers is likely. There are plenty of children in the area – it is just that these children are not being enrolled in Headington Quarry School. There does not appear to be dissatisfaction with the school (indeed, a number of children from outside the catchment area attend): the reason for the low numbers seems to be largely domestic, i.e. families are taking the view that if it is necessary to move school, from infants to juniors, at the age of 7 in any case, then they would prefer to enrol their children in all-through primary schools from the age of 4/5.

  5. As part of their discussions over the future direction for the school, the governing body held Autumn meetings with parents, and a further round of consultations in the Winter. Copies of the meeting notes and consultation document are in the Members’ Resource Centre. As part of the area discussions, the school approached St Andrew’s CE School with a view to exploring the possibilities of either a merger, or creating a federation. These discussions concluded that such a system would not be helpful, principally because of the balance of accommodation, and the enforced break in key stages which this could well produce. A further consideration was that parents were not keen on the possible need to take children to different sites.

    6. Alternative Schools

  6. The following schools are in the vicinity of Headington Quarry, though there are other schools within the 2 mile radius normally considered by DfES as appropriate for consideration in closure cases. The local schools are:

    7. Wood Farm School
    St Andrew’s School
    Windmill School
    Barton Village School
    Sandhills School.

    Of these, St Andrew’s is a church school (the rest are community schools).

  7. Officers of the LEA held a "surgery" session for parents whose children would be obliged to move, should the school close, and this was followed up by parents being asked to state their preference for an alternative school. Three families have not been allocated their first choice of alternative school, though in one case at least the school offered an alternative which has been accepted.

  8. The formal catchment area of Headington Quarry School straddles the ring road. Some streets (indeed, parts of streets) in the Risinghurst estate are formally part of the Quarry catchment area, the other streets being zoned to Sandhills School. This is an historical relic deriving from the period when Oxford City and Oxfordshire were separate LEAs, the original catchment areas being on the (then) City/County boundary. Discussions have taken place over the future catchment areas, should the closure of Quarry School be approved. It would seem "tidy" to zone the area beyond the ring road to Sandhills School, and subsequently Wheatley Park, though for a transitional period of a few years (there being many siblings within the system), it may be expedient to allow these streets to have a choice of schooling. If, associated with any catchment area re-listing, some streets in Risinghurst qualify for free transport to Wheatley Park, then an additional cost to the LEA would be likely. However, there are already five buses to Wheatley from the area, and it is not thought that accommodating a few extra would be a significant issue. The Admissions Forum is considering the implications of the Headington Quarry closure at its next meeting. The actual implications are relatively minor in that children presently in the school are all but allocated and, in looking at potential new admissions for the admissions year 2003/04, only one family has expressed a preference for the school.

    9. Premises

  9. Headington Quarry is a Voluntary Controlled Church of England School, and the buildings are owned by a trust. The terms of the trust stipulate that the premises should be used for educational purposes: if there is no alternative educational use, then, as a last resort the trustees may be obliged to sell the assets. One idea which has come forward is the relocation of the nursery school currently housed in substandard accommodation in William Kimber Crescent. If this idea, or any other comparable project, require formal consideration / approval, then an appropriate report will be presented.

    10. Financial & Staff Implications

  10. The closure of Headington Quarry School would present a modest net saving to the LEA in that the fixed cost element of the Fair Funding formula (£37,000) would be saved, and there would be some savings on premises-related issues also. Any staff who faced redeployment would be given direct assistance in securing alternative posts.

    11. RECOMMENDATION

  11. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to support the proposal by the Headington Quarry First School Governing Body for closure of the school.

KEITH BARTLEY
Director for Learning & Culture

Background Papers: Statutory Notices

Contact Officer: Robert Capstick, Head of Resources, 01865 815155

May 2003

Return to TOP