Plans for change

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November 8, 2023, update: Six months ago Central Bedfordshire Council’s new administration paused work on the three to two-tier transition programme for some areas to ensure the plans are affordable and deliverable. We committed to updating you in the autumn, so here is an update of the work we have been doing and what this means.

We remain totally committed to:

• supporting all three-tier schools across Central Bedfordshire to transition to the established Primary and Secondary school (two-tier) model
• investing in school maintenance
• providing more school places where needed
• creating specialist provision for children with Special Educational Needs

The Council is investing £140m in this work over the next few years.

We have taken a thorough look at the two-tier and new school place plans against the budget, while considering how many school-age children we have in Central Bedfordshire in the coming years.

You may be aware that birth rates are decreasing across the country, with the impact now being seen from the pandemic, while many residents are also tightening their belts and paying more for their bills. We currently forecast our demand for school places for a rolling five-year period, and this will continue to be updated on an annual basis.

Our plans need to reflect these changes. In light of the new forecast data and budget constraints, we have made some decisions, and you can read the full announcement from Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, Cllr Hayley Whitaker.

Houghton Regis schools are already operating within the two-tier model of education, as are the majority of Dunstable schools. The population data that will inform the demand for school places across the remaining three-tier schools in the Dunstable area is regularly reviewed; however, any formal feasibility work for determining the future two-tier structure for these schools is unlikely to begin until 2025 at the earliest, or until the schools in Cranfield, Shefford and Stotfold, and Biggleswade areas have completed their transition to the two-tier model of education.

Timescales for when this formal work will begin in the Dunstable area have not yet been determined, but the process of becoming a primary or secondary school takes approximately three years, subject to the following stages all concluding, or any unforeseen changes:

• initial discussions with schools
• viability studies to assess what is possible on each school site
• formal feasibility studies
• development and publication of proposals for each school
• approval from Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive Committee to publicly consult on the proposals
• a "Have Your Say" consultation (between 6 and 12 weeks)
• analysis and consideration of the feedback
• development and publication of revised final proposals (also known as a statutory notice for council-maintained schools)
• a legally required statutory consultation (minimum 4 weeks) for Council-maintained schools
• academies must conduct their own parallel local consultation on the proposed changes and then submit a business case for the changes to the Department for Education Regional Director for the East of England
• a decision to approve or reject the proposals will be made by Central Bedfordshire Council for maintained schools and the DfE for academies

If the proposals are agreed upon, schools and academies will change to either a primary or a secondary at an agreed time and, should they require physical changes, then planning permission will be sought for any necessary construction works to take place. In some instances, some schools may also be considered for closure as part of re-organisation. Where construction is required to expand a school, any building works will ideally be timed so that they are completed as the school becomes either a primary or secondary.

Example scenario

If the formal process for change at the remaining three-tier schools in the Dunstable area begins in 2025, you could expect your child would be in either a primary or a secondary school in 2028, subject to any changes. However, the demand for change in the Dunstable area will be regularly reviewed against pupil growth data and housing growth, so timescales will be subject to these reviews.

At present, we aim to complete all the two-tier changes to schools across the whole of Central Bedfordshire by 2035.

We recognise that housing is being built across Central Bedfordshire, and annual reviews will determine if this changes this cluster’s priority within the Schools for the Future programme.

Any new information will be made available on this web page.

Where we are now

Houstone School

Houstone School was completed in the summer of 2023.

Thornhill Primary School

The new teaching block at Thornhill Primary School was completed in 2022. Work to provide a new playing field will complete in summer 2023.

The new building will allow the Houghton Regis school to increase its capacity from 210 pupils to 630 in order to meet the future demand for new school places forecast with the emerging housing growth of Houghton Regis North 1 and 2 (the Linmere Development).

The following table indicates the current status of each school in this area on its journey within the Schools for the Future programme.

The dates indicated below are subject to change, in line with the development of the outline phasing plan, which will be published on this web page when available.

Schools in Houghton Regis already operate in the two-tier model of education. The population data that will inform the demand for the school places in Dunstable is regularly reviewed; however, any formal feasibility work for determining the future two-tier structure for the schools is unlikely to commence before 2023 as other clusters are being progressed in Cranfield, Shefford, and Stotfold, and Biggleswade.

What happens next?

Changes for the remaining three-tier schools in Dunstable will be phased, in line with housing growth in Central Bedfordshire. When proposals are developed, or we have more information on your school, we’ll update this web page.

The two key decision makers are the Department for Education in respect of academies and the Council in respect of maintained schools.

In many cases, proposals may be supported all around, but in a few cases, there may be different views, so it will be for the two decision makers to come to an agreed way forward for the programme to continue.

The Council will consider all conversion proposals from all sources against the following criteria:

• supporting an effective and managed move to a primary/secondary model of education within the Council area
• strong proposals for training and development for all staff in schools accepted into the programme which will lead to improved outcomes for students
• provision for additional places needed based on current estimates of pupil growth (the Council will complete the process we are now in the middle of for the Council to validate new pupil figures forecast in all areas of the borough)
• avoidance of any proposals to create new surplus places and the removal of all Council validated existing and likely future surplus places noting the Audit Commission support for 5% additional places in each authority to support parental preference
• value for money and an equitable allocation of capital based only on need
• the completion of a successful feasibility study which confirms the proposals will meet new Design Principles and Costs Guidelines (agreed by the Council in February 2020) and will satisfy all educational, planning, highways, and other statutory requirements

Thank you for your support for the Schools for the Future programme and for your patience as we move forward with amended proposals for Dunstable and Houghton Regis.

Other schools in the area

While work is taking place on the schools named above, the other schools in the Dunstable and Houghton Regis area are already able to provide enough school places for the known housing growth, therefore no changes are expected for the following schools this area. Click on a school to go to their website.

• All Saints Academy
• Ardley Hill Academy
• Ashton St Peter's Primary School
• Beecroft Academy
• Caddington Village School
• Eaton Bray Academy
• Hadrian Academy
• Hawthorn Park Community Primary
• Houghton Regis Primary School
• Kensworth Church of England Academy
• Lancot Challenger Academy
• Lark Rise Academy
• Manshead Church of England Academy
• Priory Academy
• Queensbury Academy
• Slip End Primary School
• St Augustine's Academy
• St Christopher's Academy
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School
• St Vincent's Catholic Primary School
• The Vale Academy
• Thomas Whitehead Church of England Academy
• Tithe Farm Primary School
• Westfield Nursery
• Will Nursery