Consultation on a proposal to amalgamate Sudley Infant School and Sudley Junior School with effect from September 2023

 

 

1 The proposal

The council is consulting on a proposal to amalgamate Sudley Infant School and Sudley Junior School with effect from September 2023 and offer parents a place for their child at the newly amalgamated Sudley Primary School.

 

The law says that to amalgamate the schools we have to close both schools and open a “new” school.  This means that the two schools would close and the new school would open the next day.

 

The council is therefore consulting on a proposal to discontinue Sudley Infant School and Sudley Junior School on 31^st August 2023 and to establish, in the premises of the existing schools, the newly amalgamated primary school for 840 pupils, of the age range 4 – 11 years, and an admission number of 120 with effect from 1 September 2023.

 

All parents of existing pupils would be offered a place for their child at the newly amalgamated Sudley Primary School but they would, in addition, be free to send their child to any other school with places available.

 

 

2 Consultation meetings

Consultation meetings have been arranged at both schools.  They will give you an opportunity to have the proposal explained and to hear why it is being made. These meetings are your opportunity, whether you are a parent or carer, a member of staff or a governor to express your views and any concerns or to offer alternative ideas.  The meetings have been arranged as follows:

 

 

Pupils of both schools will be consulted through the school councils.

 

Officers will be present at the meetings to answer questions and take note of the views expressed.

 

3 Background

 

The Head Teacher of the Infant School has informed the governing body of her intention to resign with effect from 31 December 2022.

 

The council is committed to exploring the amalgamation of infant and junior schools when the occasion occurs.  The council seeks the views of stakeholders on a proposal to amalgamate to for a single all-through primary school and that a single school at the heart of the local community would offer a consistent vision and ethos to benefit pupils, staff, parents and carers.

 

If the amalgamation happens, the separate sites would continue and the head teacher of the junior school would become the head teacher of the amalgamated primary school.

 

The council is now consulting members of the school community on that proposal.

 

 4 The benefits of an all-through primary school

There is a strong educational rationale for amalgamating separate infant and junior schools and many such separate schools have now amalgamated successfully. The following have been identified as some of the benefits of amalgamation.

 

 4.1 Benefits for the children

There would be continuity of education through the creation of one school from 4+ to 11 years of age and benefit the children in the following ways:

 

• consistency in leadership and management across the phases, meaning the same routines, policies and practices
• a reduction in the difference between phases creating the environment to support better planning across the whole age range with additional benefits, for example, of enhanced continuity of curriculum methodology and policies
• strengthened tracking of pupil learning and achievement
• ensure there is a reduction in the potential for disruption as children transfer from one school to another at the end of Year 2; parents only need to apply for a place before reception and do not need to apply again
• align school term and holiday dates
• create the climate for a sense of ‘togetherness’ throughout the school community and allow the children to be together, whenever possible, for shared celebrations and services
• give greater opportunities for the academic, social and moral development of older pupils using cross school projects, for example, working with and for younger children and buddy systems;
• enable continuity of education through the creation of one school, from 4 to 11 years with staff being able to know the children in the school for a longer period of time, thus developing deeper knowledge of them - this would in turn, support seamless safeguarding, more informed assessment leading to better progression, better setting of individual targets and better tracking of individual pupils.

 

 

 4.2 Benefits for staff

The larger “pool” of staff should mean:

• cross-phase opportunities for staff, such as shadowing colleagues in other phase, joint planning sessions

• that individual teachers have fewer areas of responsibility, albeit across a wider age range
• enhanced career opportunities for classroom teachers and learning support assistants as there is the possibility of teaching and supporting learning across a wider age range
• enhanced career prospects for senior staff from being a member of the leadership team or headteacher, deputy or assistant headteacher of a primary school
• greater professional interaction as discussions and decisions are informed by inputs from a wider group.

 

 4.3 Benefits for parents/carers

• Continuity of education should ensure that parents do not, in most circumstances, have to re-assess their choice of school or get to know another school, its staff and policies only three or four years after their child has started school.
• The relationship between pupils, parents and the school can be built up over a longer period of time; better understanding of the needs of each child.
• Delivering a seamless and supportive transition from infant to junior school for children and their families.
• Both schools would have the same term and holiday dates.

 

 5 Pupil numbers

The table below shows the number of pupils attending both schools in recent years. Please note the schools have been undergoing a phased increased intake following expansion.

Table 2Pupils attending both schools in recent years

 

This total number of pupils can be managed in a single “all-through” primary school.

 6 What happens next?

Feedback from the consultation will be considered by the council’s cabinet in May 2023.  If, after considering the comments received, the decision is taken to continue with the proposals:

 

• Statutory notices proposing the closures of the two existing schools, and the establishment of the new all through primary school, would be posted at the schools and published in the Liverpool Echo.
• There would be a period of four weeks, during which people can comment or object.
•  

Only comments or objections that have not previously been considered by Cabinet, received during this four week statutory period would be reported to the council’s Cabinet when it meets to decide whether or not to approve the proposals.

 

 7 Timetable

The expected timetable for progress of the proposal is:

Table 3Timetable

 

8 How to respond

You can submit views in writing about the proposal to:

School Organisation Team

Sudley Schools Consultation

Children and Young People’s Services

5^th Floor, Cunard Building, Water Street

Liverpool L3 1AH

or by e-mail to valerie.tatham@liverpool.gov.uk before the close of the consultation on Friday 25 February 2023.

 

Any comments received, by letter or e-mail, will be reported to the council Cabinet when it comes to take a decision on the proposals.

 

Council papers are public documents and are posted on the council website.

 

Any comments you make, therefore, will be made public, but the papers will be edited before publication, as appropriate, to preserve anonymity in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and to prevent copying of signatures.