Proposal for the expansion of Moorlands Junior School

Local Authority Proposal for Prescribed Alterations (expansion) in accordance with The School Organisation (Prescribed Alterations to Maintained Schools) (England) Regulations 2013

These Regulations set out the procedure that must be followed by LAs where the physical expansion of a school is proposed.

Stage 1

Informal consultation with interested parties. Whilst Stage 1 is not prescribed, there is a strong expectation that schools and LAs will consult interested parties when developing the proposal prior to publication, as part of their duty under public law to act rationally and take into account all relevant considerations. 

Stage 2

The publication of a statutory notice which begins Stage 3.

Stage 3

The representation period, which must last for 4 weeks.

Stage 4

The final stage is Determination by Trafford's Executive.

The Full Proposal

Trafford Council (The Local Authority (LA)) proposes the expansion of:

Moorlands Junior School (3582033)
Temple Road
Sale
M33 2LP

from a 2 form entry (60 pupils per cohort) to a 3 form entry (90 pupils per cohort) junior school with effect from 1 September 2023. Moorlands Junior School is a Community School.

This announcement represents Stage 2 of the statutory process that must be followed when the Local Authority proposes the physical expansion of a school.

Objectives

The Local Authority has a duty, set out in the Education Act 1996, to ensure sufficient school places for children who live within its area. Trafford has seen a significant increase in the number of children resident in the area overall and in particular in the Sale East area.

Need or demand for additional places

Trafford Council has a duty to provide school places for every child resident within the borough. This duty has been met by expanding a number of Primary Schools across the borough to meet local demand. Over the last 10 years Altrincham and Sale have experienced the greatest demand within Trafford and although population projections for the area are relatively static when considering future reception cohorts, there is a significant impact from inbound migration in upper year groups, particularly with families who move into the area to access the selective education system. 

All schools must have a published admission number (PAN). The PAN is set following a net capacity assessment of the school. This assessment considers the number of workspaces and calculates the indicated admission number for the school. The PAN is then set in line with the assessment calculation to reflect the number of pupils the school can accommodate in each year group. The total PAN for each cohort in Sale East is 480. There are currently 496 pupils on roll in Year 3 classes in Sale East rising to 502 pupils on roll in Year 6 classes in Sale East. At 15 May 2022, every school in the Sale East Planning area was at or above its capacity in Years 1,3,4,5 and 6.

This situation is repeated in the neighbouring Sale West Planning area where a very limited number of places are available in the current reception and Year 2 and where every school is at or above its capacity in Years 1,3,4,5 and 6, including an extra 30 places created in Year 6 at Woodheys Primary School to accommodate families that have moved into that planning area. Therefore, Trafford Council are now proposing the physical expansion of Moorlands Junior School to increase the admission number from 60 (2 forms of entry) to 90 (3 forms of entry) and, in order to accommodate families that have already moved into the area, temporary accommodation is provided for 30 additional children from September 2022.

Consultation

The LA first initiated informal consultation (Stage 1 of the statutory process) with the School and its governing body. The School and Governing Body joined with council officers to consider submissions from 3 contractors before appointing ISG Ltd. and their associated architects, Ellis Williams Architects. A series of meetings has been held to allow the School to participate in developing the proposal alongside Council Officers and the appointed Design and Build Contractor. 

On 22 February 2022, the informal consultation process was extended to parents, staff, and residents. These stakeholders were invited to the School on 22 February to look at, and comment on, the proposed plans. The informal consultation continued online until 9 March 2022. Comments received and responses provided can be viewed on Trafford Council's Citizen Space - Moorlands Junior School

A planning application was submitted on 8 April 2022 (application number 107614/FUL/22) and validated on 29 April. The submission of the planning application extended the consultation process further into the community by including the usual Town and Country Planning consultation requirements. Full details, can be viewed online - Moorlands Junior School Expansion Proposal.

School capacity

The current Capacity of the School is 240. The current published admission number for Moorlands Junior School is 60. This allows for a maximum number of pupils on roll of 240. The anticipated number of pupils on roll at Moorlands Junior School from September 2022 is 286. This includes 30 additional pupils admitted in order to accommodate families moving into the area. It is expected that the School will reach the maximum of 360 pupils by September 2023.

Alteration description

One temporary double classroom will be required from September 2022. The temporary block is single storey and is proposed to sit on the site of the current Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), along the Broad Road elevation. Once the construction is complete the temporary double classroom will be removed.

The new permanent accommodation will consist of 4 new classrooms, a studio and a specialist space for Food Technology/Art/Design along with associated office and WCs. There will also be a small amount of remodelling work in the existing school to allow for two small SEN rooms and a hygiene room.

Externally the staff car park will be expanded with a further 8 spaces and the MUGA will be relocated. 

Project costs

On 27 September 2021 Trafford's Executive Committee agreed £4m basic need funding to take Moorlands Junior School from 2FE to 3FE.

Education Standards

In March 2014 the school was judged to be good by Ofsted Inspectors. In March 2018 Ofsted confirmed that the School continues to be good. 

Extended services

The proposed expansion will not affect the provision of the School's extended services.

Travel and Accessibility

The school have been active participants in the Living Streets Walk to School Campaign since 2017 and the children are very proud of their badges when awarded each month. School will endeavour to ensure that this continues to be a high priority and their Eco-council will focus on active travel to school as their theme for the rest of this year.

The school will be required to update their Travel Plan which is designed to reduce car journeys and promote active travel. They are also being considered for a school street, where parts of the roads surrounding the school will be restricted whilst children arrive and leave the school site. This should make it considerably easier for pedestrians approaching the school and residents adjacent to the school.

The School completed a survey with the children to identify how they had travelled to school on the 2nd March. 78% of the children arrived at school on foot, bike or scooter on that day. The school will regularly monitor the situation and aim to work with Templemoor Infant School to increase this number further.

Full details of the TRANSPORT STATEMENT and INTERIM TRAVEL PLAN, submitted as part of the planning application process, can be viewed or downloaded. The findings from these will be considered and implemented where possible to minimise the increased traffic caused by extra pupils who will be attending the school.

Implementation

The proposal will be implemented from 1 September 2023.

Objections and comments

Within four weeks from the date of the publication of these proposals (9 June 2022), any person may object to or make comments on the proposal by emailing school.admissions@trafford.gov.uk or by sending them to:

School Admissions Service Manager,
Waterside House
Waterside,
Sale,
M33 7ZF

All comments must be received by 7 July 2022.