Proposal for the expansion of Templemoor Infant School Statutory Notice

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 the decision by Trafford's Executive Committee.

The Full Proposal

We proposes the expansion of Templemoor Infant School, Nursery Close, Sale, M33 2EG from a 2 form entry (60 pupils per year group) to a 3 form entry (90 pupils per year group) with effect from 1 September 2023. Templemoor Infant School is a community school. This announcement represents Stage 2 of the statutory process that must be followed when we propose the physical expansion of a school.

Objectives

We have a duty, set out in the Education Act 1996, to make sure there are sufficient school places for children who live within our area. We have seen a significant increase in the number of children resident in the area overall and in particular in the Sale area. This proposal is to help meet that demand.

Need or demand for additional places

We have a duty to provide school places for every child resident within the borough. This has been met by expanding a number of primary schools across the area to meet local demand. Over the last 10 years Altrincham and Sale have experienced the greatest demand.

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 482 pupils on roll in Year 1 and 487 pupils in Year 2 classes in Sale East. This situation is similar in the neighbouring Sale West planning area where there is only 1 vacancy in Year 1 and 1 vacancy in Year 2.  Therefore, we are proposing the physical expansion of Templemoor Infant School.

Consultation

We first started 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 Conlon Construction Ltd. and their associated architects, Bowker SadlerArchitecture. A series of meetings was held to allow the school to participate in developing the proposal alongside council officers and the appointed design and build contractor. 

The informal consultation process was extended to parents, staff, and residents. These stakeholders were invited to the School on 17 May 2022 to look at, and comment on, the proposed plans. This informal consultation continued online until 24 May 2022. Comments received and responses provided can be viewed on Templemoor Infant and Nursery School Expansion Proposals - Trafford Council's Citizen Space.

On Tuesday 21 June 2022 stakeholders were invited to a further informal consultation event at the school, specifically for the proposed access on James Street. This consultation then closed on Friday 24 June 2022. The original scheme included the creation of a new pedestrian access from James Street to the south of the site. Following concerns over highway and pedestrian safety, this entrance has now been removed from the proposal.

A planning application was submitted on 28 June 2022 (application number 108516/FUL/22) and validated on 8 July 2022. The submission of the planning application extended the consultation process further into the community by including the usual Town and Country Planning consultation requirements. View full details Templemoor Infant School planning application.

School capacity

The current capacity of the school is 180. The current published admission number for Templemoor Infant School is 60. This allows for a maximum number of pupils on roll of 180 (excluding nursery pupils). It is expected that the school will reach the maximum of 270 pupils by September 2026.

Alteration description

It is proposed to erect a single storey extension to the existing nursery building along with alterations including addition of solar panels, ventilation stacks and alterations to existing windows. There will be reconfiguration and extension of nursery playground, erection of secure covered play area structure and realignment of existing school running track. Alterations to the main school building to include demolition of existing storage and replacement with a single storey hall extension with improvements to front entrance and new canopy. The existing car park capacity will be increased by 4 car parking spaces.

Project costs

On 27 September 2021 Trafford's Executive Committee agreed £1.8m basic need funding to take Templemoor Infant School from 2FE to 3FE.

Education Standards

In March 2009, the school was judged to be outstanding by Ofsted inspectors. 

Extended services

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

Travel and Accessibility

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. 

The school completed a survey with the children to identify how they had travelled to school. 75% 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 view with the planning application. 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 (3 November 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, Waterside House, Sale, M33 7ZF.

All comments must be received by 1 December 2022.