Proposal for the expansion of Willows Primary 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:

from a 1.5 form entry (45 pupils per cohort) to a 2 form entry (60 pupils per cohort) primary school with effect from 1 September 2023. Willows Primary School is a Community School.

The publication of this full proposal 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 Timperley area.

Need or demand for additional places

Willows Primary School is located within the Altrincham planning area which covers all WA14 and WA15 postcodes in Trafford. Although the 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. As a result, every school in the Altrincham planning area is at or over its published capacity in Years 4, 5 and 6. To accommodate new residents, an additional 15 children have been admitted to Year 5 and an additional 16 pupils admitted to Year 6 at Willows Primary School. This increased the number of pupils on roll in Year 5 from 45 to 60 and to 61 in Year 6.

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 the current Year 6 cohort in Altrincham schools is 965. There are currently 1022 pupils on roll in Year 6 classes in Altrincham.

An additional 130 pupils are expected from new housing developments in the Altrincham area within next 5 years. In order to secure high quality sufficient provision for current and future families in the Altrincham area, the LA proposes the expansion of Willows Primary School.

Consultation

The LA first initiated informal consultation (Stage 1 of the statutory process) with the School. The School joined with council officers to consider submissions from 3 contractors before appointing Conlon Construction Ltd. and their associated architects, Bowker Sadler Architects. A series of meetings were held to allow the School to participate in developing the proposal alongside Council Officers and the appointed Design and Build Contractor. On 16 March 2022, the informal consultation process was extended to parents, staff, and residents. These stakeholders were invited to the School on Wednesday 16 March 2022 to look at, and comment on, the proposed plans. Comments received and responses provided can be viewed on Trafford Council's Citizen Space - Willows Expansion Proposal.

A planning application was submitted on 4 April 2022 (application number 107718/FUL/22) and validated on 11 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, including the School's travel plan, can be viewed online - Willows Primary School Expansion Proposal.

School Capacity

The Net Capacity of the School (at 1 May 2022) is 345 (315 plus bulge class of 30). The current published admission number for Willows Primary School is 45. This allows for a maximum number of pupils on roll of 315. The anticipated number of pupils on roll at Willows Primary School from September 2022 is 345. This includes the additional children in Years 5 and 6. It is expected that the School will reach the maximum of 420 pupils by September 2023.

Alteration description

Erection of two-storey extension linked by a single storey corridor forming 4 additional classrooms, a plant room, 2 breakout spaces, 6 washrooms, a cleaners room, an intervention room and staircase. Erection of a single storey studio extension to the main hall, the reconfiguration of an existing playground, the creation of additional staff car park, amendments to the existing car park and the relocation of 2 canopies and cabin building.

Project costs

On 27 September 2021 Trafford's Executive Committee agreed £3m basic need funding to take Willows Primary School from 1.5 FE to 2FE.

Education Standards

In October 2014 the school was judged to be good by Ofsted Inspectors. In November 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 is centrally located and benefits from being highly accessible on foot with the existing pedestrian infrastructure providing access to a wide residential catchment.

The School will be required to update its Travel Plan which is designed to reduce car journeys and promote active travel.

The School is well located to encourage journeys by bus for staff via a number of services available in the immediate vicinity of the site and is accessible by cycle, due to its proximity to existing local and national cycle routes.

The School has conducted a survey with the children to identify how they travel to school. 70% of the children generally arrive at school on foot, bike or scooter. The School will regularly monitor the situation and aim to work to increase this number further.

The School is also being considered for inclusion in Trafford's School Street Scheme, where parts of the roads surrounding the school will be restricted whilst children arrive and leave the school site. This would improve accessibility for pedestrians approaching the school and residents adjacent to the school.

The School regularly reminds parents about parking and has contacted the Road Safety Team at the Council regarding parking enforcement. The Road Safety Team have visited School at different times of the day/week to enforce good practice. A new staff carpark is proposed at the end of Victoria Road to relieve the traffic pressure at the existing car park entrance. the existing carpark will be available to be used by visitors to 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:

All comments must be received by 7 July 2022.