Proposal to Limit The P1 Intake at Mayfield Primary School to 25 Children
North Ayrshire Council · 1 October 2024
Back to Cabinet — 1 October 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 1 October 2024 Cabinet Title: Proposal to limit the P1 intake at Mayfield Primary School to 25 children Purpose: • To provide information to Cabinet on the roll at Mayfield Primary School • To seek approval to limit the P1 number to 25 children, for each school session, from the August 2025 intake Recommendation: That Cabinet agrees to: • Allow Education to limit the number of P1 children at Mayfield Primary School to 25 for each school session intake. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 At the Statutory Public Consultation in respect of proposed changes to Saltcoats/Stevenston catchment areas, held in early 2023, it was made clear that an intake limit would be required for Mayfield Primary School Primary 1 each session. 1.2 This report provides background information on the roll at Mayfield Primary School and sets out a proposal to maintain capacity in the school to ensure that spaces are available for future catchment children. 1.3 The proposal is to limit the intake to 25 children for P1 each session, leading to a 7- class structure for the school, leaving room for the roll to expand in future years to accommodate catchment children from the new homes. 2. Background 2.1 The current roll at Mayfield Primary School is 192 pupils over 8 classes. Only 42% of children on the roll live within the catchment, with 58% attending as a result of a successful placing request. Many of the children attended Mayfield Primary Early Years class, which has no geographical catchment area – these parents/carers then opt to apply to keep their child at the school for their P1-7 education. 2.2 The breakdown of the pupil roll, showing numbers of children registered for Primary 1 (P1) who reside within the catchment area and those outwith (placing requests) over the last 7 years is shown in the table below:
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School Session 2018/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25 Catchment Children Registered 16 25 20 12 12 17 17 Placing Requests Out 3 5 4 1 0 5 4 Placing Requests In 14 12 10 10 18 17 19 Deferred Entries 1 1 1 3 0 1 2 P1 Intake 26 31 25 18 30 28 30 Total School Roll 199 197 189 173 183 184 192 2.3 On 30 May 2023, Cabinet agreed to amend the primary school catchment boundary lines between the following primary schools: • Mayfield Primary School • Glencairn Primary School and • St Anthony’s Primary School • St John’s Primary School 2.4 This rezone was as a direct result of a new housing development, Mayfields, by Persimmon Homes, being built directly upon the boundary between the above noted schools. The key aim of the rezoning was to provide children from the new development with a place at the primary school nearest their home. 2.5 At that time, the Statutory Public Consultation outlined that ‘should the proposal be approved, the P1 intake at Mayfield Primary School will be monitored closely and capped when required, in order to ensure that there are sufficient places for catchment children in future years’. 2.6 Persimmon have completed and sold the first 26 units (including 12 flats) of a total 280, with another 23 due to be complete by March 2025. Although the current number of children living in the development is low, numbers are expected to rise as more family homes are completed. 2.7 As outlined in the previous report, it is expected that, at its peak, the Mayfields housing development could contribute up to 86 children to the total school roll, up to 12 children per year group. 2.8 The current situation is that 192 of a possible 237 spaces are already taken up – 111 of these are placing requests. The table at 2.2 shows that the number of placing requests into Mayfield Primary School is rising – from 10 in 2021 to 19 for the current session. 2.9 In order to mitigate against the school failing to have sufficient accommodation for catchment children in future years, it is recommended that the P1 intake number is limited to 25 children for each new school session from August 2025. The proposal aims to ensure that there are sufficient spaces for catchment children from both the existing homes and planned new homes, protecting school spaces for catchment children to be educated at their local school.
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2.10 In 2014, the Scottish Government issued guidance to Education Authorities on aspects relating to the determination of school capacity and this has been taken into account when formulating the proposal. The aim of the proposal is to effectively manage the capacity at Mayfield Primary School and in an attempt to ensure adequate capacity for catchment children. In consideration of the proposal, the following factors were taken into account: i) The school’s current capacity ii) The predicted demand for catchment places at the school in future years iii) The current and predicted number of placing requests at the school 2.11 If the P1 intake number at Mayfield Primary School is not limited, the current trend of increasing occupancy is likely to continue. Children attending by placing request will comprise a larger proportion of the school roll, and many of these children are likely to have younger siblings. Parental expectation will be that, where we have granted a placing request for an older sibling, space will be available in the future for younger family members – this may not be the case. Over time, as the catchment roll increases, there will be fewer and fewer spaces available each session for placing requests. 2.12 School spaces will be allocated in line with current policy: 1. Children with home addresses within the catchment area 2. Placing request applicants who, in the opinion of a family doctor and community medicine specialist, could only be educated with difficulty in another school 3. Placing request applicants who have older sibling(s) continuing their attendance in the requested school 4. All other placing requests Should the proposal be approved, there will be fewer P1 spaces available than there have been in the past. This may result in a ballot process, whereby names are drawn and the procedure is supervised by a local elected member. It should be noted that the other primary schools in Saltcoats have sufficient capacity to accommodate their catchment children. 3. Proposals 3.1 That Cabinet agrees to: • Allow Education to limit the number of P1 children at Mayfield Primary School to 25 for each school session intake.
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4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The proposal aims to ensure that there are sufficient spaces for catchment children to attend Mayfield Primary school, thus reducing the potential transport and staffing costs of them being educated elsewhere. Human Resources 4.2 None. Legal 4.3 Whilst there is no duty on the Education Authority to consult in respect of a proposal to cap the intake of a school, during the Statutory Public Consultation in respect of proposed changes to Saltcoats/Stevenston catchment areas held in early 2023 which affected Mayfield Primary School, it was recommended that the Primary 1 intake for Mayfield Primary School be capped at 33 in respect of the August 2023 session. It has become apparent through roll projections that in order to effectively manage capacity at the school, that the Primary 1 intake requires to be capped a 25 from August 2025. The Education Authority is under a statutory duty to manage its education estate effectively to ensure that there is adequate capacity to meet demand and the Education Authority is under a duty to provide adequate and efficient education in terms of the Education (Scotland) Act. Relevant legislation has been considered in formulating the proposal, as has the Scottish Government guidance in respect of determining Primary School capacity. The proposal reflects Council policy insofar as it promotes children attending their local school. Council policy will be adhered to in respect of admissions, with catchment children being given priority. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The key aim of this proposal is to provide children with a place at the primary school nearest their home, along with their neighbourhood peers. This includes continuity in support of their education and social development and plays a significant role in the early social cohesion of the new community which this significant housing development will deliver. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 The proposal supports walking to school. The boundary change created a local catchment area, with a walk of less than 0.5 miles from the new development to Mayfield Primary School. St Anthony’s Primary School is 0.7 miles from the new housing development, whilst St John’s Primary School is 1.8 miles away, along a busy main road with Glencairn PS located 1.3 miles away from the new development.
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Key Priorities 4.6 Inspiring Place Vibrant, welcoming, and attractive places An efficient Council that maximises resources and provides value for money Community Wealth Building 4.7 None. 5. Consultation 5.1 Consultation has taken place with the Head Teacher of Mayfield Primary School, Education Portfolio Holder and Local Elected Members. Should the proposal be approved, we will communicate with the wider school community in order to let parents/carers understand the implications for the future. Andrew McClelland Head of Service (Education) For further information please contact Lynn Taylor, Senior Manager, on 01294 324437. Background Papers Document.ashx (cmis.uk.com) – Item 5