Issue details

As the Strategic Commissioner of School Places, Cheshire East Council has a statutory duty to commission sufficient school places for children resident in its area. The latest pupil forecasts for the Wilmslow Area indicate that there will be a shortfall of 227 pupil places across all schools in the area by 2018. To address this shortfall the local authority proposed the expansion of schools in the Wilmslow area.

Following the decision of the Cabinet Member on 22 April 2013, formal consultation on the proposed expansion of Wilmslow Grange Community Primary and Nursery, Dean Oaks Primary and Lacey Green Primary Academy was undertaken between 30 April 2013 and 4 June 2013.

During consultation feedback was invited on the Council’s proposal to fund additional school places at Lacey Green Primary Academy.

Whilst the Local Authority cannot propose the expansion of an Academy, it does have a strategic duty to ensure that it has sufficient school places for children resident in its area and, in delivering this duty, it must take into account all publicly funded schools in its area, which includes Academies, when addressing any identified basic need. Basic need is defined as the excess of forecast demand for pupil places over the existing schools capacity to provide them. The expansion of Lacey Green Primary Academy is therefore subject to Secretary of State approval to amend the funding agreement. The Academy will therefore need to submit a business case to the Education Funding Agency, including outcomes of consultation with key stakeholders, to seek this approval.

Responses to the formal consultation have been summarised in the report and copies of the submissions received were made available to the Portfolio Holder. The advice of the Council’s Legal and Finance Officers has been taken into account in producing the report presented to the Portfolio Holder.