Transforming Our Primary Schools (TOPS)
In March 2006, the government announced an ambitious national funding programme of £500m per year, starting in 2009-10, aimed at the long-term transformation of primary schools across the country.
This money is in addition to existing capital funding, and represents an exciting opportunity to deliver 21st century education in well-designed and sustainable schools the heart of local communities. The programme is called the Primary Strategy for Change.
The purpose of the programme
The main purpose of this programme is to ensure that primary schools are fully equipped to support national policy aims, such as:
- Raising standards
- "Every Child Matters"
- Inclusion
- Provision of high quality ICT facilities
- Improvement of nutritional standards
It is expected that at least half of all primary schools will be rebuilt, remodelled or refurbished.
Funding
To ensure that this funding is fully accessed, we must set out how we propose to transform our primary estate over the long-term and how this will target areas of local deprivation.
Although the precise level of funding will not be known until our plans have been approved by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF), guidance suggests that South Tyneside will be allocated approximately £3m in 2009/10 and a further £5.38m in 2010/11 and around £3m in the years after.
Stable, sustainable and efficient schools
All that potential massive improvement to the conditions for learning and teaching in our primary schools depends on the success of TOPS in securing a pattern of schooling that looks to DCSF long term investment – stable, sustainable, and efficient schools.
To achieve this we need a school system which is stable, which holds the confidence of parents and which can attract and retain staff who see our school system as robust, properly resourced and sustainable.
Surplus places in schools
Every council needs to retain some surplus places in its schools. In order to cope with families moving into and within the area, and to cope with occasional emergencies, there needs to be some flexibility in the schools system.
The Audit Commission and DCSF say that local authorities should manage provision so that surplus places total no more than 10%, and preferably around 7.5%, of overall capacity.
On this basis, for South Tyneside's 11,100 primary age children, there should ideally be no more than 11,900 school places. In fact, there are 13,200 primary school places (i.e. 2,100 surplus places, or 16% surplus). That represents an excess of at least 1,300 places now.
This situation is likely to become significantly worse over the next few years, as the overall number of pupils is predicted to fall in 2010 by around 800 to 10,300 pupils, taking the overall surplus, if the council took no action, to 2950 surplus places, or 22% surplus. Thus in 2010 we would need to reduce by around 2,200 places. That is the equivalent of about 10 average schools – or more if they were smaller in size.
While South Tyneside does not have many schools which would be classified as 'small' by national standards, it does maintain a large number of separate schools, and that prevents the community of schools as a whole from enjoying some real financial and educational advantages which a better pattern would bring.
Of our 51 primary schools, 32 already have fewer than 210 pupils (one-form entry for a through-primary, rather than an infant or a junior school) while only 2 have 420 or more (two-form entry.)
If South Tyneside operated at the average school size for those similar authorities, it would need approximately 42 schools, that's 9 fewer schools in 2007, and 39 schools (12 fewer) in 2010.
Latest news
Revised timescale for the report going to cabinet
The DCSF has changed the deadline for the submission of capital funding applications to 'no later than 16 June'.
This provides us with an opportunity to give fuller consideration to a range of issues and ideas emerging from the public consultations, including responses received from the Church of England and Roman Catholic Dioceses.
We can also carry out feasibility studies on the proposed sites of new schools and ensure that we take on board expert advice before making final recommendations to cabinet.
This in turn will allow us to be more precise with the timescale for phasing the various proposed building works and ensure that they are affordable with the available capital budget year-by year.
> Consultation On Primary School Transformation
> Primary School Transformation Moves Ahead