Statutory Proposal by North Yorkshire County Council for the Lowering of the School Age Range at Barrowcliff Community Primary School

Full Proposal Document

Name and contact details of the Local Authority or governing body publishing the proposal:

North Yorkshire County Council, County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8AE

Name, address and category of the school proposed for alteration:

Barrowcliff Community Primary School, Ash Grove, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO12 6NQ

Proposed Implementation date:

1^st January 2022

Description of alteration and evidence of demand

To lower the age range of Barrowcliff Community Primary School to provide places for 2 year olds. Governors have been aware for some time that some of their children do not access two year old early years education and have decided that offering this provision at the school would be of benefit to pupils and parents.

The School Leadership report that they have had many enquiries over the last few years from parents asking if they have places for 2-year-olds in the current Nursery. Although none of these parents responded to the consultation, since it was published, they have had many conversations with current parents, who have younger children, and they have expressed a keen interest to have their children attend our Nursery when they are 2 years old. They say they have been very happy with the provision the school offers for 3-year-olds, and they feel that their younger children would benefit from being in the school’s Nursery from an earlier age.

Objectives educational standards and parental choice

To provide additional Early Years provision for parents, pupils and the local community. Barrowcliff School is proposing to provide places for two-year-old children as an extension of the current nursery class provision in the school, by the creation of an additional ‘Early Years’ class. The Early Years Class would have a qualified Early Years teacher and suitably qualified and experienced teaching assistant(s) who will provide a high-quality learning environment to support each child’s learning and development appropriate to their age and stage of development. It will be in line with the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) with at least one member of staff for every four children aged two.

From an educational point of view, there has been a significant decline in the number of children reaching age-typical milestones in Barrowcliff’s Nursery baseline assessments. This has been across all curriculum areas, but especially within Communication & Language. The school leadership feel that having the children in Nursery from the age of two will enable them to narrow the attainment gap, as the majority of children who attend their Nursery from the age of 3 years make better than typical progress and this continues into Reception. They believe they will also be able to engage outside agency support sooner for those children with significant additional needs.

In Barrowcliff’s last Full Ofsted Inspection in October 2019 the school was judged ‘Requires Improvement’ overall but ‘Good’ in Early Years. In their recent 2021 Monitoring Inspection report Ofsted stated that “Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action in order for the school to become a good school…[and they]…have a clear, strategic plan in place to make the school a good school. Leaders are clear what their priorities are and have precisely planned the actions they will undertake to address these. Throughout this inspection [they] showed a strong understanding of your community. The pastoral support and care you provide for your families are tangible.'

Effect on other schools, academies and educational institutions within the area:

There will be no effect on surrounding schools and local providers of Early Years education were notified as part of the non-statutory pre-consultation and will again have a chance to comment as part of the statutory representation period.

Project Costs:

The revenue cost will be met from a combination of means based funding and parental subscription.

There are limited capital implications to refurbish an existing teaching space to facilitate this proposal. The school are utilising their devolved formula capital to carry out these works and also considering any opportunities for grant funding.

There are no transport costs related to this proposal.

Implementation:

Following a formal decision to approve the lowering of age range, Barrowcliff Primary School will work to have the new arrangements in place for 1 January 2022.

Procedure for making representations (objections and comments)

Withinfour weeks from the date of publication of this proposal on 1 October 2021, any person may object to or make comments on the proposalby sending them to CorporateDirector- Children and Young People's Service, North Yorkshire County Council, County Hall, Northallerton, DL7 8AE by 5pm on 29 October 2021.