Brixington Primary Academy: consultation on proposal to change the age range

Update January 2025

The Department for Education (DfE) South West Region’s Group has, following consultation, approved the proposal for Brixington Primary Academy to change its age range from 3-11 to 2-11 years of age. It is planned that this change will take effect following the February Half Term 2025.

——————————————

If you need this document in a different format or language, please contact Devon County Council’s School Consultation Team on 01392 382057 or via email: schoolconsultations@devon.gov.uk

Proposal
The First Federation Trust is consulting on a proposal to take 2-year-olds at Brixington Primary Academy. This would mean changing the age range of Brixington Primary Academy from 3-11 to 2-11 years of age, with effect from 6th January 2025. The school knows that local families desire their children to come to school from a younger age than is currently offered and would like their child to start Nursery in the place they will eventually come to primary school.

Background
Brixington Primary Academy has an integrated Foundation Stage Unit where the nursery children, aged 3 and 4 years, learn and play alongside the Reception Class. The School and the Trust know it is very important to the community to offer a provision that fits the needs of the families in the catchment area. First Federation Trust has experience of 2 – 4 years Nursery classes within their school structures and there is plenty of support available for Brixington.

Benefits of the proposal
In light of the Spring 2023 Budget announcement on increases to early years entitlements and associated funding, Devon County Council is projecting an increase in the demand for 2-year-old places. Enabling children to start in the nursery at 2-years-old will remove a transition point for some children. Those more disadvantaged children who are eligible for 2-year-old funding may currently go to different providers. They may then come back to the school at age 3 into the nursery or at 4 into a Reception class. Being able to offer places from 2-years-old will provide greater consistency and continuity for children before starting at school and enable staff to make a more significant impact and identify children’s needs well before they start in Reception. Parents will still need to make a separate application to Devon County Council for a place in Reception.

Capital and planning
The existing school environment is well-suited to also accommodate younger children. A small amount of capital is required to improve the washing facilities. The Trust has submitted an application to Devon County Council for capital funding for this purpose from the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant. This Grant has been allocated to Local Authorities to support the expansion of childcare places as a result of the Government’s Spring Budget 2023 announcement to introduce increased early years entitlements to families. However, this proposal to change the age range from 3-11 to 2-11 is not subject to the approval of this capital grant.
This proposal will not affect the Published Admission Number for the school nor the capacity and will not put pressure on classroom space for school aged children.

Consultation and decision-making process
This consultation will run from Wednesday 18th September to Wednesday 9th October 2024.
Following the end of the consultation, the Trust will consider the consultation responses and decide whether or not to make an application to the Department for Education’s (DfE) South West Region’s Group. The application to the DfE will include the feedback received to the consultation. It is the DfE’s Regions Group who will consider the application and outcome of the consultation and decide whether to approve the change to the age range.

Responding to the consultation
The Trust welcome responses on this proposal by the closing date of 9th October 2024 either by:
Emailing: admin@brixington.devon.sch.uk – please title the email ‘Nursery Consultation’.

Or by writing to: Brixington Primary Academy, Nursery Consultation, Brixington Lane, Exmouth, EX8 4JQ.

All responses to the consultation will be considered and will be shared with the school’s leadership team, Board of Directors and Trustees. Responses will also be shared with the DfE’s South West Regions Group but we will not send individual responses to any specific points made.