Langtree Community School & Nursery: Proposal to change the age range

Update February 2024

The formal representation period ended on the 8 February 2024. No comments or objections were received.  The proposal to extend the age range from 3-11 to 2-11 from 15 April 2024 has been approved by Devon County Council.

Background information

Following an informal consultation period, Devon County Council has now published a ‘Brief Notice’ and ‘Full Proposal’ on a proposal to change the age range of Langtree Community School and Nursery Unit from 3-11 to 2-11.  This means that a four week formal representation period has now begun on the proposal.  Comments and objections are invited on the proposal by the closing date of 8 February 2024. The proposed implementation date is now 15 April 2024.

The Brief Notice has been published in the Public Notices section of the Western Morning News, 11 January 2024.

The Full Proposal, published 11 January 2024, as well as the Brief Notice, are available under ‘Consultation method’ below. The Equalities Impact Assessment is also provided below. The previously published consultation document, from the informal consultation stage, is also available under ‘Consultation method’ below but is now marked ‘archived’.

If you would like to comment on or object to the proposal, please do so by the 8 February 2024. Please email: schoolconsultations@devon.gov.uk or by Post, to: Shona Meek, Strategic Planning – Children’s Services, Room 120, Devon County Council, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 4QG.

All responses to the formal representation period will be considered by Devon County Council and will be shared with the school’s leadership team and governors, unless you request otherwise.

Please note that all responses will be properly considered by Devon County Council and the Governing Body, but we will not send individual responses to any specific points raised.

If you need any documents in a different format or language, please contact the School Planning Team on 01392 382057 or via email: schoolconsultations@devon.gov.uk

Privacy Notice for representations to school organisation consultations: Privacy Notice

Background

Devon County Council and Langtree Community School and Nursery Unit are proposing to change the age range of the school from 3-11 to 2-11 years of age from 15 April 2024. The school has a published admission number (PAN) of 12. There are currently 6 Reception children.

Extending the age range of the school will help meet demand in the local area. The Governing Body wishes to ensure that the school supports the local area by offering high quality early education and childcare.

Langtree Community Primary School and Nursery Unit is a small school and is classified as a rural school under the Designation of Rural Primary Schools (England) Order 2022 (Rural village in a sparse setting). Consideration is given to lowering the age range in schools where there is capacity to do so and to integrate Nursery and Reception provision. Integrating provision in this way has benefits to all children’s learning and means that all resources can be shared making it a more cost-effective way of enabling provision in areas where it would otherwise not be viable to have group based early years provision. Children who attend the Foundation Stage Unit are more likely to apply for a place in the Reception Class as the transition into school is seamless. There are currently 6 children in Reception against a Published Admission Number of 12. There will be no reduction in the number of places for 3-, 4- or 5-year-olds to accommodate 2-year-olds.

Enabling children to start in the Foundation Stage Unit at two-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 to access the funded time that they are eligible to receive, as will those parents who need childcare so they can work. They may then come back to the school at age 3 into the nursery or at age 4 into the 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 and address children’s needs well before they start in the reception class.

There is demand in the area for provision for 2-year-olds. There are predicted to be 5 children aged 2 years old in Summer 2024 within the designated area of the school. There are 2 early years providers in Langtree: the nursery in the school and a funded childminder. Additionally, in light of the Spring 2023 Budget announcement on the expansion of early years entitlements and associated funding, DCC is projecting an increase in demand for 2-year places.

No capital funding is required.
Planning consent is not required.
It is envisaged that this proposal will be cost neutral as the Early Years funding will be received where children are eligible and by parental subscription where they are not.

The proposal will not affect the capacity of the school, nor the Published Admission Number for school aged children and will not put pressure on existing classroom space. The maximum physical capacity of the school is 120 places. There are currently 77 pupils on roll including children in the nursery.

For further information, please see the Full Proposal available under ‘Consultation method’ below.