Musbury Primary School – proposal to change the age range

Consultation on a proposal to extend the age range of Musbury Primary School from 5-11 to 2-11 years of age.

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 proposing to extend the age range of Musbury Primary School from 5-11 to 2-11 years of age. The proposed implementation date, if the proposal is approved, is estimated to be from 2 June 2025.

Background

Musbury Moles is a community run pre-school managed by a voluntary board of trustees and is located on the school site of Musbury Primary School. The pre-school provides places for children aged 2-4 years of age. Musbury Moles Pre-School and Musbury Primary School have a long-standing relationship and work closely together.

Musbury Primary School is proposing to establish a Nursery Class and thereby extend the age range of the school from 5-11 to 2-11 years of age. First Federation Trust has experience of Nursery classes within the school structure and there is plenty of support available to the school. If approved, the school’s Nursery Class would continue to operate from the school hall and there would be no change to the number of places offered. If the proposal were to be approved, the main difference is that the pre-school will be become a Nursery Class within the school and the children currently attending the pre-school would be registered on the school roll. Parents would still need to make a separate application to Devon County Council for a place in the Reception Class. Parents and children should experience very little change to the service they receive; there will be no break in service for children that are attending the pre-school because of this change.

Benefits of the proposal

The school will be able to establish the strongest links possible with families from the outset working to support them from a younger age.

It has been identified, elsewhere in Devon, that a nursery class is often a more sustainable early years delivery model than committee run pre-schools that can struggle to find enough parent volunteers to sit on a committee, employ staff and run the provision they need to enable them to go to work.

The leadership and management of a school must be strong, efficient and effective to enable high quality services to be delivered. The nursery class will be an extension of the school services that will benefit children, families and the school community.

As nursery children will be on the school roll, protocols around information sharing will be straightforward. The nursery team will be able to access all the resources and activities that are available through the school, including the expertise of staff and governors to support the operational and managerial aspects of the nursery. Transition into school and the earlier identification of needs will mean that when the time comes to start in the reception class the move will be seamless.

Children whose parents meet the free school meal eligibility criteria and attend for the whole day will be entitled to a free school meal. Parents will also be able to purchase a school meal for nursery pupils.

All 3 and 4-year-olds are eligible for the ‘universal’ early years funded childcare (up to 15 hours per week) from the start of the funding period following their third birthday until they start school (usually at statutory school age – the term following their fifth birthday).

3 or 4-year-olds of eligible working parents can get an additional 570 hours of funded childcare (up to 30 hours per week)

A 2-year-old can get funded childcare if the parent/carer lives in England and is entitled to qualifying benefits.

Parents who wish to pay for childcare will be able to do this via Tax Free Childcare or via ParentPay directly to the school.

Staff

If the proposal is approved, qualified early years staff will be employed directly by the Academy Trust. A school is required to work to the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage framework that governs the ratios and qualifications of staffing.

Process and Decision-making

The consultation period will run from 14th February 2025 to 14th March 2025. All responses to this consultation will be carefully considered by the School and The First Federation Trust before any decision is made by the Academy Trust to submit an application to the Department for Education (DfE) to change the age range of the school from 5-11 to 2-11.

If a decision is made to proceed with the proposal, following consideration of the consultation responses, an application will be made to the Department for Education (DfE) South West Regions Group. It is the DfE’s South West’s Region Group who will make the final decision on the proposal to establish a Nursery Class at Musbury Primary School through the changing of the age range of the school from 5-11 to 2-11. The DfE will make this decision after considering responses received to the consultation and the application submitted by the Academy Trust. Please note that consultation responses will also therefore be shared with the DfE South West Regions Group.

Capital and planning

The assets of the pre-school would transfer to the school. This proposal will not affect the Published Admission Number (PAN) for the school, nor the capacity for school aged children, and will not put pressure on classroom space for school aged children.

Responding to the consultation

This consultation will run from 14th February 2025 to 14th March 2025. The Trust welcome responses on this proposal by the closing date of 14th March 2025 by Emailing: admin@musbury-primary.devon.sch.uk

Or by writing to: Musbury Primary School Church Hill, Musbury, Axminster, Devon, EX13 8BB.

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 Department for Education as the decision-maker, but we will not send individual responses to any specific points made.

The Trust Privacy Notice can be found here: Data Protection | First Federation