{"id":10505,"date":"2026-03-19T13:13:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/?post_type=consultation&#038;p=10505"},"modified":"2026-08-17T11:43:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:43:07","slug":"west-alvington-c-of-e-academy-primary-proposal-to-change-age-range-from-2-11-to-4-11","status":"publish","type":"consultation","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/consultations\/west-alvington-c-of-e-academy-primary-proposal-to-change-age-range-from-2-11-to-4-11\/","title":{"rendered":"West Alvington C of E Academy Primary: Proposal to change age range from 2-11 to 4-11"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Update 17 August 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>West Alvington C of E Academy Primary School: closure of nursery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following consultation and a significant change application by the academy trust LAP SW, the proposal to change the age range of West Alvington C of E Academy School from 2-11 to 4-11 resulting in the closure of the nursery provision has been approved by the Department for Education South West Region&#8217;s Group from September 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There has been declining demand for nursery places in the local area, sustainability concerns linked to staffing, funding and consistently low nursery enrolment and challenges in maintaining a high quality early years offer within a small, mixed age setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Archived consultation information below. This consultation has now closed. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Proposal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Learning Academy Partnership is consulting on a proposal to <strong>change the age range of West Alvington Church of England Academy from 2\u201311 to 4\u201311<\/strong><strong>,<\/strong> with effect from <strong>September 2026<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This change would mean that the school would <strong>no longer offer nursery provision<\/strong><strong>,<\/strong> and the existing nursery class would formally close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Background<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">West Alvington currently operates as a 2 \u201311 primary academy with an on\u2011site nursery class. Due to a range of strategic, financial, and operational factors, the Board of Trustees is proposing to remove the nursery provision and return the school to its traditional 4\u201311 primary phase age range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Key reasons for the proposal include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Declining demand for nursery places in the local area.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sustainabilityconcerns linked to staffing, funding, and consistently low nursery enrolment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Challenges in maintaining a high-quality early years offer within a small, mixed age setting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposal requires a formal process because altering a school\u2019s age range constitutes a significant change under Department for Education (DfE) regulations<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rationale for the Proposed Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Financial and Operational Viability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nursery provision must be fully funded through early years entitlement funding and parental fees. At West Alvington, persistently low numbers have meant that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The provision has not been financially viable for some time, making a loss in 2023\/24 of \u00a320.5k and in 2024\/25 \u00a323k<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The school has had to subsidise nursery staffing and resources from core school funding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintaining the nursery would place continued increasing pressure on the school\u2019s overall budget.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. Ability to Maintain Quality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A high-quality early years offer requires:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sufficient numbers of children to enable effective social, emotional, and learning experiences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Staffing levels that maintain safety and quality<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Specialist resources, curriculum design and leadership capacity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With ongoing small cohorts, it has become increasingly difficult to sustain the high early years standards that reflect the Trust\u2019s mission of Flourishing Futures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Lack of Demand for Early Years Places<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Local early years providers have sufficient capacity to meet demand.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Population data and local birth rates indicate no projected increase that would justify reopening provision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there is currently no evidence of demand for nursery provision, the Trust remains committed to keeping this under review should circumstances or local needs change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>4. Impact on Children, Families and Staff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If approved:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The nursery would close on 31 August 2026.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Children who are already of nursery age or due to start nursery after this date would need to access alternative early years provision in the local area.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Trust will support families by signposting local nurseries and childcare providers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Staffing implications will be managed through the Trust\u2019s HR processes, with consultation and support offered to affected staff.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This proposal does not affect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The school\u2019s Published Admission Number (PAN)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The capacity or number of places available for statutory school aged children<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>5. Capital and Planning Considerations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>No additional capital work is required for this proposal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No planning consent is required.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>6. Consultation and Decision-Making Process<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This consultation will run from: <strong>Thursday 19<sup>th<\/sup> March 2026 to Friday 17<sup>th<\/sup> April 2026 at 12pm<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following the close of the consultation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Trust Board will review all responses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A decision will be made on whether to submit a Significant Change application to the Department for Education.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The DfE is the final decision maker for age range changes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>6. How to Respond to the Consultation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please send any comments or questions by email to: <a href=\"mailto:westalvington@lapsw.org\"><strong>westalvington@lapsw.org<\/strong><\/a><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The consultation closes on <strong>Friday 17<sup>th<\/sup> April 2026 at 12pm.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All responses will be shared with the school leadership team and provided to the DfE as part of the decision making process (individual feedback will not be responded to directly).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trust Privacy Notice can be found here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lapsw.co.uk\/_site\/data\/files\/users\/policies\/72463CEC9E49EFD039C53B623D9E8AEC.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\">Fair Processing Notice Autum 25<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Update 17 August 2026 West Alvington C of E Academy Primary School: closure of nursery Following consultation and a significant change application by the academy trust LAP SW, the proposal to change the age range of West Alvington C of E Academy School from 2-11 to 4-11 resulting in the closure of the nursery provision [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":9539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"consultation_tags":[37],"district":[36],"class_list":["post-10505","consultation","type-consultation","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","consultation_tags-education-and-schools","district-south-hams"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations\/10505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/consultation"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10505"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations\/10505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10715,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations\/10505\/revisions\/10715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"consultation_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultation_tags?post=10505"},{"taxonomy":"district","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/district?post=10505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}