{"id":10750,"date":"2026-10-22T11:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T10:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/?post_type=consultation&#038;p=10750"},"modified":"2026-10-22T11:11:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T10:11:10","slug":"monkleigh-primary-school-proposal-to-change-the-age-range","status":"publish","type":"consultation","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/consultations\/monkleigh-primary-school-proposal-to-change-the-age-range\/","title":{"rendered":"Monkleigh Primary School: Proposal to change the age range"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Proposal<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Governing Body of Monkleigh Primary School is proposing to lower the age range of the school from 2-11 years to 9 months-11 years, with effect from the 20 November 2026 following the completion of the consultation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This proposal would enable the school to extend its Early Years provision to include babies from the age of 9 months, creating a continuous educational journey from infancy through to the end of primary education.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Background<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Monkleigh Primary School has successfully secured a Department for Education (DfE) Nursery Capital Grant, with the support of Devon County Council, to develop provision for children aged 9 months to 2 years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The school currently provides education and care for children aged 2 years and above. The proposed change would allow the school to admit a maximum of 5 children aged between 9 months and 2 years within a dedicated baby room provision.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposal supports the growing demand for high-quality childcare in the local area and aims to provide families with greater access to early education and care from a younger age.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new provision would form part of the school&#8217;s existing Early Years offer and would be fully integrated into the school&#8217;s inclusive and nurturing approach.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Benefits of the Proposal<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Governing Body believes that extending the age range would:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increase the availability of high-quality childcare and early education within the local community.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support families by providing continuity of care and education from infancy through to Year 6.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enable earlier identification of children&#8217;s developmental and educational needs, allowing timely support and intervention.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthen children&#8217;s readiness for nursery and school by providing a seamless transition through the Early Years Foundation Stage.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhance opportunities for engagement with families from the earliest stages of a child&#8217;s development.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Capital Implications<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Any building adaptations and improvements required to accommodate the proposed baby provision will be funded through the DfE Nursery Capital Grant secured by the school.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposal:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Will not affect the capacity of the school.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will not alter the school&#8217;s Published Admission Number (PAN) of 15 for Reception admissions.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will not reduce teaching space available for existing pupils.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will not place additional pressure on current classroom accommodation.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Staffing and Safeguarding<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Appropriate staffing arrangements will be put in place to meet all statutory requirements for the care and education of children aged 9 months to 2 years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The baby provision will operate in accordance with:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requirements.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ofsted regulations.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>School safeguarding policies and procedures.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Relevant health and safety guidance.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Consultation Process<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Government has recently simplified the process for a maintained school to extend the age range to create school-based nursery provision. The Government has made this change to support their commitment to create or expand school based nurseries in light of the increased entitlements to early years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The process to establish a school based nursery through the extension of the school age range includes a period of consultation followed by a decision at a Full Governing Body meeting.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Governing Body welcomes comments, observations and questions from parents, carers, staff, local residents, community organisations and other interested parties.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All responses received during the consultation period will be carefully considered by the Governing Body before a final decision is made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Indicative Timetable<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Stage<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>Date<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Consultation opens&nbsp;<\/td><td>22 October 2026&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Consultation closes&nbsp;<\/td><td>19 November 2026&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Decision by Full Governing Body&nbsp;<\/td><td>20 November 2026&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Responding to the Consultation<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Responses to this consultation are welcomed and should be submitted in writing by the closing date.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please send comments to:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Headteacher&nbsp;<br>Monkleigh Primary School&nbsp;<br>Monkleigh, Bideford, EX39 5JY&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email: <a href=\"mailto:admin@monkleigh-primary.devon.sch.uk\">admin@monkleigh-primary.devon.sch.uk<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alternatively, responses may be submitted via the school office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When responding, please indicate whether you:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Support the proposal;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Object to the proposal; or\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wish to provide comments or suggestions.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Further Information<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If approved, the proposal will enable Monkleigh Primary School to extend its successful Early Years provision and offer high-quality care and education for children from 9 months to 11 years of age, supporting families and strengthening early learning opportunities within the local community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Governing Body looks forward to hearing the views of all stakeholders during this consultation period.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monkleigh-primary.devon.sch.uk\/page\/?title=GDPR&amp;pid=12\" rel=\"noopener\">GDPR Policies and Privacy notices<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Proposal&nbsp; The Governing Body of Monkleigh Primary School is proposing to lower the age range of the school from 2-11 years to 9 months-11 years, with effect from the 20 November 2026 following the completion of the consultation. This proposal would enable the school to extend its Early Years provision to include babies from the [&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":[30],"class_list":["post-10750","consultation","type-consultation","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","consultation_tags-education-and-schools","district-torridge"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations\/10750","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=10750"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations\/10750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10755,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations\/10750\/revisions\/10755"}],"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=10750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"consultation_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultation_tags?post=10750"},{"taxonomy":"district","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/haveyoursay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/district?post=10750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}