Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Education & Windsor

To note the report and:

i)               Supports discussions around a potential bulge class at Datchet St Mary’s CE Primary School for September 2025.

ii)              Delays the opening of a new primary school at Chiltern Road, Maidenhead, until at least September 2026, and requests that this be reconsidered in Autumn 2024.

iii)             Requests that further places for junior age children are provided in Maidenhead using existing spare physical capacity.

iv)             Requests that proposals for temporary reductions in Published Admission Numbers are agreed with Windsor first and middle schools, to reduce the number of projected surplus places in the town.

v)              Requests that public consultation is carried out changes to the Royal Borough’s school admissions arrangements for September 2025, as set out in paragraph 5.7.

vi)             Requests that officers work with Alexander First School and the Ministry of Defence on plans to rethink education and community provision on the Broom Farm Estate in Windsor.

vii)           Requests further investigation of the potential to expand Churchmead School, in consultation with neighbouring local authorities.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i) Supported discussions around a potential bulge class at Datchet St Mary’s CE Primary School for September 2025.

ii) Delayed the opening of a new primary school at Chiltern Road, Maidenhead, until at least September 2026, and requested that this be reconsidered in Autumn 2024.

iii) Requested that further places for junior age children were provided in Maidenhead using existing spare physical capacity.

iv) Requested that proposals for temporary reductions in Published Admission Numbers were agreed with Windsor first and middle schools, to reduce the number of projected surplus places in the town.

v) Requested that public consultation was carried out for changes to the Royal Borough’s school admissions arrangements for September 2025, as set out in paragraph 5.7.

vi) Requested that officers work with Alexander First School and the Ministry of Defence on plans to rethink education and community provision on the Broom Farm Estate in Windsor.

vii) Requested further investigation of the potential to expand Churchmead School, in consultation with neighbouring local authorities.

Councillor A Tisi, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Windsor, introduced the report to Cabinet. She said that local authorities had a legal duty to ensure that they were able to provide an adequate number of school places for the borough’s pupils, in order to meet demand. She then offered some factual information on the current scenarios within each area of the borough, being Ascot, Windsor and Maidenhead. Birth rates remained quite low. Ascot looked reasonably steady in the short to medium term, Datchet & Wraysbury required more junior school places, more places were required in the South East of Maidenhead, but there were spaces in other areas within Maidenhead. She ended her submission by outlining the recommendations that had been put forward to Cabinet, with some further background information also being provided.

Lin Ferguson, Executive Director of Children’s Services, thanked Councillor A Tisi for her words and wished to add a few minor points. She said that there had been a lot of international migration within Maidenhead, potentially causing the minor issue in the South-East of the town. Secondly, Lin Ferguson said that discussions had occurred with the Headteachers of Windsor schools and to change the schooling system would be far too expensive.

Councillor Bermange said that it looked like from the report that there was currently no need for a school to be built on the Maidenhead Golf Course site and that school places could accommodate this potential influx of pupils. Councillor A Tisi confirmed this.

Councillor Del Campo, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health & Housing Services, wished to comment on the number of pupils who were coming to the borough to attend schools and praised the Ofsted ratings of these.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i) Supported discussions around a potential bulge class at Datchet St Mary’s CE Primary School for September 2025.

ii) Delayed the opening of a new primary school at Chiltern Road, Maidenhead, until at least September 2026, and requested that this be reconsidered in Autumn 2024.

iii) Requested that further places for junior age children were provided in Maidenhead using existing spare physical capacity.

iv) Requested that proposals for temporary reductions in Published Admission Numbers were agreed with Windsor first and middle schools, to reduce the number of projected surplus places in the town.

v) Requested that public consultation was carried out for changes to the Royal Borough’s school admissions arrangements for September 2025, as set out in paragraph 5.7.

vi) Requested that officers work with Alexander First School and the Ministry of Defence on plans to rethink education and community provision on the Broom Farm Estate in Windsor.

vii) Requested further investigation of the potential to expand Churchmead School, in consultation with neighbouring local authorities.