Belleville School Expansion:
Questions from concerned parents

Proposal to permanently expand Belleville Primary School from a three form to become a four form entry:
Questions from concerned parents

1. Rationale for Belleville
2. Overall Wandsworth wide strategy
3. Benefits versus costs
4. Research on the issue of size of primary schools
5. Funding

1. Rationale for Belleville

Governors’ role and responsibilities

The Governing Body of Belleville Primary School have been asked to respond to a request by the London Borough of Wandsworth Local
Education Authority on a proposal permanently to expand the School from three form entry, at present, to become four form entry.

This process of consultation with the LEA is not about a long term strategy to ensure appropriate provision of primary school places for the Borough. Instead it focuses solely on the expansion of Belleville Primary School. The role of the Governors is absolutely to act solely in the best interests of the School.

Belleville Primary School is currently a thriving, successful and award winning school with excellent facilities, high educational standards,
involved and committed parents and a strong, inclusive ethos. The Governors’ duty, in responding to this request, is to maintain and further to develop those standards for the benefit of the School and its pupils.

The decision to discuss the merits or otherwise of a 4FE without sharing details of the planning process and the extensive building work that will result is unacceptable. It is impossible to divorce the two and an indication of the required works must be made clear to all affected stakeholders.

Consultation

The consultation with parents, to date, has been perceived as rushed and lightweight, with insufficient information provided to enable proper consideration of the issues. Before responding should the Governors:

• consider issues raised at the public meeting which took place on 2 November

• review feedback from the Governors’ questionnaire (as yet not been made available to parents).

• take into account feedback received individually from parents.

• consult with other stakeholders including pupils, local residents and other schools.

1. Can the Governors be satisfied that the appropriate levels of funding and project management to successfully deliver a four form entry school is in place?

2. Have planning issues, which may impact on the deliverability of the project been adequately explored by the LEA?

3. Are the Governors assured that there will be no material detrimental impact upon the School?

4. Will existing interior and exterior resources be protected?

Governors’ vote

Parents are frustrated by the lack of information provided by the Council and the Governing Body. We understand that the Governors will take a deciding vote on the issue of expansion on 19 November. We would like to pose the following questions:

1. Will there be a vote on the 19 November?

2. What is the motion? Should the Governors be considering taking separate votes on:

• taking additional ‘bulge’ years (in 2010, 2011, 2012) prior to the completion of the building works in 2013?
• permanent expansion?

3. Is it a secret ballot?

4. Is two days allowing enough time to process the feedback from the Governors’ questionnaire?

5. Should the Governing Body not consider postponing the vote to a later date when it has had enough time to properly consider the feedback from parents.

2. Overall Wandsworth wide strategy

Catchment area – how big is this problem really?

The catchment area is one of the key drivers in focusing on Belleville for
expansion as it is well documented that the catchment area at 1st
allocation of places in 2009 went down to 350yds.

1. But where did it end up at final allocation – using only the original 3 forms?; and after the bulge 4th form allocation?

2. Where was it for the previous 5 years in September – on initial allocation?; and where did it end up?

3. Where is the catchment area now for current pupils in years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6?

4. How full is Belleville now? Do we need 4FE all the way through or just for the first 2-3 years?

5. What are the demographics for the area?

6. Does the Council have any relevant data on the local demographics for SW11 6 and have they created trends and forecasts to understand the nature of demands for primary school places over time?

7. How many children are there in the area – and what age are they?

8. At what age do children typically leave the area?

9. What are the current birth rates in the area?

10. How many are state educated and how many private?

11. How many state and private primary places are there in the area?

12. What is the trend and forecast on all the above?

13. Based on the above forecasts, what do we need to satisfy the demand for Primary School places in this area in 2010-2016?

Impact on other local schools – Council long term strategy

1. Is Belleville’s expansion a quick fix vs long term strategy for the area?

2. Has research gone into the potential impact on other schools in the area from the Belleville expansion?

Other local schools contacted by parents are not full and lose children to Belleville. Head teachers at these schools believe that expanding Belleville will be detrimental to their future.

3. If local existing resources were fully utilised and the school entry process was better managed would we still have an issue?

4. Could John Grove’s expertise be used to spearhead local schools’ improvement?

5. Are these schools significantly worse than Belleville or is there a parent perception issue as highlighted by the Council at the meeting on the 2 November?

6. What is the optimal long term strategy for providing the best possible primary school care for the maximum number of children in SW11 6?
Is it to enlarge the best school(s) or improve the worst?
Are 1-2 super schools the answer or would 5-6 outstanding smaller schools be better?

7. Is there an alternative that the Council is seriously considering? ie Vine School (1FE) on Forthbridge Rd which will be empty in Sept 2010.

Nationwide issue

1. Are we being forced to help out the council/government which has made inadequate provisions for primary school children nationwide and in particular this area? (which is particularly heavily populated with families with young children, hence Nappy Valley)

2. Are these not questions that the Governors have wanted to ask themselves? If not why not?

3. Benefits versus costs

The benefits versus the costs of expansion for Belleville

There is a concern that the alleged benefits to the school (in terms of resources and infrastructure) are (i) being exaggerated and (ii) are not being weighed properly against the disadvantages of expansion. Please itemise the actual advantages (as opposed to those things that are needed to accommodate the extra pupils).

Benefits?

1. Toilets - parents have been asking for improvements to the toilets for 5 years. The PTA has offered funds to improve them. The school's position has been that the toilets are not a priority. Please explain why the toilets are now a priority? Please also explain whether you think the toilets could be improved with money from the PTA (plus additional fundraising and other assistance from parents)?

2. Classrooms - the additional classrooms proposed are needed only if Belleville expands. Are current classrooms inadequate for the school? Was the school not happy with its classrooms prior to expansion talks?

3. Larger hall and dining room - the hall/dining room facilities have been put under increased pressure with the additional intake of pupils in 2009. How will these facilities cope with the growing population of the School prior to the completion of the larger hall and dining room in 2013?

4. Lifts and ‘other external facilities’ - is the school currently suffering materially from a lack of lifts and what are the ‘other external facilities’ that the council refers to?

5. More money for good teachers - is it not true that the school has great teachers and enough teachers at the moment? Are the teachers currently underpaid?

6. Improvements to nursery - why is this a priority now when it hasn't been before? Are the current nursery facilities not already good and popular? Are you not concerned that nursery children will not have own protected space but will have to integrate with the rest of the school? What is current area of outside space dedicated to the nursery? What is the proposed area for the new nursery.

Costs

1. Playground space - currently falls below recommended limits per pupil. [The proposed increase is 7% to deal with an increase in pupils of 31%] Why is the even greater loss, short term and long term, of playground space not a major concern?

2. SEN provision - Provision is currently inadequate, with long waiting lists. This can have a serious impact on the rest of the pupils in a class, not to mention the struggling individuals and their families who do get the support necessary. These children are statistically much more prone to become victims on the playground (bullying and otherwise) and are more vulnerable, causing increased attention from teachers and staff to be drawn from the rest of the pupils.

3. Staggered playtimes - were resisted in the past due to the noise that it creates for those in class; why is this now not a concern?

4. Increased traffic - could you set out what traffic information you have considered and what assessment you have made of the existing congestion and parking problems, or the effect of the additional traffic, in Belleville and Wakehurst Roads (and other surrounding roads) which would arise from increasing the school’s population by 31%. This point applies equally to the short term traffic that construction work would entail?

5. Safety around drop off/pick up - are you not concerned by the health and safety problems that will be caused by staggered drop off and pick up when parents, carers and siblings have to wait longer around the school gates?

6. During the construction phase - how have you been satisfied that noisy work will never disrupt study? How have you been satisfied that dirt and pollution from the works will never affect the pupils, some of which are asthmatic?

7. School-wide social activities - events such as the school fayre are already overcrowded. How will you deal with these events with 850+ pupils in order to ensure that a sense of community is not lost?

Looking at the pros and cons in the round, is it not the case that some ‘benefits’ directly relate to the expansion, that we could achieve some of the benefits on our own and that better toilets and a larger hall don't outweigh the problems that come with a larger school nor the drastic loss of playground space per pupil.

8. How, specifically, have you been satisfied that the benefits outweigh the costs?

4. Research on the issue of size of primary schools

Research into the educational impact of the size of primary schools

A significant number of parents have raised serious concerns over whether Belleville can maintain its high educational standards and pupil wellbeing as a 850+ school. Further concern has been raised that neither the council nor governing body has made reference to any research on the issue of size of primary schools.

A recent (2007) and comprehensive (US, EU, UK and Irish) review of all available research on the issue of primary school size was undertaken by Dublin City University. We are not aware of any other report as recent or comprehensive. The full report is attached (See Appendix 1). We refer you to the report's conclusion on page 28. On the issue of size the conclusion is as follows [we have included the source reference for each point]:

“There is no doubt that most of the literature available on the issue of school size and educational impact suggests that small schools are more beneficial for the following reasons:

• Student achievement in various standardised tests is greater in smaller schools
(Howley 1994, Wasley et al. 2000, Nathan and Febey 2001)

• Student participation in school life including extra-curricular activities is greater
(Monk 1992, Overbay 2003, Meier 1995, Cotton 1996, Irmsher 1997, Lawton 1999)

• The school climate is more positive and students have a greater sense of belonging
(Cotton 1996, Overbay 2003)

• Students have better attitudes towards their school and teachers
(Lee and Loeb 2000, Nathan and Febey 2001)

• Students form better interpersonal relationships with their peers and their teachers
(Cotton 1996, Dunne 2000, Overbay 2003, The PricewaterhouseCoopers 2003)

• Student behaviour is improved with fewer serious incidents of disruptive behaviour
(Nathan and Febey 2001, Meier 1996, The Report Card on American Education 2001)

• Teachers' attitudes towards their work and students is more positive
(Klonsky 1995, Lee and Loeb 2000, White 2005, Cotton 1996)

• Parents are more involved and more positive about smaller schools
(Walberg 1991, Cotton 1996, Schneider et al 2000).

The available literature favouring large school cites the following advantages:

• Their ability to provide a wide and varied curriculum
(Irmsher 1997)

• Students from advantaged backgrounds perform well in larger schools
(Frisdkin and Necochea 1988, Howley 1995)”

Within the 28 page report there are a range of subtle arguments and views. Clearly not every study referred to in the report comes to exactly the same conclusions. It is also clear that there are many other factors that influence educational standards beyond school size. However, it seems impossible to deny the report's conclusion that there are many more disadvantages than advantages to having a large school.

In light of this comprehensive report and its conclusion, the council and the governors need to answer the following questions:

1. Are you both aware of this study?

2. What research do you both have which could cast doubt on the clear conclusions of this report?

3. How do you both propose to maintain an outstanding educational record if Belleville expands to 850+ pupils? Specifically, what plans do you have to mitigate against the nine areas in which the report says large schools are more likely to be deficient?

4. Many of the ‘downsides’ in the report are not about educational standards and, instead, relate to pupils' sense of wellbeing, pupils' attitude to school and the school as a community. Why have neither of you addressed these crucial issues in detail?

5. What additional plans do you have to address the particular challenges posed by long periods of construction on site?

5. Funding

Funding Issues

At our meeting at school on Monday 2 November Adrian Butler told us that the Council do not currently have the funds for the proposed expansion but have made a submission to the Department of Children, Families and Schools (DCFS). As things stand no government department has an agreed budget from the Treasury beyond March 2011, so unless the DCFS has the money available and unallocated within their current budget, DCFS will not be able to make this commitment until after the next public spending round which is unlikely to be until after the general election next year. If additional children are accepted into the school and/or building work (including temporary structures) is started prior to funding being ring-fenced for the entire project, there is a very real risk that plans will be reversed at a later date when adequate funding is unavailable and Belleville will be left with ‘bulge years’ and less than adequate physical accommodation.

Supporting Evidence: Extract from Report on Primary Capital Programme: February 2009:

‘Primary Capital programme funding for 2009/10 of £3.808m has already been approved by the DCSF. Further PCP funding of £6.187m for 2010/11 will be released when the Council’s PCP is fully approved. This is expected within the next 2 months. Clearly, any PCP funding beyond that date is uncertain.’
(Note: This is funding for all council plans across the Borough not for Belleville’s expansion).

1. When the Governors write to the Council to express the results of their vote on the expansion proposal what will they say about the circumstances in which the school will or will not accept an additional 30 children (ie. A four form entry) in 2010?

2. What assurances will the Governing Body require from the Council to guard against the risk of the project being abandoned or redirected midprocess and the school being left with temporary structures and arrangements?

3. Will the school be required to fund some of the costs of the proposed building works from within existing budgets? If so what will be cut from existing plans to release this money?

The Council’s Primary Capital Programme documentation (June 2008) states ‘Guidance from the DCSF on the PCP is that it would be normal practice for the Governors to provide a Governor’s contribution of 10% of the cost of any capital building scheme.’

Anything cut from existing provision/plans are disadvantages to this proposal against which benefits must be offset.

How is this proposal compatible with the DCFS’s Primary Strategy for Change?

The DCFS’s Primary Strategy for Change states that: ‘Decisions will have to be taken so that the investment helps the schools and children that need it most.’

1. On what criteria does Belleville need help more than other local schools?

The Council’s own Primary Capital Programme documentation from June 2008 (see Appendix 2), published just over a year ago, makes no mention of Belleville as a priority for expansion but lists Broadwater, Alderbrook, Trinity St Mary’s, St Michael’s Hotham and Granard and highlighted the areas of the Borough that most urgently require permanent additional places as Southfields, West Putney and Tooting. Again in February 2009 (see Appendix 3) there was no suggestion of any requirement for Belleville to expand in addition to other schools where planning for expansion was well advanced.