Opening a new free school

The consultation was open from 6 November until 17 December 2023. The consultation is used to help formulate and finalise the local authority’s specification for a new school before its publication. 

This is not the formal statutory consultation which trusts are required to undertake under section 10 of the Academies Act 2010, which takes place during the pre-opening phase, i.e. after the trust has been selected

Consultees could provide feedback via smart survey, public facing drop-in event and via the school organisation email address.

Below is a summary of the feedback from all three feedback methods:

Key themes

• Support for wrap around care (before and after school clubs)
• General view school should have been opened in 2024
• Concerns with the school not being opened by 2026
• Essential that the school serves the development
• Sense of urgency for new school
• Perception that there are no school spaces currently available
• Concerns that the new school could negatively impact on existing schools pupil numbers
• Concerns about increased traffic the new school may create
• Parents want to be able to walk to the school
• Unhappy with the current choice of school places
• Preference for it to be a non-faith school
• Concerns that residents are currently driving to schools because of associated distances

Additional points received

• Suggestion the number of children generated from the housing will not impact on existing school provision until later than stipulated
• Proposal is an inefficient use of public funds. Existing schools could accommodate the additional children
• Important for the school to open from the outset for year groups to accommodate siblings
• Identified school is 35-minute walk
• Would like community use
• Welcomes that the school is opened as 210 initially
• Happy with the proposed catchment
• Wants community use, childcare from age two, non religious education preferred,
• All existing schools are CofE
• Sustainability is important
• Residents should be guaranteed a place at the new school
• Would be happy if school in the immediate vicinity is offered the temporary provision
• How would a shared catchment work
• Current lack of choice of schools

The online survey generated 163 respondents. The public facing drop in event received 13 consultees. Nine emails were received in the dedicated consultation inbox.

The smart survey did not identify the ‘type’ of consultee providing feedback, however from additional comments and gathering feedback from the drop in event, consultees ranged from:

• Member of Parliament
• Prospective trusts
• Existing schools in the immediate area
• Local Councillors
• New residents on the Wrexham Road development
• Existing residents
• Resident group associations
• Parents of children in existing schools
• Parents of children not yet in a school

The consultation was open from 6 November until 17 December 2023.

Consultees could provide feedback via smart survey, public facing drop-in event and via the school organisation email address.

Feedback received will help inform the next stages of the process.

Key themes

• Concerns the new school could negatively impact on existing schools pupil numbers
• Don't agree with shared catchment
• The school is needed to accommodate children from the new homes
• Alternative suggestion to increase existing schools capacity to provide additional provisions
• Existing schools can accommodate the new children with existing provisions
• Money should be spent on improving existing school buildings
• Build the school as soon as possible
• The area needs community / sports provisions
• A new school will eases current traffic problems as parents currently drive to other schools
• Additional secondary school provision should be considered
• Gorsthill school needs to be replaced

Additional points received

• 1 FE is more feasible from a trust perspective
• Appears that mostly younger people have purchased the houses on the development
• Reconsidered proposal in light of current demographics and educational landscape
• Is a new school sustainable in the long term
• Provision for two year old's would be good and meet new early years offer
• Concerns the school won’t be open for 2026
• Many families who move to the area will have means to travel to any of the local schools
• Current vacancies in existing local schools, a one form entry should be put in place to limit the impact and for a phased approach to be carried out towards the end of the decade
• Extremely needed, especially as the development increases
• Hopefully a new school will have a positive effect on traffic volumes around Little Sutton village as hopefully it will cater for the majority of children living on and within the new Housing development
• The Academy chosen should be one that focuses on education and the best for the children rather than just a business
• A new school is definitely required
• A purpose built school with good SEN spaces/environments is needed as an improvement on current offer
• High quality PE for all. All weather surfaces would be a valuable asset to any school and the benefits would be seen across the curriculum
• Pitches to also be used to build community relations
• Additional infrastructure needed to support all of the new builds in the area
• There is also a massive need for sports provisions for the local community
• Gorsthill school site would be a good site to use
• Already two schools within walking distance - do not believe another school is required
• My child attends a local primary, I feel the school is oversubscribed and struggles to manage the amount of children in the school so I think this is necessary and should go ahead as planned
• We don't need any more schools in Ellesmere Port
• We don't need any schools opening unless they can teach life skills that children need, provision for more forest schools and help to home school would benefit families especially children greatly in the area
• Challenging for families on new estate as choice of preferred schools is limited. Implementation of the project would be very beneficial and considered urgent
• Suggestion the number of children generated from the housing will not impact on existing school provision until later than stipulated

The smart survey did not identify the ‘type’ of consultee providing feedback, however from additional comments and gathering feedback from the drop in event, consultees ranged from:

• Prospective trusts
• Existing schools in the immediate area
• Local Councillors
• New residents of the development
• Existing residents
• Parents of children in existing schools
• Parents of children not yet in a school