Provision of primary school places in Reigate

Questions about Reigate Priory Junior School; current situation, safeguarding and Public Right of Way

1. Why can't the school remain on the current site?

The reasons for this are set out in detail in Annex 2 'why the school in its current form cannot remain at Priory Park', which was published as part of the 27 February 2024 Surrey County Council Cabinet Report.

2. Why can't the school be rebuilt on the current site?

This option has been explored in the past, led by the Department for Education (DfE). A wide range of surveys were undertaken as part of that process alongside the development of a presentation, which was delivered via a planning pre-application meeting held on the 9th of October 2020. The DfE's feasibility study concluded that the options for developing onsite were either not deliverable or not economically viable.

There may be potential to accommodate a smaller school at the existing site, which could be considered by the working group looking at all reorganisation options. This would likely require some wider reorganisation of school place provision in the Reigate area.

3. Why is it so challenging to re-provide the school on the existing site?

The heritage status of the Scheduled Monument and Grade I listed building, in the setting of a Grade II Registered Park and Garden makes modifications or building work extremely challenging and requires additional planning applications. Only 2.5% of listed buildings are Grade I. Due to the designations applied to preserve buildings that are of exceptional interest, any new proposals would have to meet much stricter design criteria than typical planning applications and be sensitive to the heritage status. In this case, the DfE have confirmed that, "We considered options for addressing the condition need at the current Reigate Priory Junior School site and our assessment was that planning and heritage requirements and other constraints meant that any development to the site would be challenging. We concluded that even if a deliverable solution were identified, it would be compromised and would not fully meet the school's long-term needs. The new accommodation will give children the best possible accommodation for their education."

4. Is there a Public Right of Way on the current Reigate Priory Junior School Site and if so, why has this not been moved?

There is a Public Right of Way (PROW) through the school site, which splits the site in two, with buildings on either side. Attempts to have this closed or re-directed have failed. Reigate Priory Junior School previously tried to object to the PROW and have this closed.

However, following a Planning Inspectorate review in 2015 of the definitive map modification order 2014 entitled 'The Surrey County Council Footpaths Numbers 632 and 633 (Reigate)' and associated planning permission for the gates (Reigate and Banstead Planning Reference P/08/01064/F), the Order was confirmed, and the school was subsequently required to comply with it and the respective planning conditions to maintain the PROW.

While a redesign of the site in its entirety may be able to resolve this issue and divert the right of way outside of a new school boundary it is considered that this is not able to be achieved as set out above.

There is more information on this in the Annex 2 document published as part of the 27 February 2024 Surrey County Council Cabinet report.

5. Are the potential safeguarding issues identified for Reigate Priory Junior School on its current site, the same as for any other school?

The school leaders continuously review and assess risks according to their safeguarding policy in the same way that all schools do. However, Reigate Priory Junior School faces more challenges to ensure children at the school continue to access education in a safe environment.

As with all schools there is a continuous need to ensure statutory compliance through regular assessment of Health & Safety and Fire Safety matters and mitigate any risks identified in accordance with regulations.

However, due to the age and condition of the building it is much more susceptible to such risks and therefore significant additional mitigations, including resources, are needed to meet this Duty of Care than in comparison with a similar sized school in a more modern building.

The school uses Priory Park, which is open to the public, as the sports pitches for the school. The school site sits on an area of land within Priory Park, which is used by the public and the right of way through the school. There is a low perimeter rail around some of the setting which poses potential safeguarding risk where staff supervision is needed to mitigate risks.

6. Reigate Priory is a significant building for Reigate, what will happen to the upkeep of the building if the school were to vacate?

Surrey County Council will continue to be responsible for the building and site as leaseholders but will work closely with its landlord, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, and relevant stakeholders, to find a suitable new use for the site in the future. No plans will commence until the future of Reigate Priory Junior School is determined.

7. Has Reigate Priory Junior School been marketed informally for sale or hire as a site to any interested parties?

There are currently no plans for the existing school site and buildings, should it be vacated Reigate Priory Junior School. We will not be making any formal plans for the future of the existing facilities until the future of the school is determined.

Questions about the setup of the working group to explore reorganisation options for schools in the primary planning area of Reigate

1. How was the working group set up and who decided who is on the group?

The working group was set up by Surrey County Council as an outcome of the Cabinet decision on 27 February 2024. A terms of reference for the Working Group was published as Annex 1 of the 27 February 2024 Surrey County Council Cabinet report.

Each school involved has different leadership and Governance depending on if it is part of an Academy Trust, a Voluntary Aided school, or a community school. It is important that decision makers for each school are represented on the group. There are 13 members of the working group. James Painter, Programme Director and Jane Keenan, Commissioning Manager, facilitate the group with support from a Commissioning Assistant. The rest of the group is made up of two representatives from each of the five schools.

Surrey County Council has also contacted other partners to become part of an advisory group. The advisory group is a virtual group who can be called upon for expert advice. There are no plans for the group to meet as it is expected that different members will have different interest and expertise in terms of proposals put forward by the working group. Additional members can join the advisory group at any time.

2. Is there an officer from Reigate & Banstead Borough Council on the working group?

Following the Cabinet decision on 27 February 2024, Surrey County Council has written to Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, inviting an officer to be part of the advisory group to offer specific expertise, experience or guidance to assist the working group in its considerations. The borough council is not represented on the working group as the core group is focused on education with representatives from all schools in the pupil planning area of Reigate.

3. Why are other schools such as Wray Common and Hatchlands Primary not included as members of the working Group?

The membership of the working group is set out in detail in Annex 1 of the February 2024 Cabinet Report. In summary, the membership includes all schools and trusts in the pupil planning area of Reigate.

Any changes proposed by the working group will directly impact schools in the school place planning area of Reigate. The changes may indirectly impact schools in neighbouring planning areas and those schools will be included as stakeholders and represented on the advisory group. Wray Common Primary School is part of Greensand Trust and Hatchlands Primary School is part of Every Child Partnership Trust. Both Trusts also have schools in the Reigate planning area and therefore also have direct links to the working group.

Currently, it is expected that there will be surplus places in the Redhill primary planning area. Therefore, expansions of schools in Redhill are not in scope as part of the working group. However, the working group can liaise with schools in the Redhill planning area and may consider changes to admission arrangements and/or utilising places in the Redhill planning area and other neighbouring areas.

All schools publish admission arrangements annually. The working group can liaise with other schools about admission arrangements. Admission arrangements are set by the admission authority for each school and any changes must comply with the admissions code.

4. How were members of the parent / carer reference group selected?

Our Insight Team issued an expression of interest to all participating schools. The responses were then reviewed by the Insight team. The participants were selected to ensure a wide representative sample of parents and carers from participating schools to input into the group.

There were 14 places allocated. There were no requests from parents of pupils at Reigate Parish Primary School. The 14 places were allocated as following:

2 parents of pupils at Reigate Priory Junior School (RPJS) only, 4 parents of pupils at RPJS and Holmesdale Community Infant School, 2 parents of pupils at RPJS and Dovers Green, 2 parents of pupils at Holmesdale Community Infant only, 2 parents of pupils at Dovers Green Infant School only, 2 parents of pupils at Sandcross Primary School.

In order for the parent / carer reference group to function effectively and to ensure that all participants are able to input, there is a limited capacity in terms of available spaces. The group met on 23 April and are arranging future meetings.

We encourage any parent / carer who applied and did not gain a place, to remain involved and continue to engage with us at the wider engagement events.

5. I'm not a member of any of those groups. How can I be involved?

We will continue to publish updated information and further engagement events on this website.

You can also email questions and ideas to reigateprimaryschools@surreycc.gov.uk

6. Why does the working group meet in private, and how do I find out about its work?

The working group is composed of representatives from schools and trusts in Reigate and it tasked to explore reorganisation options for schools in the primary planning area of Reigate.

The working group meetings are held in the same way as any business-as-usual council officer meetings. The group has committed to consider ideas from previous and current engagement with the public.

The working group, which met for the first time on the 20 March, has established ways for others to engage with them via this website, engagement feedback events the parent carer reference group and advisory group. The group will continue to engage with all stakeholders and share any formal proposals to ensure everyone has an opportunity to respond.

7. In the terms of reference for the working group what is meant by Significant Change (prescribed alterations)?

The Department of Education (DfE) publish statutory guidance for proposers and decision makers about opening, closing, or making organisation changes to local-authority-maintained schools.

Organisational changes include but are not restricted to; expansions, changes in age range, relocations, changes to specialist provision.

Guidance for community, voluntary and foundation schools is available here

Guidance for Academy Trusts is available here

Questions about what the working group could explore

1. What type of things might the working group consider?

The group are considering comments shared in the consultation (published in the consultation analysis) alongside their own ideas, they are considering what is possible against the evaluation criteria.

Some of these ideas include changing age ranges for Infant and Junior Schools to become Primary Schools, expanding existing schools, relocating Reigate Priory Junior School as a Primary School, re-building Reigate Priory Junior School as a smaller school on the current site.

There may be further ideas generated through engagement with the parent/carer representative group and wider public engagement. Ideas are likely to change and evolve as information becomes available from viability studies.

2. Is the working group only looking at the current school sites or can it consider other sites such as Woodhatch Place?

So far, the working group has taken the ideas generated in the recent consultation of the provision of school places in Reigate, as a starting point to develop re-organisation options for provision of sufficient school places in Reigate.

Initially the working group has commissioned viability studies to consider if sufficient school places can be delivered across the five schools and to see if additional provision or sites are needed. The working group can also consider the land at Woodhatch Place in line with the site search updated in August 2023.

3. Why is it not possible to expand Reigate Parish Primary School?

The working group have agreed it is not possible to expand Reigate Parish Primary School on the current site. Reigate Parish Primary School will remain involved in the working group as a school in the planning area and to consider any impacts of changes to other schools.

Reigate Parish Primary School was initially considered along with other Reigate primary schools by the working group, but due to limited space on-site, Surrey County Council has decided against conducting a viability study for it. This decision is based on the high probability that expanding the school to support the Reigate primary planning area reorganisation wouldn't be feasible. The school reached maximum capacity during its last expansion in 2016, and obtaining planning approval was difficult due to various challenges such as transportation, tree removal, and daylighting issues. Since the site is already at its maximum capacity, further expansion isn't recommended.

4. Will the working group consider impacts on road safety / air quality / congestion as part of its considerations?

The working group is tasked to have an education-focused discussion to explore reorganisation options for schools in the primary planning area of Reigate and to formulate recommendations based on initial viability studies.

While known environmental factors may be taken into account, additional assessments of road safety, air quality, and congestion would be included in the necessary considerations during the feasibility stage or subsequent planning proposals. These steps may only be undertaken after the Cabinet has convened to decide on the next steps, considering the recommendations of the working group and the outcome of the planning application. This is expected later in 2024.

5. What evaluation criteria will the working group use when reviewing the viability of existing site options?

The evaluation criteria which the working group will use when reviewing the viability of existing site options, is based on the 'Evaluation Criteria Information and Measures' which was appendix 1 of the working group terms of reference, a copy of which was published as annex 1 of the 27 February 2024 Surrey County Council Cabinet report.

6. How will the working group make sure there are enough school places in the pupil planning area of Reigate? In other areas birth rates are falling, is there a need to reduce primary school places in the area?

The Department for Education guidance describes the sufficiency duty in 'Making significant changes to an academy: January 2024 (applies from April 2024)'.

"Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to ensure there are enough school places available in their area for every child of compulsory school age (the 'sufficiency duty'). This is set out under section 14 of the 1996 Education Act. It is for local authorities, academy trusts and local partners to balance the supply and demand of school places, in line with changing demographics locally. The number of places available should be increased in response to need and reduced/repurposed where they are no longer required."

Details of the anticipated demand for primary school places in in the pupil planning area of Reigate and neighbouring areas is available as Annex 3 Updated Education Needs Analysis of the 27 February 2024 Surrey County Council Cabinet report

Following national trends, falling birth rates mean that the number of schools places needed is expected to fall in primary schools in most areas across Surrey over the forecast period. However, it is expected that there will be a sustained need for at least 300 places per year group across the schools in Reigate over the forecast period. There are currently 330 places per year group.

We currently have 11 forms of entry in Reigate. This means we have 11 classes per year group across all schools in the Reigate planning area. Our forecasts demonstrate that, moving forward, we think it is likely we will need at least 10 forms of entry. The forecasts include demographic trends, the birth rate and mid-year population estimates, and the effects of pupil movement trends (between schools, in and out of boroughs/districts/county etc.) as well as additional pupil yield from housing calculated from housing permissions and trajectories provided by the borough/district council.

7. The evaluation criteria mention accessible school places for pupils with additional needs. Will the working group consider creating additional specialist places as well as mainstream school places?

As an Education Authority, Surrey County Council has a duty to ensure that children have access to education that is safe, accessible, and fit for the future. Surrey County Council's guiding mission is no one is left behind. It is important that there is equity in inclusive accessible school places for all, across Surrey.

The working group's purpose is to explore re-organisation of mainstream primary school places in the pupil planning area of Reigate. The evaluation criteria published in Annex 1, stipulates a requirement for an increase in accessible mainstream school places for pupils with additional needs. Whilst it is not in the scope of the working group to create additional specialist school places the group will consider dependencies and collaboration across programmes and projects.

A current project to expand the Special Educational Needs Unit at Dovers Green Infant School from 16 places to 24 places for 4 to 7-year-olds is being delivered through the SEND Capital Programme. Any change to mainstream places proposed by the working group would need to align with the specialist provision at the school.

As stated in the Cabinet report regarding the SEND Capital Programme, there has been significant investment in additional state-maintained specialist school places in the last four years to enable children and young people to be educated locally to their families.

8. Will Reigate Priory Junior School be closed?

It has been clear from work to date that the intention of the Council has been to preserve Reigate Priory Junior School. The education consultation from 27 November 2023 to 21 January 2024 was not a consultation to close Reigate Priory Junior School. Closing a community school requires a statutory consultation and a council decision.

Whilst the closure of a school is not recommended, the working group can consider all options for the provision of primary school places in Reigate.

9. Can the working group explore the hybrid proposal which Reigate & Banstead Borough Council have said they support and is more than possible? Allowing the school to remain on site in a new / updated form on the Victorian and year 6 part of the site?

In February 2024 Surrey County Council agreed the timescales and scope for the working group as outlined in Annex 1 of the Cabinet report.

Proposals to retain Reigate Priory Junior School in its current form (5 Form entry) on its existing site utilising the Grade 1 listed building or scheduled monument are outside the scope of the working group agreed by Cabinet. It is not possible to identify a solution for Reigate Priory Junior School (RPJS) to remain as a 600-place junior school on the current site for the reasons set out in Annex 2 of the Cabinet report.

The scope agreed by Cabinet for the working group, could include looking at the potential for a smaller school at Priory Park as part of a wider re-organisation, and this would need to take full account of the limitations of the current site.

Questions about finances and funding

1. What are the stipulations concerning the use of Department for Education funding?

Through the Priority Schools Building Programme 2 (PSBP2) 2014, the Department for Education (DfE) identified Reigate Priory Junior School's current site as a site that requires significant improvements to ensure it meets the future demands and needs of pupils. The Department for Education has stated that it will fund a replacement school building, compliant with DfE design standards, if it is provided on an alternative site. This is worth £10.6m in funding.

It is for the DfE to clarify any stipulation concerning the use of DfE funding. Surrey County Council's understanding is that specific DfE funds could only be used for the reprovision of Reigate Priory School and not for any wider changes to school place provision in the Reigate Planning area at this time.

2. Will re-organising school places be financially achievable? Will it cost more to develop multiple sites in comparison to the option to re-locate Reigate Priory Junior School to Woodhatch Place?

The current viability studies are initial investigations to determine if and what proposals may be suitable to take forward for full feasibility. In relation to cost, the working group, when finalising its recommendations for Surrey County Council Cabinet, will need to ensure these recommendations meet the affordability parameters set out in the Evaluation Criteria. The Criteria stipulates that costs would have to be comparative to the estimated headline costs for delivery of relocation of the school to Woodhatch Place.

A copy of the evaluation criteria is contained within the 27 February Cabinet Report, Annex 1

3. Why has Cabinet approved up to £600,000 of funding for viability work?

Cabinet approved a maximum feasibility revenue fund of £600,000 for the working group. The current viability studies are initial investigations to determine if and what proposals may be suitable to take forward for full feasibility.

Questions about the education consultation which took place November 2023 to January 2024

You can find information and previous FAQs regarding the consultation here