Statutory Notices to open a new school by amalgamating Christ Church C of E Infant School and Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries

Closed 12 Oct 2020

Opened 14 Sep 2020

Feedback updated 10 Nov 2020

We asked

Do you agree with the proposal to create a new school, amalgamating Christ Church C of E infant school and Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries?

You said

  • The majority of respondents did not agree with the proposal (63%)
  • 32% of all responses were from parents of pupils currently at both schools
  • The majority of parents of pupils at Christ Church C of E Infant School disagreed with the proposal (68%)
  • The majority of parents of pupils at Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries agreed with the proposal (58%)
  • Some respondents commented on the new school being a church school with 29 in support of the idea and 40 against.
  • Out of the 70 responses from parents of pupils at both the current schools only 21 made comments in relation to the religious designation of the new school, 16 were for the school being a Church of England school and 5 were against.

We did

On 10 November 2020 the Leader of the Council agreed the recommendations in the Leader of the Council Decision Meeting Report, to determine the statutory notices and that work should commence to close the existing infant schools on 31 August 2021 and open the new school on 1 September 2021

Reasons for recommendations:

Both Christ Church C of E Infant School and Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries have experienced a decline in admissions in recent years. This has meant there has been a surplus of places and the school budget has reduced as school budgets are based on the number of pupils on roll, in the schools. Forecasts are showing that whilst pupil numbers are expected to increase in more urban parts of Runnymede, they are not expected to increase in Virginia Water and Englefield Green.

The new infant school would work closely with the local junior school, St Jude’s C of E Junior School, with potential for a more formal partnership in the future.

The three schools share similar values and educational expectations, having worked closely for a number of years as part of a wider informal collaborative partnership of Church of England schools and schools affiliated with the diocese. Each school is rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted. By amalgamating the two infant schools, opportunities for further joint working with St Jude’s Junior School are offered in a more cost effective and strategic manner than at present with two separate infant schools. This will, in turn, make the school more sustainable in the long-term.

The educational vision of the new school is to build an outstanding school that meets the needs of children aged two to seven years in the community it serves.

This proposal is supported by the governors of Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries, Christ Church C of E Infant School and St Jude’s C of E Junior School. The result of the amalgamation and continued collaboration with St Jude’s will be that there will be provision for 60 places for children in newly amalgamated infant school in Englefield Green from reception to year two matching the Published Admission Number (PAN) of 60 year 3 places at St Jude’s Junior School.

Overview

Surrey County Council, in partnership with the Guildford Diocesan Board of Education and the Governing Bodies of Christ Church C of E Infant School and Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries, is proposing to open a new school by amalgamating the two schools into a single institution on the Englefield Green site from September 2021 

As Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries is already affiliated with the Diocese, and Christ Church C of E Infant School and St Jude’s C of E Junior School are already Voluntary Aided C of E schools, the three schools’ Governing Bodies and Leadership Teams have proposed that the new school will be a voluntary aided C of E school. This will provide children with a consistent primary education offer from reception to year 6 by creating one infant school with opportunities for  a stronger and more effective partnership with the local junior school St Jude’s C of E School.  

Following the legal framework to amalgamate the two schools, we are proposing the closure of both of the existing schools in order for a new voluntary aided school with religious character to be opened.  

Therefore in order to amalgamate Christ Church C of E Infant School and Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries: 

  1. Surrey County Council and the governing body of Christ Church C of E Infant School are proposing the closure of Christ Church C of E Infant School 

  1. Surrey County Council and the governing body of Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries are proposing the closure of Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries 

  1. The Guildford Diocesan Board of Education is proposing the opening of a new voluntary aided school with Church of England character under section 11 of the Education and Inspection Act 2006 on the site of Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries. 

The result would be a new Voluntary Aided Infant School opening on 1 September 2021, accommodating pupils from Year R to Year 2. The school would have a PAN of 60 in Year R and continue the nursery provision currently provided by Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries.  

Surrey County Council, the Diocese of Guildford and the Governing Bodies of Christ Church Infant School and Englefield Green Infant School would like to know what the community thinks about this proposal. The consultation will open on Monday 14 September.  

An informal consultation was published from 22 January to 26 February (please see related documents for the detailed proposal and consultation responses analysis). Please note that the proposed timeline was delayed due to the impacts of covid-19 and a decision was taken to pause statutory notices in March 2020. We are now re-issuing the statutory notices with 1 September 2021 as the revised proposed date for the opening of the new school.  

We held two public meetings at the beginning of the year and published a Q & A document based on the questions raised. Due to current restrictions to protect safety and to ensure equal opportunities in asking any further questions we will not hold further public meetings but ask that you submit any questions to schoolorg@surreycc.gov.uk and we will publish a further Q & A document on this page. 

 

 

Why your views matter

We are now undertaking a formal consultation on this proposal to close Christ Church C of E Infant School and Englefield Green Infant School and Nurseries and open a new voluntary aided Church of England School. The Related Documents below contain the detailed proposal and published Statutory Notices (full and short versions) 

Please let us know what you think about the proposals 

- either by completing the Online Survey 

- or by using the response form in the Related Documents below. 

The deadline for submitting your response to the Statutory Notices is on Monday 12 October. 

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Jane Keenan at Surrey County Council, Education Place Planning team

As an alternative, please email any questions to our schoolorg@surreycc.gov.uk and we will respond accordingly

Areas

  • Runnymede

Audiences

  • Young people
  • Children in care
  • Parents
  • Teachers
  • Councillors, MPs
  • Children with disabilities
  • Headteachers

Interests

  • Schools
  • 0-5 year olds
  • 6-11 year olds
  • Commissioning
  • Parents and families
  • Staff