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

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?

• 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.

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.