This article looks at way the plans of the government to invest £320 million to fund an initial 30 free schools including some grammar schools in the life of this parliament, as well as helping with the pre-opening capital costs of some of the remaining 110 free schools due to open later might impinge on Kent and Medway. The investment is on top of the current commitment to 500 new schools.
With all new schools being required to be Free Schools under current legislation, most of this money should be targeted at areas where there is most pressure on provision, although until now this has not always been the situation. One can only hope that government will work more closely with Local Authorities in the future to ensure that new schools are only provided where they are needed.
There are clear areas of present interest in Kent for this limited extra funding. However, on the scale of the investment one can see no more than one or two of the following being taken forward: a possible new grammar school in Herne/Bay Whitstable; additional grammar provision to meet the expanding pressure from London families for places in North West Kent and now Medway grammars; the limited provision of grammar school places in the Wealden area ; the single sex-grammar school annexe in Sevenoaks; the strange proposal to turn Meopham School into a grammar; a range of non-selective pressure areas where new schools are planned (previous funding) or could make sense; together with Primary and Special Schools in a number of areas. Then as always there is Medway…..
I will shortly be publishing my annual survey of oversubscription and vacancy levels in Kent and Medway secondary schools following allocation this month, identifying key pressure points more closely. My recent article on secondary school allocations identified some of these, but this article specifically addresses some of the possibilities for new schools, with many priorities already addressed in the Kent School Commissioning Plan 2017 – 2021. The figures look far more conservative than the initial statement, so it is be unlikely that Kent will only benefit from one or two extra allocations in the next few years, although others of the possibilities below may already be covered by the alternative forms of capital funding.
You will find my initial thoughts on several of the grammar school possibilities here (including expanding the Sevenoaks Annexe to admit boys and a Coastal Grammar at Herne Bay/Whitstable expanded here) and other secondary possibilities below. At present I would refer browsers to the Commissioning Plan for details of proposed new primary and Special school provision, but plan to cover this shortly.
Meopham School as a grammar????? To date the Swale Academies Trust has not withdrawn this ridiculous proposal, but would government actually be foolish enough to back it?
Three of these in one sense are not new places at all, replacing failed and closed schools: Chaucer Technology College, Canterbury; Oasis Hextable Academy, Sevenoaks - but close to Dartford; and Pent Valley, Folkestone. In Maidstone the new school will put another unpopular school at risk.
The Plan also includes a need for further new schools in Ashford (2022); Gravesham (2019); Sittingbourne (2019); Thanet (2019); and Tunbridge Wells (2018!)
Gravesham will need 7 new forms of entry by 2019. There appears little scope for enlargement of current schools which is continuing to happen in most Districts, so this should equate to a new school.
Sittingbourne is seeing considerable pressure on places, although there are vacancies at the unpopular Oasis Sheppey Academy, so a new school would be welcomed by many, KCC forecasting a need for 4 FE in the town by 2019.
Tunbridge Wells has an urgent need for a new 6 FE non-selective Free School in by 2018 (!) as identified by KCC, so there is a massive issue in providing a site by then. The likelihood is that if a sponsor can be found it will need to open in temporary premises, as all the other current secondary Free Schools in Kent have begun their existence.