Proposed changes to St Mary's Fields Infant School

Overview

About the school

St Mary’s Fields Infant School is a community school providing education for 3 – 7 year olds. The school was inspected by Ofsted in April 2010, followed by an interim assessment in February 2013 and both were judged to be good.

The Proposal

The proposal is to change the age range of St Mary’s Fields Infant School to become an all through primary school (3 – 11 years). The proposal is being led by the city council and supported by the governing body.

The governing body wish to make this change as they and the city council believe this will offer the highest quality educational experience for all children.

Before any decision is made by the city council, we would like to hear your views on the proposal. We believe that the expansion we are proposing will provide the pupils, parents and members of the local community with excellent provision.

When are the changes proposed to happen?

If, after consultation, the city council agrees to make changes, they are proposed to take effect from September 2014. To accommodate the increase in pupil numbers, it is proposed to construct a new junior block consisting of: eight classrooms; new hall; and welfare facilities, adjacent to the existing school.

The proposal is designed to ensure there is minimum impact and disruption for the school, pupils and their families.

What are the benefits?

• Children will benefit from not having to transfer schools at the end of key stage one. They will not need to learn new procedures and will already be familiar with the staff across the school.
• The climate for learning and personal development will be better as children are nurtured from three years of age up to when they are ready for secondary school.
• The children will benefit from opportunities to work collaboratively with younger and older children.
• Further opportunities for recruiting and retaining well qualified staff, leading to more high quality teaching and learning.
• Improved support and professional development opportunities for teaching staff to enable them to develop their practice across the full primary age range.
• Greater purchasing power and increased value for money – for example the purchase of specialist services.

What would happen to admissions for Year 3?

If the proposals are agreed by the city council, then the pupils currently in Year 2 would not need to complete an application form for junior transfer. The pupils would remain at St Mary’s and automatically move from Year 2 to Year 3.

Public Meeting

Two public meetings regarding the proposal will be held:

Date: Thursday 21st November 2013

Time: 2:00pm and 6:00pm

Venue: St Mary's Fields Infant School, Heyworth Road, Leicester, LE3 2DA

At each meeting you will be able to hear from council officers and senior staff from the school. After a short presentation you will be able to ask any questions you may have. The meeting should last about 45 minutes.

The meeting is mainly for the parents and carers of pupils but school staff and their representatives, governors and young people may also attend, although dedicated meetings for these groups will be held during the consultation.

Responses to this consultation can me made online using the Online Survey link below, or by post using the attached response form.

What happens next

A number of people and organisations including pupils, parents/carers, staff and their representatives, governors, local schools, local MPs and the community will be consulted on these proposals during the consultation period of Monday 4th November 2013 to Sunday 15th December 2013.

All responses to the consultation will be presented to the City Council Executive to enable a decision on the way forward to be taken. If it is decided to proceed with the proposal, then a statutory notice will be published to seek formal representations. At the end of this period, the City Council Executive will determine whether to implement the proposal to take effect from September 2014.