Decision - St Luke's Infant and Junior School Merger

1.That the proposal to amalgamate St Luke’s Infant and Junior Schools be noted and endorsed.

2. That the publication of the required Statutory Notices to progress this proposal be agreed.

3. That the results from the statutory consultation process be referred to Cabinet Member Meeting on 2 March 2009 for decision. 

1.       The Council produced their Primary Strategy for Change in June 2008. This document reflected Brighton and Hove City Council’s policy of supporting the amalgamation of infant and junior schools where appropriate.

2.       The Council believes the advantages of the creation of all through primary schools are as follows:

·       Greater continuity in teaching, pupil care and development under a single head teacher and teaching staff.  It is very important to ensure continuity in planning the curriculum across the stages of education so that pupils make the best possible progress in learning.

·       The school could offer a greater range of teaching skills, including the opportunity to appoint curriculum co-ordinators with the time to oversee the effective teaching of individual subjects across the whole 4–11 age range.

·       Greater flexibility that a 4–11 school has in organising classes, deploying teachers and support staff and using resources, including buildings, more effectively.

·       Closer contact with parents over a longer period of time and covering the full span of the children’s primary education.

·       Practical advantages to parents’ e.g. same staff development days, the same school policies relating to home links, uniform, codes of conduct etc.

·       Transfer to a different school environment after three years or less of schooling might be seen as an unnecessary disruption to pupil’s sense of security and well being.  A positive feature of 4–11 schools is the social interaction between younger and older pupils.

3.       The Proposal will create one larger school from two.  However the schools currently operate from this one building at present, the infant school has a separate entrance and playground from the junior school and there is no intention to change this as a result of the proposal.    

1.       The alternative option is to leave the schools as separate infant and junior schools.