Consultation on a prescribed alteration to expand the size of St Laurence VA (RC) Primary School, Cambridge

Not quite within King's Hedges but I know this will affect a great many people both in King's Hedges and Arbury. The County Council has started a consultation about an alteration to the current capacity of the St Laurence Primary school on Arbury Road.

The increase represents approximately a 30% increase in capacity.

The text below comes from the consultation letter;

"Cambridgeshire County Council receives data annually from the National Health Service (NHS) on the number of children who have been born in Cambridgeshire. This data informs the pupil forecasts produced by the Council for individual schools. The Council has identified significant forecast pressure for school places in the City of Cambridge by September 2012. There is also a desire to secure additional Roman Catholic school places in the City.


In order to manage the number of additional children and the number of places available the Council is proposing to expand the size of St Laurence VA (RC) Primary School by increasing the Published Admission Number from 35 to 45. The current capacity of the school is 245, while the current number of pupils registered at the school is 240. The proposed new capacity will be for 315 places.


The Council has developed proposals with the Headteacher and the Governing Body to provide additional accommodation at the school. The scheme has been developed to fit into a space so as to have minimal effect on existing accommodation and playground areas. The plans will be available at the school for you to view at a surgery on Monday 24 January 2011 from 3.00 to 5.00 pm. Members of the Governing and the Headteacher will also be available should you wish to ask questions about this proposal.


The Council is conducting this consultation in accordance with guidance produced by the Department for Education (DfE). Our aim is to;
- Consult widely with all interested parties
- To be clear about our proposals, who may be affected, what we are asking and our timescales
- To ensure our consultation is clear, concise and widely accessible


Subject to the completion of this consultation, Cambridgeshire County Council intends to issue a statutory notice as part of the five stage process that will lead to the change:
- Consultation with parents and stakeholders
- Publication of the statutory proposal
- A period for representations
- Decision by County Council Cabinet
- An implementation period


You are asked to send any feedback to me directly via email or post at the address above by Friday 18 February 2011.


Yours faithfully


David Clark
Assistant Education Officer"


The address for responding to the consultation is;


David Clark
Assistant Education Officer
Children And Young People's Services
Strategy and Commissioning
Infrastructure: School Organisation and Planning (SOP)
Box No: CC1209
2nd Floor B Wing
Castle Court
Castle Hill
Cambridge
CB3 0AP