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APPENDIX 1
Coventry City Council
Education and Learning
One Strategic Plan
2020 - 2025
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Contents
1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3
1.1. Coventry’s Education and Learning Vision .......................................................... 3
1.2. Statutory Context ...................................................................................................... 3
1.3. Coordinated Strategic approach ............................................................................ 4
2 Key strategic priorities .................................................................................................. 6
3 Maintaining Available Capacity ................................................................................... 7
3.1 School Admissions .................................................................................................... 8
3.2 Home to School transport ........................................................................................ 9
4 Funding .......................................................................................................................... 9
5 Housing Developments ............................................................................................. 12
6 Providing School Places ............................................................................................ 13
6.1 School expansions .................................................................................................. 13
6.1.1 Partnership working ................................................................................... 14
6.1.2 Size ........................................................................................................... 14
6.2 New schools ............................................................................................................. 15
7.1. Characteristics of Coventry provision for children ............................................. 15
7.1.1 Academisation ........................................................................................... 15
7.2 Special Schools ............................................................................................ 16
7.3 Population Context ................................................................................................. 17
7.4 Early Years ............................................................................................................... 18
7.5 Primary Context ....................................................................................................... 20
8 Future Need ................................................................................................................. 21
8.1 Primary ...................................................................................................................... 21
8.2 Secondary ................................................................................................................. 24
8.3 SEND Provision ....................................................................................................... 28
8.4 Proposed Strategic SEN Plan ............................................................................... 36
8.4.1 SEMH Strategy ..................................................................................................... 36
8.4.2 Broad Spectrum/Autism ...................................................................................... 36
8.4.3 SEND programme 2020 onwards ...................................................................... 37
9. Post 16......................................................................................................................... 37
10. Alternative Provision (AP) ...................................................................................... 38
Appendices ...................................................................................................................... 40
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1.0 Introduction
1.1. Coventry’s Education and Learning Vision
In this context, the One Strategic Plan will help schools, parents, council staff, local
partners and stakeholders understand how Coventry City Council plans to provide school
places to ensure that all children and young people thrive in Coventry schools and settings
throughout their education, wherever they live.
This document sets out the principles underpinning school place planning; the ways in
which places will be delivered, the information used to inform this delivery, and the way
work is conducted to deliver high quality, accessible school places for all learners.
1.2. Statutory Context
Coventry City Council (CCC) has a legal duty under Section 14 of the Education Act 1996,
to ensure sufficient school places and fair, appropriate access to education. It is the
Council’s role to plan, commission and organise school places in a way that raises
standards, manages supply and demand and creates a diverse infrastructure. This enables
the Council to:
• ensure sufficient schools and places in a locality;
• secure sufficient early years & childcare places;
• ensure sufficient post 16 provision;
• provide appropriate education provision for children with special educational
needs and disabilities;
• promote high education standards;
• ensure fair access to educational opportunity;
• promote the fulfilment of every child’s education potential and
• promote diversity and parental choice.
Coventry’s Children and Young People 2018 plan sets out the outcomes which
organisations in Coventry will work together to deliver so they can provide the
best support possible for children, young people and their families.
There are four key priorities within the plan:
▪ Early help
▪ Be healthy
▪ Stay safe
▪ Education, training and employment
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With the Council being statutorily responsible for commissioning school places in all
schools, including Academies and Free Schools, these are considered equally in the City
Council’s planning of school places.
This strategy provides, for the longest possible planning horizon, until September 2023 for
Primary and September 2025 for Secondary, to ensure that need is anticipated and met in
a transparent, objective, cost effective and sustainable way. The purpose behind the One
Strategic Plan was to provide political leadership for an annual review and audit of the
school places being delivered.
1.3. Coordinated Strategic approach
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been established in order to ensure
partnership commitment between the City Council and Coventry Secondary Schools which
will support the strategic plan for the delivery of additional school places 2018/19 to
2024/2025. This approach will be rolled out to primary and special to mitigate or meet
demand through a partnership strategy.
This partnership commitment signifies a statement of intent to collaborate and work in
partnership to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and young people in
Coventry, ensure the sustainability of Coventry schools, and to enable the City Council to
meet its statutory obligations.
The MOU has established a partnership commitment concerning the below principles:
1. The Council and all Coventry schools have a shared interest in ensuring all pupils
have access to good quality local provision.
2. School organisation issues rarely affect schools in isolation; therefore, strong LA/
school partnerships are important to understanding the impact of school organisation
decisions.
3. A partnership approach is therefore required to create the strategic plan based on
a set of agreed partnership principles:
• collective moral purpose & accountability;
• openness & transparency;
• expansion & investment of existing schools where possible and relevant –
against agreed criteria – as set out in point 4;
• working with current partners and
• never knowingly undermining another school.
These principles will underpin the way Education Capital Strategy work together and how
the plan is created.
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4. A basic requirement of this strategy is that it ensures the right number of school
places to meet pupil’s needs, in the right locations, at the time they are needed.
Commissioning additional school places at existing schools will therefore be assessed
against the following criteria:
• Net Capacity- Education Capital Strategy will wherever possible seek to expand
schools in whole forms of entry;
• Current performance of school – LA or Ofsted categorisation. Guidance on
school organisation is clear that outcomes should lead to school improvement
and increased attainment levels;
• The location of the school relative to the expected pupil need. It is desirable for
schools to be at the heart of the community that they serve in order to provide
easy access to their facilities by children, young people and their families, and
the resident community;
• Current size of school – maximum 10 forms of entry and minimum 7 forms of
entry where possible;
• Popularity of the school. Education Capital Strategy will seek to commission
additional places, when needed, at schools with high levels of parental
preference in the locality, looking closely at first choices and those schools that
are oversubscribed;
• Physical ability of school to expand including any site or potential planning
constraints;
• Cost of expansion. It will be important to ensure that any proposals represent
good value for money and are in keeping with available capital funds. All school
buildings and estates in the City should be of the highest quality within the
resources available;
• Diversity of provision. Coventry has a broad variety of provision, with both
voluntary-aided, trust schools, in addition to a large number of academies of
various types. The LA seeks to maintain or increase levels of diversity and choice
for parents wherever possible. In considering school planning, the aim will be to
maintain the balance of denominational provision, unless parental preferences
via the admissions process provide evidence that change is required. In
considering places at voluntary aided schools the LA has a strong relationship
with the appropriate Diocesan and Church Authorities, and Education Capital
Strategy regard this partnership working as implicit to good planning;
• SEN/ Inclusion. Wherever possible any school changes should seek to promote
greater inclusion for those pupils having SEN and/or disabilities, by providing
specialist provision within /linked to mainstream schools or academies. The
benefits of this approach are that it; maximises the opportunity for children and
young people to be included within their local community, minimises journey
times to and from school and makes the optimal use of the revenue funding
available to support such individuals or groups and;
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• Governing Body/ Trustees support. Proposals will normally require careful
negotiation with schools and their governors to align aspirations for
development. Where proposals are subject to statutory notice processes,
Education Capital Strategy will ensure that all prescribed consultees have the
opportunity to have their say before any decisions are taken by the LA.
It is therefore intended to develop through this agreement, a spirit of co-operation between
the Council, governing bodies and school leadership teams that will help all parties to
achieve a fair and open way forward to meet the education needs of local families and their
children.
2 Key strategic priorities
Where possible, Education Capital Strategy will consult with all schools and decide upon
the most cost-effective way forward.
Education Capital Strategy are committed to ensuring all schools are kept informed with
regards to long term school planning. Education Capital Strategy will, where possible,
design buildings which enable schools to be flexible in the longer-term regarding use of
buildings and grounds.
Each year Education Capital Strategy will communicate to all schools our proposals for
new schools, expansions and the long-term demand by area. Schools will be invited to
comment and declare an interest in expansion.
Education Capital Strategy are committed, where expansions and funds allow, to address
the following areas
• Local places for local children
Education Capital Strategy are committed to providing school places for children in their
local community whenever possible.
• Removal of half forms of entry by increasing or decreasing (where
appropriate) schools PAN
In order to provide schools with stability when organising classes, Education Capital
Strategy will look to remove half forms of entry, where possible. A number of schools in the
City are operating with half forms of entry (e.g. admit 45 or other multiples of 15) this often
requires the school to organise into mixed age classes in order to provide financial viability
towards covering the cost of a full time teacher. Whilst it is possible to operate in this
manner, it is more challenging for teachers and can be unpopular with parents. The local
authority will look to remove half forms of entry where possible, particularly through
expansion programmes.
• Increase 1 form of entry (FE) to 2 forms of entry (FE)
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When expansion is required, if possible and appropriate Education Capital Strategy will
look to expand schools to 2 (FE) to provide better financial stability.
• Incorporate SEND facilities within mainstream schools
To make best use of education facilities and increase inclusion for pupils with Special
Educational Needs and Disabilities, Education Capital Strategy are developing schemes
to include SEND facilities within mainstream schools and expand capacity.
• Address safeguarding issues relating to buildings and grounds
Education Capital Strategy are committed to addressing any safeguarding within schools
relating to the school building or grounds and will address any issues identified in a timely
manner to ensure the safety of children in Coventry schools
• Address buildings defects and Equality Act noncompliance
Where funds allow, Education Capital Strategy will address any identified defects. All
school buildings in Coventry should be accessible to all and up to an equal standard.
• Addressing condition issues particularly those that are unsustainable in
terms of energy efficiency
Where funds allow, Education Capital Strategy will collaborate with the Climate change
and Sustainability team to address inefficient school buildings and support the City Council
Sustainability strategy.
3 Maintaining Available Capacity
Education planning areas are used by the LA to assess the supply and demand of school
places. The areas are proposed by the LA and agreed by the Education Skills Funding
Agency (ESFA). Any changes to planning areas must be agreed through this process.
Coventry City Council applied to change its planning areas in February 2018, these were
accepted and approved in April 2018. Please see attached appendices 1-4 which detail
the planning area boundaries and in which planning areas schools are sited. Whilst
Education use these areas to plan, there is recognition that the boundaries are not rigid
and there is significant movement across these boundaries as parental preference and
flexibility changes each year.
There is a need to maintain a certain amount of capacity within a given area to allow for
flexibility to meet parental preference as much as possible, enable in-year transfers and
allow families moving to an area to be able to secure a place at a local school or for each
of their children at the same school.
1
The DfE previously recommended that Local Authorities should retain between 4% and
8% capacity per planning areas as surplus to accommodate ‘In Year’ applications/growth.
1
The School Admissions (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 2012, Section 4.—(1) states that ‘No infant (Year
Reception, Year 1, and Year 2) class may contain more than 30 pupils while an ordinary teaching session is
conducted by a single school teacher.’
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This guidance lapsed in 2014, and now the DfE recommend that LA should monitor its own
capacity to reasonable levels. Within Coventry LA this figure is determined as 2% for
Secondary and aiming for 4% for Primary.
This is due to high levels of In-Year variance the city is experiencing. For the most part this
3-4% capacity will be measured within a planning area. However, Education recognise that
where there are planning areas with a low Published Admission Number (PAN) or
oversubscribed schools, 4% capacity may be unattainable or lead to issues with financial
viability in the school. It is also noted that due to the size and nature of the City, particularly
in relation to secondary pupils where freedom of movement is more accessible, if a
planning area is consistently oversubscribed it is unlikely to be able to maintain this level
of surplus capacity. Similarly, if a planning area contains less popular schools, the surplus
margin may be much larger. Therefore the 4% surplus will also be monitored as a city-wide
aggregate.
This policy has been factored in the planning and analysis set out further on in this strategy.
Current and forecast capacity and how it aligns to the maintaining capacity policy is
available within Appendix 3 (primary) and Appendix 4 (secondary).
3.1 School Admissions
All aspects of school admissions are based on the School Admissions Code. It governs
the way all schools set their admissions oversubscription criteria, ensures compliance with
local co-ordinated schemes, makes offers of places and allows for school admissions
appeals. It also places the local authority as a regulator for all other admission authorities
within its boundaries, with the expectation that the local authority will report those
admission authorities whose admission arrangements are not in line with the School
Admissions Code to the school’s adjudicator.
The School Admissions Code places a requirement on all local authorities to publish a ‘co-
ordinated scheme’ and manage the admissions process. This booklet is published and
made available to all parents, via the Council website, and sets out how to apply for a
school place for
• Primary (Year R)
• Junior (Year 3)
• Secondary (Year 7)
• University Technical Colleges (Year 10)
For all children, the authority will try to offer a place at the school listed first. Parents are
advised to read the admissions policies of all the schools requested so they can judge the
likelihood, or not, of being offered a place at the school they most prefer. When a school
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receives more applications than it has places available, Education Capital Strategy need a
fair and consistent way of deciding how to offer the places available.
3.2 Home to School transport
Coventry City Council provides home to school transport to pupils in accordance with
national legislation. In instances where a place at a school named as a parental preference,
cannot be offered to a pupil and the alternative place offered is above the distance criteria
set out below (or use of a walking route that is deemed ‘unsafe’ is required), CCC will
provide transport to the alternative school.
Pupils up until the age of eight: 2 miles
Pupils aged eight and over: 3 miles
Please click here for more information on Home to School Transport
4 Funding
The provision of additional school places usually requires Capital investment into the
school. There are currently several avenues for funding additional school places. This is
usually provided as a grant through the DfE or by requesting contributions from new
developments. The following section examines the different sources through which funding
can be claimed.
• Basic Need Grant funding
Capital allocations to meet projected shortfalls in provision are provided by the Education
Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to all local authorities based on the data provided in the
annual School Capacity return (SCAP).
2
This funding is required to help fulfil the Local
Authorities duty to make sure there are enough school places for children in their local
area. The level of funding is determined by the demand for school places in the city. This
return informs the ESFA of the expected change in pupil numbers over the next few years,
the current capacity of schools to meet those numbers and the planned changes to that
capacity. There is pressure on capital budgets for new school places across the country
and it is likely that allocations will continue to be limited for the foreseeable future. It is
important, therefore, to consider value for money in the process of commissioning school
places.
Historic Funding received
£14,665,000.00
19/20 Allocation received
£3,913,000.00
20/21 Allocation received
£6,237,000.00
2
The forecast pupil numbers methodology for the SCAP return can be found in Appendix 7.
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21/22 Allocation part-received
£23,733,503.95
22/23 Allocation expected
£12,853,000.00
Total Funding
£61,401,134.95
The Chancellor, in October 2019, confirmed details of the Spending Round. The Spending
Round focused on day-to-day departmental resource budgets for 2020-21 (as well as a 3-
year settlement for core schools’ resource funding as an exception). It did not consider
departmental capital budgets, as these have already been set for 2020-21. A full multi-year
spending review was due to follow in 2020, but due to the Global pandemic, this was only
carried out as an annual review on Basic Need and at the present time there is no
commitment to funding for a longer period. One practical consequence for local authorities
is that the DfE are not able to announce Basic Need allocations for places needed in 2021
onwards. This uncertainty will have implications for the way that local authorities plan and
deliver basic need projects.
3
• Section 106 (S106) funding / Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding
The SCAP return asks local authorities to provide forecasts of pupil numbers that exclude
pupils brought to the area by new housing development: there is an expectation that
provision for these pupils will be funded through contributions provided by the developers.
The ESFA expect the infrastructure required as a result of housing developments to be
mitigated by S106 funding/ CIL funding.
The Local Authority will seek to access funding from developers towards providing
additional education provision, through the expansion of existing schools or the opening of
new schools, when the predicted impact of a new housing development creates a shortfall.
Where new housing development creates a demand for school places in excess of those
available, the LA will work with developers to ensure that the appropriate contributions for
the provision of additional school places are given. Where a housing development yields a
large number of pupils and justifies new provision, it may be necessary to secure land. The
land would be used for education purposes, to safeguard the LA’s statutory responsibility
to provide sufficient school places.
This will continue to be achieved through Section 106 agreements. Education will seek the
maximum contribution from developers to support the provision of additional places that
Education Capital Strategy believe is proportionate to the impact of the development. It is
critical that developers make a financial contribution to school places as, without it, the LA
will be unable to deliver the required provision. Section 106 also includes asking for Primary
and Secondary SEN contributions to aid in commissioning additional special school places
3
A full copy of the letter received from Lord Agnew can be found Appendix documents
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as a result of the development. Contributions are requested fairly based on their proximity
to the development, all education types are considered and some rounding within the pupil
yield calculation may see an additional place be requested when rounded up to the nearest
whole pupil place.
4
Given the housing trajectory provided by the Local Plan as to how many dwellings the
Council plans to deliver the maximum contribution
5
that will be requested is as follows.
Funding
Received/Expected
in Financial Year
beginning
Total Primary
Contribution
Total
Secondary
Contribution
Total SEN
Contribution
Apr-19
£879,314
£680,739
£58,336
Apr-20
£2,332,623
£1,805,849
£154,752
Apr-21
£3,871,422
£2,997,142
£256,840
Apr-22
£6,869,637
£5,318,272
£455,749
Apr-23
£5,929,260
£4,590,260
£393,362
Apr-24
£5,410,221
£4,188,435
£358,927
Apr-25
£5,703,325
£4,415,348
£378,373
Apr-26
£5,147,648
£3,985,159
£341,508
Apr-27
£5,685,006
£4,401,166
£377,157
Apr-28
£5,343,051
£4,136,434
£354,471
Apr-29
£5,343,051
£4,136,434
£354,471
Apr-30
£5,251,456
£4,065,524
£348,395
• Centrally funded new schools via the Government’s Free School programme.
• Capital Receipts – the sale of former education settings deemed surplus to
requirements can be ring fenced to education, in exceptional circumstances.
• Capital contributions from individual school budgets and/or bids by Academies for
‘Capital Infrastructure Funding’ (CIF).
• Capital funding allocations for ‘Voluntary Aided’ schools (LCVAP funding).
• Special Provision Fund (2018 – 2021) £3.9 million - Summer 2018 first tranche of
funding received, with the second tranche by Summer 2019 and the third and final
tranche received in Summer 2020. The deadline for updating and republishing the
4
The methodology for the pupil yield calculation is included in appendix 2.
5
Please note where requests cannot be justified or will not be Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) compliant, the
funds received may be lower than outlined in this table.
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final plan showing where all money has been allocated and will be spent against,
was submitted in March 2021.
• High Needs Provision Capital Allocation – this was announced in November 2020
as a National allocation of £300 million for 2021-22 for new school places for
children with special educational needs and disabilities, with the remaining £20
million will be used for specific High Needs capital projects to support LAs facing
high Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits.
6
Of the £280 million allocated to LAs,
Coventry City Council were advised that Education Capital Strategy would receive
£2.4 million and in June 2021 the proposed short grant assurance data return
showing its allocation against identified schools was submitted, with the full funding
being received in July 2021.
5 Housing Developments
The Coventry Local Plan 2011-2031 has followed a period of public examination and
consultation on proposed modifications. The Inspector did publish the reports covering the
Local Plan and City Centre Area Action Plan. These were approved and the Council ratified
the plan on the 5
th
of December 2017.
New housing developments can create additional demand for existing and new education
facilities. This new housing is estimated to lead to over 13,200 additional children across
all age ranges. There are also significant numbers of housing developments receiving
planning permission outside the local plan process, which are already beginning to impact
on local schools. Coventry do not ask for developer contributions on one-bedroom
dwellings, as they are unlikely to generate either primary, secondary or sixth form pupils.
As part of the Section 106 process, Coventry calculate pupil yield from developments which
are designed for familial occupation, i.e. 2 bed dwellings and above. The Education team
are notified on all Coventry planning applications, whereby they make an assessment of
the development make-up and any dwellings of 2+ bedroom; not deemed for student or
care home provision are assessed and responded to within the statutory 14 day
consultation period.
With the evident rising cohorts in Secondary, post-16 and SEN (all phases) Education will
continue to defend their position in terms of the contribution levels requested due to the
current and continued pressure demand in this phase of Education. However, regarding
the early years and primary contribution requests there is currently an opportunity to
discuss any requests and amend an Education request if the evidence supports.
6
A full copy of the letter received from Baroness Berridge can be found in Appendix documents
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Contributions are requested fairly based on their proximity to the development, all
education types are equally considered and some rounding within the pupil yield
calculation may see an additional place be requested when rounded up to the nearest
whole pupil place.
From September 2019, the pupil yield figures for Coventry are follows:
Primary
Secondary
Sixth
Form
Primary
SEND
Secondary
SEND
Early
Years
Pupils generated per 1
eligible dwelling
0.39
0.23
0.04
0.01
0.01
0.08
Pupils generated per
100 eligible dwelling
40
24
4
1
1
8
The pupil yield methodology for how these figures have been calculated is included in
appendix 2.
7
Rounding is to 2 decimal places and across multiple formula, so this in turn can add an
additional pupil once these rounding’s are factored into the nearest whole pupil place.
6 Providing School Places
There are two consistent methods for providing additional school places, through either
school expansions or providing new schools.
6.1 School expansions
Where a predicted shortfall of places has been identified, the most common solution is to
expand an existing school. Education Capital Strategy will consult with all schools in the
area and decide upon the most cost-effective way forward after considering expansion
opportunities available within various school sites and costs.
There are several factors taken into consideration as set out below:
Criteria
How is this Measured
Source
1
Access –
Serving Area
of Need
Pupil number forecasts.
Data Team / Education &
Learning
Locality of schools in relation to demand.
Education & Learning
Long term planning applications in the adjoining
area.
Planning Team /
Education & Learning
7
These figures have been rounded to two decimal places.
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Proposed admission arrangements.
Education & Learning
2
Suitability of
site and
buildings for
expansion
Net capacity of schools.
Property Information
Team/Academies
Size of site
Property Information
Team
Capacity of existing M&E to accommodate
expansion requirements.
Property Information
Team / School
Planning issues including highways and transport
impact.
Highways / Other
Potential for the site to bring investment that
would support the development.
Education & Learning
Barriers to expansion including listed buildings,
grant funding conditions, third-party impact.
Education & Learning
Demonstrable commitment to making maximum
use of the existing school buildings.
School
3
Leadership
capacity &
Quality of
provision
OFSTED reports.
Education & Learning
School position in terms of pupil attainment.
Education & Learning
Capacity to maintain standards and manage
change during build programme.
Education & Learning /
School
4
Consequential
impact of
project
Impact on pupil numbers at other local provision.
Education & Learning
Potential for expansion project to improve
condition need of existing buildings within funding
envelope.
Property Information
Team
Current number of forms of entry.
Education & Learning
Early Years provision.
Education & Learning
6.1.1 Partnership working
There is an expectation that small schools or schools with known budget pressures will
work in partnership or collaborate with suitable partner schools whenever possible, to
achieve economies of scale, for example: through federation and shared
staffing/resources. This may help to maintain financial viability and remain sustainable
longer term.
6.1.2 Size
The minimum size for a primary school will vary across local authority borders; however, it
is an important consideration when looking to ensure the long-term viability of Coventry
City Schools. When looking at expanding primary school provision, the local authority will
look to expand primary schools from 1FE to 2FE where there is demand for places, to help
with the financial viability of those schools. Where new schools are required, the preferred
model will be for 2FE primaries, although specific context may require smaller or larger
schools to be provided.
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6.2 New schools
The need for new schools often arises when there are no opportunities to expand existing
local schools or where new housing developments are expected to bring large numbers of
new families to an area, where no existing provision can accommodate the influx of people.
When the need to establish a new school arises, there is a presumption in law that these
schools will be Free Schools. The role of the local authority is to identify a site for the school
and to seek applications to run the new school from potential sponsors. The final decision
on who should sponsor a new school is taken by the Regional Schools Commissioner
(RSC)
, whilst the RSC now has a requirement to consult with the LA on any new free
school proposal, the overall decision is outside of local authority control.
It is the responsibility of the local authority to seek sponsors for these new schools,
therefore if a new school is required, the local authority would look to engage with potential
suitable organisations including existing high-quality providers within Coventry. The council
intends to work collaboratively with the ESFA and office of the Regional Schools
Commissioner and other external providers if new school(s) are required.
In order to provide sufficient Early Years places across Coventry, where existing provision
is at capacity, all new build schools will include facilities for Early Years provision, and SEN
provision. For Secondary, similar inclusion facilities will be provided.
7.0 Coventry Context
7.1. Characteristics of Coventry provision for children
7.1.1 Academisation
There are currently 86 primary schools in Coventry. This includes the Primary phase of the
Seva School. The academy conversion process which was initially popular with Secondary
Schools is now starting to spread to Primary schools as Multi-Academy Trusts expand and
encompass more schools across wider areas. These are broken down as follows.
8
8
Please note information correct as of the 12/08/2021.
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Table 3: Academies, maintained schools and schools in process, a comparison by
phase (primary, secondary, special, all-through and other)
School Type
In
process
Maintained
Free
Schools
Voluntary
Controlled
Schools
Voluntary
Aided
Schools
Academies
Total
(all
schools
of type
in
county)
Primary (inc.
Inf, Jun, Pri)
0
46
1
2
6
30
85
Secondary
0
0
3
0
0
18
21
Special (all
types)
1
5
0
0
0
2
8
All-through
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
7.2 Special Schools
Coventry maintains six special schools and commissions places at two special academies
within the local area, offering the following provision:
School
Type of Need
Age Range
Castlewood
*generic learning difficulties
Primary: 4 to 11
Kingsbury
Academy
general learning difficulties and
autism
Primary: 4 to 11
Tiverton
*generic learning difficulties
Primary: 4 to 11
Sherbourne
*generic learning difficulties
All age: 4 to 19
Baginton
*generic learning difficulties
Secondary: 11 to 19
Riverbank
Academy
*generic learning difficulties
Secondary: 11 to 19
Corley
Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)
Secondary: 11 to 18
Woodfield
Social Emotional Mental Health
(SEMH)
All age: 4 to 16
* referred to locally as ‘broad spectrum’
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7.3 Population Context
The 2020 Mid-Year estimates 379,387 people live within the City boundaries. (2020 Mid-
Year ONS estimates)
The birth cohort is starting to stabilise to more regular levels, this means the pressure on
primary places is starting to ease, although there are still localised areas of pressure within
distinct planning areas of the city. The transient nature of a city’s population and the social
mobility of its residents mean that births, and GP registration data will be updated quarterly
from the NHS trust, so that Coventry City Council can more effectively track pre-school
cohorts and how they move around the city. This social mobility, and any unprecedented
migration to areas of the city may lead to increased localised pressure which will require
monitoring to ensure that additional school places are not immediately planned for when it
is known that the pressure will dissipate as the families migrate again.
The latest data from the health authorities gives us some key headlines:
• The birth cohort peaked for entry into Reception in September 2016 and, with the
existing housing stock considered, has begun to re-stabilise and in some areas of
the city started to decrease. Although future developments within the local plan may
lead to a future rise in birth rates in the specified locations.
• The current Year 4 is the largest cohort currently in Coventry Primary schools,
September 2023 entry to Secondary, and will severely impact upon the availability
of places within the city.
3000
3200
3400
3600
3800
4000
4200
4400
4600
4800
5000
Size of Cohort
Year Entering Primary School
Birth Cohort
Page 18 of 56
7.4 Early Years
In line with its statutory duties under the Childcare Act 2006 and 2016, Coventry Local
Authority (LA) is required to regularly complete a Childcare Sufficiency Assessment to
monitor supply and demand of childcare provision within the city. This assessment is a
measurement of provision type, quantity, supply and demand within each of the Coventry
wards. The purpose of the assessment is to identify current gaps in the childcare market
and propose recommendations to address these.
Section 6 of the 2006 Act gave Local Authorities a new duty of ‘Securing, so far as is
“reasonably practicable”, that the provision of local childcare is sufficient to meet the
requirements of parents and carers to enable them to work or undertake education or
training leading to employment.
The provision of early years’ education and childcare in Coventry is provided by
• one maintained nursery school
• school nursery classes
• early years provision run by schools on site (in addition to nursery class)
• private, voluntary and independent settings (PVI) which include childminders,
preschools, day nurseries, out of school provision and holiday schemes
9
Childcare
on non-
domestic
premises
Childminders
Nursery
classes/
school
Out of
school
provision
inc.
breakfast
club
Holiday
schemes
Childcare
on school
sites
Independent
school sites
offering early
years places
Number of
settings
92
241
68
81
28
11
4
Number of
places
5,064
1,524
3,398
n/a
n/a
349
n/a
In summary, early years’ education and childcare provision within Coventry has continued
to grow and the Ofsted quality profile of providers continues to remain high.
Coventry LA has a statutory duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, there is
sufficient childcare to meet the needs of working parents, those studying to work and to
secure prescribed early years provision free of charge. As the extended hours entitlement
(30 hours) for 3- and 4-year olds has become embedded, demand has changed with
parents seeking more flexible childcare provision. For example, provision that is open for
9
Data correct as of 1
st
April 2021.
Page 19 of 56
longer hours, stretched across school holidays or open during the weekend to support
parental working patterns.
In order to achieve participation targets for Early Education Entitlement Funded places
(EEF) and support Coventry children to achieve a good level of development at the end of
the Foundation Stage, the following points form the basis of the Early Years’ service, work
stream action plans;
• increase capacity of childcare in line with growth and employment in Coventry to
meet the statutory requirements for all children aged 0-14 years old (and up to
18 years old for children with Special Educational Needs or Disability)
• Assess the variety of options for older children within primary and secondary
during non-school hours, including before/after school and holiday provision.
Explore demand and take up of this provision to inform actions in specific areas
of the city. Provide a targeted focus on the quality delivery of services for this
age group
• Childcare and early year’s provision to be considered when new housing is
planned, to ensure any new families moving into the area, or any increase in
overall population, can access childcare and early years provision to meet their
needs. Consider opportunities for Section 106 funding to support capacity
development (contributions from developers towards the costs of providing
community and social infrastructure which are required as a result of new
development taking place)
• Ensure parents are aware of the support available to them to reduce the cost of
childcare including early year’s entitlements and Tax-Free Childcare (TFC).
Encourage childcare providers to register to deliver Tax Free Childcare. Work
with employers and Job Centre Plus to ensure working parents and those
moving into employment are aware of support to meet the costs of childcare,
flexibility options and to promote childcare vacancies locally, to support parental
choice
• Support partnership working between schools to offer sustainable models of
delivery (including provision across the school holidays). Support partnership
working across different types of provision (including sessional provision and
childminders) to ensure parents have access to flexible and stretched provision,
and providers can maximise occupancy to ensure sustainability of provision
• Continue to increase the take-up of all EEF places. Support opportunities for
providers to maximise funding across all early year’s entitlements, in order to
protect provision for 2-year olds and 3 and 4-year olds (universal)
• Drive workforce development improvements within the sector to address growth
in services and the decreasing interest in childcare as a career choice within the
sector
Page 20 of 56
• Promote childminding as a profession in Coventry to increase overall numbers
and reverse the decline in the number of people choosing to undertake
childminding as a profession. This is a national issue
• Investigate possible barriers for parents and providers to the take up and delivery
of provision for children with SEND. Ensure information available for parents
identifies inclusive provision available across the city
• Work across the early year’s sector to improve the attainment level for all
children at the end of the foundation stage. Reduce levels of inequality and
narrow the educational gap between those most disadvantaged and their peers
• Monitor and drive quality improvement of Ofsted outcomes to ensure the
availability of sufficient, high quality childcare
The Early Years’ Service has created several action plans which detail how these
recommendations will be delivered and support the ongoing management of the childcare
market. Education Capital Strategy have seen the childcare needs of Coventry families
constantly change and demand has been further impacted upon by the pandemic. This
may take some time to stabilise. The current focus for early years and childcare provision
in Coventry is to sustain current childcare places and monitor the availability of flexible EEF
places, whilst continuing to develop partnership working which facilitates choice for families
across the city.
7.5 Primary Context
Significant amount of work continues by the School Improvement team, in liaison with the
schools, there are currently 10 Ofsted rated ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’
Coventry Schools.
Coventry has been delivering additional primary places since 2008. The vast majority of
these have been OFSTED rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ schools.
The below table highlights the phasing of these expansions and the overall number of
additional places added. The 37.3FE added in permanent format equates to 1120
additional Reception places for children. There were a further 2 bulge classes added at
Edgewick, and at Moseley which temporarily increased capacity in Reception for a single
year before reducing back down to the agreed PAN.
Given the shifting movement of births within Coventry from the Binley and North East of
the city, which has a falling birth rate, towards the North and West of the City where births
are starting to stabilise and, in some areas, continuing to increase. As this cohort moves
through the primary phase, alongside existing primary cohorts, and starts to impact upon
secondary places the level of secondary school places required will rise.
Page 21 of 56
8 Future Need
The below outlines in response to the context of Coventry school age population, broken
into Primary, Secondary, and SEN sections.
8.1 Primary
From 2011, Coventry undertook a significant primary expansion programme adding circa
37 forms of entry to the primary capacity. This was to accommodate the rising pupil
numbers at the time, however with the birth rate now starting to fall, the surplus capacity
across Primary Schools is rising
The below table breaks down the current rates by catchment area. As can be seen births
are declining in a large proportion of the planning areas, whilst in certain areas of the city
the birth rate is continuing to increase or stabilise:
PLANNING AREA
PAN
Sep-20
Sep-21
Sep-22
Sep-23
Sep-24
West Central
270
260
241
232
265
258
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Places added as Forms of Entry
Primary Forms of Entry Added
Additional Permanent FE Created in that Year Cumulative FE Added
Page 22 of 56
North West
210
218
202
182
220
213
Longford
450
516
469
510
457
462
East
435
349
330
327
315
297
South
405
378
369
370
319
280
North East
395
389
390
333
343
368
North
315
403
347
343
337
304
West
225
223
199
241
192
206
South East
180
210
228
210
224
170
East Central
555
546
483
464
495
448
Coundon
240
126
134
149
146
127
Tile Hill
195
270
254
206
231
195
North Central
540
598
550
558
544
498
Binley
270
247
213
256
211
178
4685
4733
4409
4381
4299
4004
Given this reduction in birth rate amongst the vast majority of the planning area, it is likely
to have a significant impact upon the number of surplus school places in the City. Since
2017 Education have been working with schools to reduce PAN, to date, 11 schools have
reduced as outlined below:
Year of
PAN
reduction
West
Central
Longford
East
South
North
East
East
Central
Coundon
North
Central
Binley
2018
Spon
Gate (60
to 30)
Little
Heath (60
to 30)
St
Bartholomew's
(60 to 30)
2019
Frederick
Bird (120
to 90)
2020
Richard
Lee (90
to 60)
Coundon
(90 to
60)
John
Gulson
(90 to
60)
2021
Alderman's
Green (90
to 60)
St
Thomas
More (60
to 30)
Whittle
Academy
(45 to
30)
2022
Hill Farm
(90 to
60)
Education Capital Strategy are working towards a sustainable level of surplus places in the
city. There are local fluctuations in birth rates and migration rates which create challenges.
It is our intention to ensure sufficient places whilst avoiding oversupply and without
exceeding 8% surplus places within a planning area. To meet this level may require further
PAN reductions where appropriate.
Page 23 of 56
Given this forecast level of surplus for the plan period, planning areas may want to look at
potentially temporarily decommissioning places to adjust supply to meet future reductions
in demand. Coventry Local Authority have, and will continue to, facilitate these
conversations between head teachers, governing bodies and school finance through both
planning area and individual school meetings, supported by producing and issuing Primary
Position Statements. This highlights which schools may need to consider PAN reductions
and what this change would look like for individual and neighbouring planning areas.
Headteachers are encouraged to contact the Local Authority to discuss the PAN of the
school if they are concerned about the number of surplus places the school is likely to hold.
Coventry City Council holds a statutory responsibility to provide school places, part of this
duty is in relation to new housing developments, as such, Education have secured two
parcels of land within Coventry. These sites are required, as despite the falling birth rate,
the number of homes within the local plan and with approved planning permission will
increase demand within the local area. These Primary school sites will only be brought
online in conjunction with the housing developments and the occupation of these homes.
In 2018, a planning application was submitted for a significant housing development as
part of the Eastern Green Sustainable Urban Extension. All 3,300 homes have now been
approved, Coventry City Council has secured land to allow the building of up to a 3FE
Primary School. Coventry City Council has secured 2.7 hectares of land within the
development and will have 15 years from the date the site is transferred to the Council to
construct and open the Primary School.
The neighbouring schools to this securing land are St Andrews Infant and Eastern Green
Junior, the only remaining infant and junior schools within the city. This housing
development provides the opportunity for both to schools to extend their age ranges to
become all-through Primary Schools. Education would look to engage a move of St
Andrews from its current site to the new location, extending to a full Reception to Year 6
cohort, whilst simultaneously working with Eastern Green Junior to expand their current
provision to a full Reception to Year 6 cohort also. In line with the proposed buildout rate
of the housing development, this move is programmed to occur in 2027.
A sum of £9,270,000 has been secured for Early Years and Primary, from developers as
part of the larger Eastern Green site. The £9m figure was sought following conversations
with Warwickshire and Northamptonshire on recent new school projects.
The other parcel of land is connected with the planned development in the Keresley area
of Coventry, with the building of 3000 homes as part of the Sustainable Urban Expansion.
Page 24 of 56
This has also provided the Council with additional demand and securing land to provide
Primary education.
There is potential for a nearby existing Coventry primary school to relocate and expand on
to this site. This primary site has been secured for 5 years from transfer to the Council
which is likely to take place later in 2021, this means that the use of the site will be required
by 2026.
8.2 Secondary
The large cohort of pupils moving through primary provision is due to impact upon
secondary provision from September 2018. In order to meet the need for additional
provision without providing too much surplus capacity in future years, it was agreed to
expand secondary places using a mixture of temporary ‘bulge’ and permanent expansions.
As set out below, Phase One was presented to Cabinet in October 2018 and outlines the
planned temporary and permanent increases up to 2021. To address the further forecast
shortfall of places between 2022 and 2024, Phase Two outlines the agreement between
the Local Authority and the Coventry Secondary Headteacher Partnership to meet the
additional places required. This will continue to be reviewed annually in line with updated
pupil forecasts.
All schools are required to consult as part of the expansion programme.
Phase One
• In September 2018, the LA added an additional 50 places across 5 different
secondary schools. These were temporary increases and did not require any school
to expand.
• In September 2019, an additional 8 forms of entry (235 year 7 places) were added
using a mixture of temporary and permanent expansions within existing Coventry
schools.
• In September 2020, an additional 2 forms of entry (60 year 7 places) were added
using a mixture of temporary and permanent expansions within existing Coventry
schools.
• In September 2021, an additional 6.5 forms of entry (199 year 7 places) were added
using a mixture of temporary and permanent expansions within existing Coventry
schools.
The below table demonstrates the sufficiency position if the additional places are added in
this way:
Page 25 of 56
Rising Secondary Cohort
As Education Capital Strategy come to the end of our Phase One projects, Education
Capital Strategy are starting to see some shortages on certain materials such as timber
and steel but also an increase on material costs. There is also the added pressure of the
Covid-19 Global Pandemic, where site personnel numbers can fluctuate in line with
infection rates and self-isolation. Education continue to work closely with the project
delivery lead personnel and the on-site contractors to keep the schools and Trust updated,
a timely manner. New mitigation steps and plans are being reviewed and updated
regularly.
Coming onto phase two of the Secondary expansion programme, Education Capital
Strategy are also seeing an impact on the increase in estimated project costs in tender
3600
3800
4000
4200
4400
4600
4800
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
PAN Phase 1 permanent Phase 1 temporary
Phase 2 expansions Forecast pupil numbers
(basic need)
Forecast pupil numbers
(incl. housing)
Page 26 of 56
returns for future projects and these have been factored into our future project budgets, as
detailed below.
Phase Two
The ‘Rising Secondary Cohort’ table above shows how the Phase One of the capital
programme will meet demand. From September 2022 onwards, with increasing pupils’
numbers, there is an additional basic need pressure which will require the delivery of a
phase 2; also shown on plan in purple.
10
To address the forecast shortfall of places and
provide a sufficient surplus of places city-wide, the following requirement for additional
temporary places/bulge classes has been planned:
• In September 2022, an additional 7 forms of entry (210 year 7 places) will be
needed.
• In September 2023, an additional 10 forms of entry (300 year 7 places) will be
needed.
• In September 2024, an additional 6 forms of entry (180 year 7 places) will be
needed.
As part of the initial programme of works for phase 2, Education Capital Strategy identified
2 forms of entry needed – 1 in September 2022 and 1 in 2023 academic year. Having
relooked at this the Education team have removed the 2022 form of entry and identified
the school who will take1 bulge class in 2023.
The reduction in the September 2022 entry will reduce the number of surplus places for
admissions Y7 in that year (c.80), but due to forecasts showing higher levels of surplus
than the current year, this supports the removal of the 1FE originally planned for.
The following table demonstrate how the Phase One and proposed Phase Two options are
to be delivered:
10
This is in addition to the agreed expansions for 2019 – 2021 (Phase One).
Page 27 of 56
School Expansion -
Temporary (bulge)
PHASE 1
PHASE 2
Sep-18
Sep-19
Sep-20
Sep-21
Sep-22
Sep-23
Sep-24
Bishop
Ullathorne (10)
Caludon Castle
(30)
President
Kennedy (30)
Bishop
Ullathorne (30)
Ernesford
Grange (30)
Blue Coat (30)
Cardinal
Wiseman (30)
Finham Park
(30)
Cardinal
Wiseman (30)
Finham Park 2
(30)
Blue Coat (10)
Foxford (5)
Blue Coat (30)
Finham Park 2
(30)
Foxford (30)
West Coventry
(60)
Bishop
Ullathorne (30)
Foxford (30)
Cardinal
Newman (5)
Lyng Hall (30)
Lyng Hall (30)
Stoke Park (30)
Stoke Park
(30)
Bishop
Ullathorne (30)
Coundon Court
(15)
Westwood (30)
Sidney Stringer
(30)
Lyng Hall (30)
Lyng Hall (30)
Sidney Stringer
(30)
Sidney Stringer
(30)
Whitley (10)
Westwood (30)
West Coventry
(30)
Sidney
Stringer (30)
Westwood (30)
School Expansion -
Permanent
Cardinal
Newman (30)
Barr's Hill (30)
Barr's Hill (19)
Coundon Court
(60)
Ernesford
Grange (30)
President
Kennedy (30)
Whitley (20)
Finham Park
(30)
Page 28 of 56
Across the Phase One and Phase Two programmes there will be a total 1,134 additional
places added in Secondary, to support the increase in demand for places across the City
from September 2018 to September 2024.
Due to the anticipated decline in pupil numbers from 2025, which is forecast to reduce. It
is expected that the required number of places here will be met by the 2019-2021
permanent expansions. Therefore, the proposal for Phase Two is to use temporary
increases. This solution would allow the Coventry Partnership to future proof by avoiding
an oversupply of places long term and ensuring that no school has a significant amount of
spaces.
Phase two secondary expansions are being delivered by a mixture of utilising existing
secondary school capacity up to schools published admission number (PAN), physical
building expansions on the school site, and the transfer of a LA building to Academy Trust
to enable the school to accommodate the additional pupils.
The building due to be transferred to Sidney Stringer Academy Trust is the Swanswell
Centre. The Swanswell Centre currently accommodates pupils from the Coventry
Extended Learning Centre (CELC). The pupils currently attending this location will be
moved to the new building at The Link which is being refurbished and expanded.
Transferring the Swanswell building to The Sidney Singer MAT will allow Sidney Stringer
Academy to take an additional 90 pupils across the academic years September 2022-2024.
The Academy do not have the physical capacity to expand due to the school being land
locked. Further details regarding the CELC move can be found on page 39.
8.3 SEND Provision
Introduction
The Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND) School Place Planning Strategy for
Coventry City Council sets the baseline for specialist provision across the city and
summarises a range of factors that are driving the need for change over the short to
medium term.
This strategy gives more in-depth information regarding the current and future SEND pupil
population and outlines the options available to add or make changes to specialist provision
for Coventry pupils. The aim of this strategy is to help the City Council, schools, parents
and the wider community understand the need for specialist provision planning and to
establish future demand. It will provide a basis against which future specialist provision will
be planned.
The agreed key principles for meeting the demand for SEND school places is set out below:
• A whole system approach will be adopted, to secure a continuum of provision that
reflects the continuum of need
• The majority of children with an EHC Plan will have their needs met within a
community mainstream school
Page 29 of 56
• Where possible the current special school(s) estate will be expanded to meet
demand and ensure sustainability
• When additional or new provision is required, this will be secured through utilising
existing vacant or underused education provision
• The condition of existing provision will be addressed to secure minimum standards
and maximise capacity
• The special school offer will negate the need to place out of City because of a
shortfall in local provision
• Consideration of reviewing and extending the age range of existing provision to
address any ‘bottle-necks’ in transition.
The provision strategy to meet the needs of Coventry with SEND includes:
• The further development and review of current enhanced resourced provision
(ERP), which will lead to a range of ERP bases across the primary and secondary
phase that reflects current priority areas of need including ASC (Autistic Spectrum
Condition) and SEMH (Social, Emotional, and Mental Health).
• Prioritisation of the current special school estate to develop it for purpose schools
within the available capital funds. Explore, where possible and advantageous, the
opportunity to move, expand and/or rebuild special schools on alternative sites.
• Increase, where required, special secondary provision within the budget envelope
of the High Needs Block for commissioned places.
Number of
school age
EHCPs
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
1,349
1,321
1,315
1,292
1,280
1,432
1,559
1,724
1,863
2,084
2,145
2,344
The growth displayed above is attributable to both the number of new first-time
assessments, resulting in an EHC Plan, which has risen by 25% in the last three years and
the number of young people remaining in Further Education with an EHCP. Before 2014,
a Statement of Special Educational Needs would cease at the point a student moved from
a school to a college. However, in September 2014 legislation changed, and the Children
and Families Act came into effect which meant LAs took over responsibility for maintaining
EHC Plans in colleges until a pupil is aged 25. Approximately 27% of the EHC Plans
maintained are for students aged 16 to 25.
The increase in EHC plans in Coventry is displayed in the chart below:
Page 30 of 56
The increase in the number of plans since 2014, is a clear indicator from the Code of
Practice (2014), and the extended age range of 25. There has been a steady increase
since 2014 to 2020. A vast increase in plans for 2021 could be a result of COVID-19 and
may not be a true reflection had the Global Pandemic not happened.
These numbers encompass all pupils with SEND on roll at schools located in Coventry,
including independent schools and pupils that are resident in Coventry but attend schools
outside of Coventry. With the number of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)
increasing over the last few years, this has resulted in an increasing number of children in
high cost Out of City Placements.
National and Local Policy Context
The Government’s vision for children and young people with special educational needs
(SEN) and disabilities is the same as for all children and young people – that they achieve
well and lead happy and fulfilled lives. The Children and Families Act 2014 places important
statutory responsibilities on local authorities for supporting children and young people with
special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. This is a vital role that local authorities
retain in an increasingly school-led education system and one that requires long-term
strategic planning, informed by detailed local knowledge enhanced through consultation
with parents and carers, and good relationships with local schools.
Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient good school places for all pupils,
including those with SEN and disabilities. Through long-term strategic planning Councils
are seeking to reconfigure specialist places to ensure that they can meet need whilst
containing spending within the constraints of the High Needs budget and available capital
resources.
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Axis Title
Axis Title
Page 31 of 56
The Special Educational Needs & Disability Provision Strategy is part of a wider framework
of policy documents that support the One Coventry Council Plan (2016-24) which sets out
the 3 Council priorities:
• Globally connected
• Locally connected
• Delivering our priorities
Current School Estate
Specialist SEND Provision located in Coventry is comprised of 8 special schools: six
maintained special schools and two special academies.
The total number of commissioned placements at Coventry’s Special Schools, is
exhausted. Whilst there is capacity to increase the number of primary placements for
generic learning difficulty, there is generally no physical capacity to expand secondary
placements, without capital investment; with the exception of Corley secondary school,
which caters for autism spectrum conditions (ASC).
The 8 schools are outlined in more detail below:
School
Description
Castle Wood
Special School
For pupils aged from 4 -11 with a range of learning difficulties from profound
and multiple, severe to moderate and with varying degrees of autistic
spectrum conditions.
Baginton
Fields
For pupils aged from 11-18 with a broad range of special educational need
and disability, Autism, Sensory Impairment, Physical Disability,
Communication Difficulties and Challenging Behaviours.
Corley Centre
For pupils aged from 11-18 with complex social and communication
difficulties.
Sherbourne
Fields
For pupils aged from 2-19 with a broad spectrum of need including physical
disabilities, medical conditions and learning needs.
Tiverton
For pupils aged from 3-11 with severe learning difficulties or profound and
multiple learning difficulties. They may also have some physical or sensory
impairment, or an autistic spectrum disorder.
Woodfield
Based across two sites, a Primary for pupils aged 4-11 and a Secondary
for pupils aged 11-16 (and support until the age of 18). Many of the pupils
needs range from dyslexia, dyspraxia, being on the Autistic Spectrum
(ASC), or having Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD),
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and attachment difficulties.
Kingsbury
Academy
For pupils aged 4-11 with learning difficulties and additional needs, with
over half of the pupils having autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and others
have additional needs, including sensory impairment, communication
difficulties and physical difficulties.
Riverbank
For pupils aged 11-19 with a broad range of special educational need and
disability. Learning is influenced by Autism, Moderate and Severe Learning
Page 32 of 56
disabilities, Sensory Impairment, Physical and medical difficulties,
Communication Difficulties and Social, Emotional and Mental Health
difficulties linked with their special educational needs.
The table below shows the increase in commissioned places from September 2018 to
September 2021 and further planned increase at Coventry’s 8 special schools:
School Name
Specialism of
School
September
2018
Commissioned
Places
September
2019
Commissioned
Places
September
2020
Commissioned
Places
September
2021
Commissioned
Places
Total
increase
Further
Planned
Increase
Castle Wood
Broad
Spectrum
(Primary)
139
147
156
160
21
Kingsbury
Academy
Autism/Broa
d Spectrum
(Primary)
84
84
87
92
8
Riverbank
Broad
Spectrum
(Secondary)
164
164
176
188
24
12
Corley
Autism
(Secondary)
96
118
122
129
33
Tiverton
Broad
Spectrum
(Primary)
70
95
100
110
40
Baginton
Fields
Broad
Spectrum
(Secondary)
100
116
116
118
18
Sherbourne
Fields
Broad
Spectrum
(All-Through)
148
167
200
220
72
Woodfield
SEMH (All-
Through)
160
160
160
152
-8
96
961
1051
1117
1169
208
108
Historical Growth
Page 33 of 56
Significant growth in capacity for primary generic learning difficulties has been achieved
through the expansion of Tiverton School which has been rebuilt, on the former Alice
Stevens School site. The primary site of Woodfield Special School has been identified in
the local plan as having some potential for development, and currently a draft masterplan
is in development to scope options for integrating the primary and secondary sites onto
one site, with the aim of responding to growth demands.
Forecasts
The below forecasts have been arrived at by analysing the mainstream forecasts and
projecting the % of EHC numbers forward.
All SEN (number of
EHCPs)
(0-4)
Primary
Secondary
Post – 16
2019
80
780
750
432
2020
94
789
772
458
2021
101
787
800
475
2022
100
780
830
487
2023
105
769
859
489
2024
98
749
870
502
No increase is shown in the forecasts for Early Years. This is due to the fact that, despite
a 0-4 care: on the whole, children are too young to have an EHCP in place during the Early
Years phase and Coventry has no physical capacity to arrange specialist early years
provision, within the special school sector. This is a priority area for future early
intervention development, which will be subject to high needs block affordability and
prioritisation of special school space.
The largest increases are in Secondary and Post 16. Nationally, and within Coventry, there
is a higher percentage of pupils with EHCP at Secondary than Primary, as Education
Capital Strategy are witnessing with demand increasing for Woodfield Secondary. Larger
primary cohorts are moving through into secondary, impacting upon the availability of
places. With the extension of the age range to 25; Post – 16 EHCP numbers have
increased and are forecast to increase further, and this has placed unplanned pressure on
Key Stage 5 and FE provision, which is envisaged to continue.
There is forecast to be small increases in Primary SEN. This is due in part to a stabilising
of the birth rates and larger cohorts moving through into Secondary phase.
Future need
Using September 2017 commissioned places as a baseline and assuming that the recent
increase in demand is permanent, the following cumulative forecast for demand increase
by phase between 2019 and 2022 is set out:
Page 34 of 56
The analysis indicates that currently 64% of pupils with an EHCP are placed in specialist
provision. Based on this statistic, the table above outlines the forecast need for additional
places for children with EHCP across all year groups. These additional places will be added
across mainstream and special schools. The special school places are separated for
secondary. This assumes the threshold for EHCP continues at the same level and
therefore the split between pupils attending special schools (63%) and mainstream (37%)
stays the same.
The SEND code of practise states that it is expected that “the majority of C&YP with SEN
or Disability will have their needs met within local mainstream, EY settings, schools or
colleges. In comparison to Coventry’s statistical neighbours, Coventry has a higher
proportion of pupils with an EHCP within a special school.
Total Pupils
in
Mainstream
Total
Pupils in
Special
School
% of Pupils
with EHC in
Special
Proportion of
Cohort with
an EHCP
Bolton
768
705
48%
2.87%
Tameside
183
383
68%
1.64%
Wigan
587
646
52%
2.74%
Leeds
1,000
1,207
55%
1.78%
Sheffield
894
1,094
55%
2.47%
Derby
634
693
52%
3.06%
Coventry
481
858
64%
2.33%
Medway
559
736
57%
3.03%
Portsmouth
453
485
52%
3.29%
Southampton
469
523
53%
3.08%
Statistically, it might be argued that Coventry has a high percentage of children with EHCPs
placed in specialist provisions. However, there is no evidence that the threshold for
placement in Coventry is lower than other LAs. Initial work suggests that Coventry’s profile
of complex SEN is high. Further investment will be made in supporting mainstream schools
to build capacity within the community through a range of targeted training and support to
schools. This programme will be designed in partnership with schools and underpin the
Inclusion Strategy.
Primary
The number of pupils in primary mainstream with additional needs has also been rising
requiring schools to have to meet a broader range of pupils needs with no additional
funding. In order to meet the needs of these pupils, it is proposed to create several
resourced provision units on mainstream school sites making use of existing education
Page 35 of 56
assets. The resourced provision will be targeted towards primary age pupils with Autism
Spectrum Condition and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)
New specialist provision attached to mainstream schools has proved able to meet some of
the needs of many complex learners with Autism Spectrum Condition and Social,
Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs whilst allowing the individuals to remain in
their own communities and not face overly arduous travel. Coventry has developed a model
of provision based on best practice and experience, both internally and that of other local
authorities. This best practise states that resource provisions can accommodate to 10
learners in secondary and up to 8 learners in primary on a mainstream school or academy
site. However, this is a variable depending on the type of provision being provided.
It is envisaged that the increased demand arising from the projected increase in pupil
numbers, could be accommodated within resourced provision (RP) over the next 5 years.
The RP would need to be targeted for primary age pupils with ASC and SEMH.
It is predicted that an additional 3-5 resourced provision would be required over the plan
period, assuming a population of 8-12 pupils per provision. It is estimated that this would
cost c.£200k, in capital cost investment. Work is underway to identify areas of the city
where education provision will be released and can be utilised for this purpose.
Secondary
Secondary capacity has been filled from 2019 children and this increase will mean a need
for additional places. The main increases are evident with pupils attending Tiverton and
Castle Wood school. This will impact upon the availability of Special school places, given
that the schools were already, from September 2019, at full capacity at their already
increased commissioned number.
2020
• Sherbourne Fields – qty 2 additional 2 classroom modular’s, existing school
remodelling and refurbishment allowed an additional 24 pupils to be taken on by the school.
The old Tiverton school was demolished and created a larger parking facility on site and
also located one of the new bespoke, double modular’s and its own dedicated play area.
2021
• Riverbank – a permanent Special School expansion wing has been identified with
remodelling and relocation of car parking. This addition to the school building, will
accommodate an additional 36 pupils.
• Corley – through reconfiguration and refurbishment within existing school building
and external buildings, this has enabled the creation of 2 new classrooms, new
Page 36 of 56
toilet, kitchen and outdoor space to support the accommodation of an additional 7
pupils.
• Baginton Fields – additional car park works, pedestrian crossing, bathroom and
changing room upgrade as a site improvement continuation for the additional 16
pupils previously taken in September 2019.
Post 16
Secondary special school provisions have developed an increased post 16 provision as a
consequence of growth. As part of secondary mainstream expansion, partnerships with
colleges and employment pathways including supported internships there is the
opportunity to develop an extended SEND post 16 provision which would in turn release
special school capacity.
8.4 Proposed Strategic SEN Plan
8.4.1 SEMH Strategy
In November 2018, Cabinet Members agreed to the principle of expanding and relocating
Woodfield Special School to the vacant former Woodlands School site. Academisation of
the existing Woodfield school is underway and plans still progressing for the planned
relocation to the former Woodlands school site. This relocation would address Woodfield
Special School’s split site, building suitability, and capacity issues. This project will enable
the school to grow in capacity to 256 pupils, increasing the number of SEMH places across
primary and secondary phases.
When fully occupied this will resolve the SEMH deficit of places, enabling children that are
currently in ‘Out of City’ placements to be brought back into the City. This larger school
site for both SEMH primary and secondary, will enable pupils of all age ranges to attend
the and fulfil the increase in demand for SEN places; thus supporting the increase in the
extended age range to 25 for SEND post-16 education.
8.4.2 Broad Spectrum/Autism
The phase two expansions are solely covering the additional places that were required for
the 2019 academic year. No creation of further places that can be utilised, will come from
these developments. They will be fulfilled from September 2020 onwards. The schools
that form part of this phase 2 expansion, to fulfil the additional places required are: Baginton
Fields, Corley Centre, Sherbourne Fields, and Castle Wood.
The following table shows the detail in how this is broken down:
Page 37 of 56
As the table above shows, there was an increased need in places for September 2019.
Castle Wood acquired an additional 8 pupils to the previous academic year, Corley Centre
an additional 22, Baginton Fields an extra 16 pupils and Sherbourne Fields a further 19
places. This growth in additional places has been met using both refurb or remodelling of
existing space, by way of adding additional teaching areas, and also by adding modular
units on site to create further classrooms & breakout areas.
8.4.3 SEND programme 2020 onwards
With EHCP plans increasing, there is need for additional places within the City. As there
continues to be demand pressure within Secondary, there is an opportunity due to a decline
in mainstream Primary numbers, to look at any potential surplus classroom space, to
accommodate Enhanced Resource Provisions (ERP) within Secondary Mainstream for
SEN pupils. Any existing space within mainstream sites, is yet to be identified.
Work is currently underway to integrate the primary and secondary sites of Woodfield
Special School onto one large site.
The following projects were addressed and agreed at Special Heads Partnership and with
the SEN Team:
Working in Partnership with the Special Educational Needs (SEN) department within
Coventry, Education Capital Strategy have helped support them with capital funding in both
special schools and increasingly in mainstream. This has enabled the quality of education
within SEN to grow and maintain the levels of inclusiveness in place throughout Coventry
schools and where appropriate, enhancing this within settings. These projects are
currently underway and at varying stages of completion.
9. Post 16
School
Name
Sept 2018
Commiss
ioned
Places
May 2019
Commissi
oned
Places
Variation
Sept
2019
Commis
sioned
Places
Varianc
e to
Sum-19
Total
increase
Project detail
Estimated
costs
(£)
Funding
source
Castle
Wood
139
139
0
147
8
8
Creating 2
classrooms from
previous 1 larger
classroom
£20,000.00
Special
Provisio
n Fund
Corley
Centre
96
96
0
118
22
22
Refurb of old
residential unit to
create 3
additional
classrooms
£350,000.00
Special
Provisio
n Fund
Baginton
Fields
100
102
2
116
14
16
Installation of 2
classroom
modular unit
including hygiene
suite
£360,000.00
Special
Provisio
n Fund
Sherbourne
Fields
148
157
9
167
10
19
Remodel of
existing 2
classrooms to
create 2
additional
classrooms and
breakout space
£270,000.00
Special
Provisio
n Fund
City wide
961
976
15
1043
67
82
Page 38 of 56
Currently, all but 2 Secondary schools within Coventry have sixth form provision. These
current arrangements have been developed as a collaborative approach across Coventry
and provide sufficient sixth form places to meet the demand, variety and quality of
education within the city. With rising secondary cohorts, Education Capital Strategy are
seeing a significant impact on post 16 numbers.
There are a further three secondary schools within Coventry which do not have sixth forms,
Seva and Eden Girls and these are growing organically from Year 7 upwards. The decision
for Eden Girls to open a sixth form has been delayed for the foreseeable future. However,
it is anticipated that these new sixth forms will provide the additional spaces required to
accommodate the increasing secondary and forecast sixth form numbers in the coming
years.
Currently, the two largest sixth forms in Coventry are Caludon Castle and Blue Coat Church
of England School. These two are the only sixth form provisions in Coventry to have in
excess of 300 pupils across both years. At the other end of the scale there are 6 sixth forms
within Coventry which have less than 100 pupils in both year groups. To resolve these low
pupil numbers Coventry sixth forms, have, through partnership working, banded together,
often through MAT links, to provide educational facilities and a range of curriculum which
positively impacts upon student attainment.
In addition to this there are 2 general Further Education Colleges; Coventry College, (as a
merger between City and Henley Campuses), and Hereward College, which is specifically
for those pupils with additional needs. These provide more technical training and support,
whilst also providing more academic teaching.
This mixed economy of sixth form provision allows for Year 11 pupils to study a wide range
of subjects within the city boundary. Whilst also ensuring the quality of provision allows
them to achieve their potential.
10. Alternative Provision (AP)
Hospital Education – SEMH Location: Whitmore Park Annex
Provision for children and young people who have difficulties in areas such as:
• Attending their usual school following hospitalisation or long-term illness
• Reaching their full potential because of time missed at their usual school due to
various medical conditions
Page 39 of 56
• Re-integrating successfully back into their usual school.
Coventry Extended Learning Centre (CELC) – Link, Swanswell, Wyken
Pupils are moved over on a referral basis not as part of School Admissions, to the
CELC/PRU (pupil referral unit).
Provision for pupils who are experiencing behaviour difficulties within a mainstream school
setting and are in Key Stage 3 & 4 (11-16). Previously some pupils will have been
permanently excluded and most will have been at risk of permanent exclusion from their
mainstream school.
Spring 2022 will see the merge of the Swanswell CELC to the Link CELC, where it will
become one PRU as part of an Education Capital Programme investment of over £4
million. This will take form as an existing building refurbishment and a 2-storey building,
as an extended wing to the existing. With the merge and scope for the potential of
additional pupils, the new Link could theoretically accommodate 130 pupils post expansion.
Reconfiguration and refurbishment to the existing layout and structure, will include a new
reception area, multi-function office areas, to include space for when external professionals
come in for appointments with the pupils. Additions of hair, beauty and nail salons that will
be housed in this section of the provision, to provide a more purpose-built curriculum. This
will help to achieve a target set by Ofsted. With additional kitchen/canteen and dining
facilities and as part of the new wing there will be 3 new vocational subject workshops’,
showcasing fully accessible areas: electrical/plumbing, mechanic and
bricklaying/plastering along with a new gymnasium. As part of the first-floor extension, this
is where Core subjects English, maths and science will be taught.
Overall, in the extended ground and first floor, there is the possibility to create up to an
additional 7 classrooms, with additional intervention rooms and a newly purpose-built staff
room. With the additional subjects being able to be taught at the centre, focussing on the
core subjects and the vocational, this will aid in encouraging pupils to engage and support
them post-education, and gaining recognised qualifications and gateway onto future
vocational qualifications.
Keys – Parkgate Primary School, Frederick Bird Primary School
Provision for mainstream intervention programmed for National Curriculum Key Stage 1
and Key Stage 2 pupils who are at risk of exclusion and are struggling to meet the
behavioural expectations of their school. The service provides short term, intensive support
in a small group to improve resilience and self-regulation focused on enabling a child to be
successfully integrated into their mainstream class group. The intervention is offered for
up to 2 terms for 4 days per week, children remain in their registered school on the 5
th
day.
Page 40 of 56
Appendices
Appendix 1 - Primary Planning Areas
Page 41 of 56
Primary Planning Area
School
North
Holy Family Catholic
John Shelton
Parkgate Academy
Whitmore Park
Keresley Grange
North Central
Broad Heath
Edgewick
Hill Farm Academy
Stanton Bridge
Page 42 of 56
Joseph Cash
St Augustine’s Catholic
John Gulson
Radford Academy
St Elizabeth’s Catholic
East Central
All Saints’ CE
Frederick Bird
Gosford Park
Stoke
Stoke Heath
Sacred Heart Catholic
St Mary & St Benedict Catholic
Sidney Stringer Academy
Southfields
West Central
All Souls’ Catholic
Earlsdon
Hearsall Academy
Moseley
St Osburg’s Catholic
Spon Gate
Longford
Alderman’s Green
Courthouse Green Academy
Grangehurst
Good Shepherd Catholic Academy
Holbrook
Little Heath
Longford Park
St Laurence’s CE Academy
North East
Henley Green
Moat House
Potters Green
SEVA (Free)
Whittle
SS Peter & Paul Catholic
Walsgrave
St Patricks Catholic
East
Wyken Croft
John Fisher Catholic
Clifford Bridge
Pearl Hyde
Ravensdale
Page 43 of 56
Richard Lee
St Gregory's Catholic
Binley
Aldermoor Farm
Ernesford Grange
St Bartholomew's
Sowe Valley
Corpus Christi
South East
St Anne's Catholic
Stretton CE
Whitley Abbey
Willenhall
South
Finham
Grange Farm
Howes
Manor Park
St Thomas More Catholic
Stivichall
Cannon Park
Tile Hill
Templars
Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic
Leigh
Charter
West
Eastern Green Junior
Limbrick Wood
Mount Nod
Park Hill
St Andrew's Infant
St John Vianney
North West
Allesley
Allesley Hall
St Christopher
St John CE
Whoberley Hall
Coundon
Christ the King
Coundon
Hollyfast
Appendix 2 – Secondary Planning Areas
Page 44 of 56
Secondary
Planning Areas
Schools
Centre
Barr's Hill
Eden Girls
Sydney Stringer
North East
Seva
Grace Academy
Cardinal Wiseman
North West
President Kennedy
Cardinal Newman
Coundon Court
Page 45 of 56
South West
Whitely Academy
Ernesford Grange
Blue Coat
South East
West Coventry Academy
The Westwood Academy
WMG Academy for Young Engineers (UTC Free School)
Finham Park 2 (Free school)
South
Finham Park School
Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School (Voluntary Aided)
Foxford
Foxford
East
Lyng Hall
Stoke Park
Caludon Castle
Appendix 3 – Primary Forecasts
Primary
Planning
Area
Year
Reception
Forecasts
PAN
Available
Capacity
Total
NOR
Forecasts
Overall
Capacity
Available
Capacity
North
2020/21
319
315
-1%
2175
2205
1%
2021/22
278
315
12%
2139
2205
3%
2022/23
276
315
13%
2108
2205
4%
2023/24
272
315
14%
2073
2205
6%
2024/25
249
315
21%
2022
2205
8%
North
Central
2020/21
471
540
13%
3632
3780
4%
2021/22
453
540
16%
3557
3780
6%
2022/23
454
510
11%
3481
3750
7%
2023/24
444
510
13%
3379
3520
4%
2024/25
412
510
19%
3258
3490
7%
East
Central
2020/21
483
555
13%
3550
3885
9%
2021/22
443
525
16%
3507
3855
9%
2022/23
432
525
18%
3402
3825
11%
2023/24
446
525
15%
3322
3795
12%
2024/25
404
525
23%
3206
3765
15%
West
Central
2020/21
259
270
4%
1893
2010
6%
2021/22
250
270
8%
1888
1980
5%
2022/23
236
270
13%
1847
1950
5%
2023/24
267
270
1%
1839
1920
4%
2024/25
248
270
8%
1806
1890
4%
Longford
2020/21
475
480
1%
3305
3570
7%
2021/22
444
450
1%
3280
3330
2%
Page 46 of 56
2022/23
460
450
-2%
3273
3300
1%
2023/24
430
450
4%
3201
3270
2%
2024/25
432
450
4%
3182
3240
2%
North
East
2020/21
334
390
14%
2469
2730
10%
2021/22
340
390
13%
2469
2730
10%
2022/23
303
390
22%
2431
2730
11%
2023/24
303
390
22%
2375
2730
13%
2024/25
317
390
19%
2326
2730
15%
East
2020/21
431
435
1%
3004
3135
4%
2021/22
406
435
7%
2980
3105
4%
2022/23
402
435
8%
2946
3075
4%
2023/24
393
435
10%
2887
3045
5%
2024/25
375
435
14%
2835
3045
7%
Binley
2020/21
235
270
13%
1715
1890
9%
2021/22
218
270
19%
1667
1890
12%
2022/23
244
270
9%
1689
1890
11%
2023/24
218
270
19%
1661
1890
12%
2024/25
183
270
32%
1616
1890
14%
South
East
2020/21
161
180
11%
1180
1260
6%
2021/22
177
180
2%
1194
1260
5%
2022/23
164
180
9%
1191
1260
6%
2023/24
172
180
4%
1192
1260
5%
2024/25
134
180
26%
1158
1260
8%
South
2020/21
395
405
2%
2704
2835
5%
2021/22
386
405
5%
2682
2835
5%
2022/23
383
375
-2%
2665
2805
5%
2023/24
346
375
8%
2619
2775
6%
2024/25
302
375
19%
2552
2754
7%
Tile Hill
2020/21
189
195
3%
1270
1365
7%
2021/22
180
195
8%
1306
1365
4%
2022/23
153
195
22%
1278
1365
6%
2023/24
167
195
14%
1270
1365
7%
2024/25
144
195
26%
1232
1365
10%
West
2020/21
229
295
22%
1520
2065
26%
2021/22
216
295
27%
1525
2065
26%
2022/23
237
295
20%
1536
2065
26%
2023/24
205
295
30%
1533
2065
26%
2024/25
216
295
27%
1543
2065
25%
North
West
2020/21
207
210
1%
1425
1470
3%
2021/22
192
210
9%
1418
1470
4%
2022/23
180
210
14%
1387
1470
6%
2023/24
203
210
3%
1379
1470
6%
Page 47 of 56
2024/25
199
210
5%
1392
1470
5%
Coundon
2020/21
222
210
-6%
1591
1650
4%
2021/22
210
210
0%
1573
1620
3%
2022/23
224
210
-7%
1568
1590
1%
2023/24
218
210
-4%
1549
1560
1%
2024/25
196
210
6%
1518
1530
1%
City
Wide
2020/21
4412
4750
7%
31432
33250
5%
2021/22
4192
4690
11%
31185
32830
5%
2022/23
4147
4630
10%
30800
32410
5%
2023/24
4084
4630
12%
30280
32410
7%
2024/25
3810
4630
18%
29647
32410
9%
Appendix 4 – Secondary Forecasts
Secondary
Planning
Area
Year
Year 7
Forecast
PAN
Available
Capacity
Total NOR
Forecasts
Overall
Capacity
Available
Capacity
Central
2020/21
565
491
-15%
2526
2621
4%
2021/22
576
510
-13%
2640
2621
-1%
2022/23
592
540
-10%
2773
2621
-6%
2023/24
602
540
-12%
2921
2621
-11%
2024/25
583
540
-8%
2932
2621
-12%
North West
2020/21
858
925
7%
4098
4505
9%
2021/22
915
925
1%
4230
4505
6%
2022/23
920
925
0%
4372
4505
3%
2023/24
933
925
-1%
4542
4505
-1%
2024/25
903
925
2%
4615
4505
-2%
Foxford
2020/21
174
180
3%
897
960
7%
2021/22
180
180
0%
900
960
6%
2022/23
181
180
0%
897
960
7%
2023/24
181
210
14%
899
960
6%
2024/25
179
210
15%
908
960
5%
South
2020/21
469
420
-12%
2211
2340
6%
2021/22
489
480
-2%
2282
2340
2%
2022/23
497
510
3%
2359
2340
-1%
2023/24
493
480
-3%
2421
2340
-3%
2024/25
475
450
-6%
2422
2340
-4%
East
2020/21
680
570
-19%
3102
2850
-9%
2021/22
710
570
-25%
3250
2850
-14%
2022/23
716
600
-19%
3382
2880
-17%
Page 48 of 56
2023/24
737
630
-17%
3555
2910
-22%
2024/25
710
630
-13%
3575
2910
-23%
North East
2020/21
326
550
41%
1878
2870
35%
2021/22
337
550
39%
1865
2870
35%
2022/23
333
550
40%
1800
2870
37%
2023/24
345
595
42%
1686
2870
41%
2024/25
339
595
43%
1690
2870
41%
South East
2020/21
614
625
2%
2938
3335
12%
2021/22
665
655
-2%
3043
3335
9%
2022/23
651
715
9%
3165
3335
5%
2023/24
667
685
3%
3238
3335
3%
2024/25
641
685
6%
3251
3335
3%
South West
2020/21
484
519
7%
2194
3175
31%
2021/22
513
639
20%
2322
3175
27%
2022/23
545
694
21%
2502
3175
21%
2023/24
525
754
30%
2640
3175
17%
2024/25
519
699
26%
2709
3175
15%
City Wide
2020/21
4170
4280
3%
19843
22656
12%
2021/22
4385
4509
3%
20532
22656
9%
2022/23
4434
4714
6%
21250
22686
6%
2023/24
4484
4819
7%
21901
22716
4%
2024/25
4347
4734
8%
22103
22716
3%
Appendix 5 – Bus Route Information
School
Bus Routes
Barr’s Hill
All bus routes to Pool Meadow
16/16a – Binley, Stoke Aldermoor, City Centre, Radford, Coundon, Kersley
13/13a – Willenhall, Binley, City Centre, Radford, Coundon, Kersley
Caludon
Castle
4 – Holbrooks, Ricoh arena, Foleshill, City Centre, Stoke, Walsgrave
8 & 8a – City Centre, Stoke, Wyken, Walsgrave, Potters Green, Henley Green
9/9A – Finham, Stivichall, City centre, Stoke, Wyken, Walsgrave
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Coundon
Court
5- Tile Hill, Chapelfields, City Centre, Coundon, Holbrooks, Little Heath
Eden
All bus routes to Pool Meadow
6/6a – Tile Hill, Chapelfields, City Centre, Courthouse Green, Little Heath, Bell
Green
21 - Willenhall, Whitley, City Centre, Courthouse Green, Bell Green
Ernesford
Grange
13 – Willenhall, Binley, City Centre, Radford, Coundon, Keresley
16/16a – Binley, Stoke Aldermoor, City Centre, Radford, Coundon, Keresley
Finham Park
9s/9/9a – Walsgrave, Wyken, Stoke, City Centre, Stivichall, Finham
Foxford
6/6A – Tile Hill, Chapelfields, City Centre, Courthouse Green, Little Heath,
Aldermans Green
20 – City Centre, Foleshill, Little Heath, Longford, Ricoh Arena, Exhall,
Bedworth
Lyng Hall
10/10a– Eastern Green, Chapelfields, City Centre, Wyken, Bell Green
60 – Canley, Whitley, Willenhall, Walsgrave, Wyken, Holbrooks
President
Kennedy
13/13a – Willenhall, Binley, City Centre, Radford, Coundon, Keresley,
Holbrooks, City centre
772 – Bedworth, Exhall, Longford, Holbrooks, Little heath
Sidney
Stringer
All bus routes to Pool Meadow
The
Westwood
Academy
19- Westwood Business Park - Hearsall Common - Coventry City Centre
18 - Tile Hill - Canley - Hearsall Common - Coventry City Centre
18a Tile Hill, Canley, Stivichall, City centre
43 – Westwood, Canley, Tile Hill, Allesley
Whitley
Academy
7 – Brownshill Green, Allesley Village, City Centre, Whitley
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21 - Willenhall, Whitley, City Centre, Courthouse Green, Bell Green
Bluecoat
16 - Binley, Stoke Aldermoor, City Centre, Radford, Coundon, Keresley
16s (school bus) Coundon, Radford City Centre
S4
Bishop
Ullathorne
9/9a – Walsgrave, Wyken, Stoke, City Centre, Stivichall, Finham
18a – Tile Hill, Canley, Stivichall, City centre
45 (school bus)
Cardinal
Newman
13/13a – Willenhall, Binley, City Centre, Radford, Coundon, Keresley,
Holbrooks
16/16a – Binley, Stoke Aldermoor, City Centre, Radford, Coundon, Keresley
61s – Allesley, Coundon, Holbrooks, Ricoh arena
Appendix 6 - Education Pupil Yield Methodology
There are two main factors to the contribution’s requests, firstly the cost per pupil (Cost
Multiplier) which is a Department for Education (DfE) stated amount for Coventry, and
secondly the pupil yield anticipated from the development. Coventry City Council request
contributions, where required, for Early Years (EY), Primary, Secondary, Sixth Form, and
Primary, and Secondary SEN. These requests are in line with changes in Government
policy including the funded two year olds EY policy, 30 Hrs as of September 2017, and the
raising of the participation age to 18; as well as ensuring Coventry matches its
neighbouring local authorities in terms of level of request.
The way in which Education select schools to secure contributions towards expanding
school places, as part of the Section 106 process, is determined by the following criteria:
• Good value for money
• Only expand good and outstanding Ofsted rated schools
• Ensure contributions requested align with Coventry City Council’s One Strategic
Plan and its ongoing programmes
• Select schools close to the development where possible, but must also factor in
localised areas of pressure City wide
• All schools are selected equally and fairly
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Coventry City Council Education do not ask for contributions for one-bedroom dwellings as
they are unlikely to generate either primary, secondary or sixth form pupils. For this reason,
Coventry calculate the pupil yield from dwellings which are designed for familial
occupation, i.e. 2 bed dwellings and above. Furthermore, a majority of the one bed
dwellings within the city are occupied by and designated for use by students and so familial
occupation would not occur.
This will continue to be achieved through Section 106 agreements. Education will seek the
maximum contribution from developers to support the provision of additional places that
Education Capital Strategy believe is proportionate to the impact of the development. It is
critical that developers make a financial contribution to school places as, without it, the LA
will be unable to deliver the required provision. Section 106 also includes asking for Primary
and Secondary SEN contributions to aid in commissioning additional special school places
as a result of the development. Contributions are requested fairly based on their proximity
to the development, all education types are equally considered and some rounding within
the pupil yield calculation may see an additional place be requested when rounded up to
the nearest whole pupil place.
Cost Multiplier
There is no nationwide funding formula for Early Years provision, however there is
guidance based on the amount of floor space that an Early Years child will need, based
on age of the child. Providers must meet the following indoor space requirements:
• Children under two years: 3.5 m2 per child
• Two-year olds: 2.5 m2 per child
• Children aged three to five years: 2.3 m2 per child
The variation in EY provision, between AM and PM sessions, and the high turnover of
providers mean that this can often be a variable that changes on a monthly basis. For this
reason, the same cost multiplier as primary aged pupils are used.
The Department for Education (DfE) provide an annual update to this figure and for
2020/21 this figure is £14,402. The Secondary calculation has been updated by the DfE to
a figure of £18,722. These new figures have been confirmed by the DfE and are expected
to rise in the future in line with inflation. Therefore, the cost per pupil multiplier will be
updated as and when the DfE provide the new allocation allowance for Coventry.
The DfE do not provide costs per pupil place for Sixth form pupils. Therefore, the
methodology for this, takes the Secondary calculation and adds the additional floor space
required for a sixth form pupil. The additional floor space required for a sixth form pupil
over a secondary age pupil is a recognised DfE statistic. The basis behind these floor
space calculations is the extra equipment and supervision that sixth form pupils require
over secondary age pupils. The DfE state the additional floor space required be larger than
that for Secondary, working this out as a percentage sixth form pupil require 14.6% more
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space than Secondary. Therefore, 14.6% has been added to the cost multiplier for
Secondary to give a total for a single sixth form of £24,339.
For SEN, as there is no DfE multiplier, Coventry use the benchmarking mechanism
undertaken by the DfE in 2019, which recommends that ‘Special schools require more
space per pupil than mainstream schools, and this should be reflected in the assumed
costs of provision. Education Capital Strategy recommend that developer contributions for
special or alternative school places are set at four times the cost of mainstream places,
consistent with the space standards in Building Bulletin 104. You can also refer to the
National School Delivery Cost Benchmarking report for the costs of delivering SEN school
places.’ The DfE recommend for a cost of £65,739 average cost per pupil place for SEN,
Coventry’s cost per pupil multiplier has been updated to match this figure.
Pupil Yield Changes
Early Years
The take up rate for Coventry for the 30hrs was circa 50% and the take-up rate for funded
two years old is circa 32%. These two programmes have effectively doubled the amount
of Early Years care required. The impact of the new universal credit benefit system, and
the lowering of the benefit cap, will also increase the eligibility of funded two-year-old
places and therefore the amount of places required will increase. Coventry City Council
are currently working to calculate the effect of this. Therefore, the contribution request is
calculated from asking for two years’ worth 15 Hrs or 0.8 of a FT year group with the take
up rate of funded two years and 30 Hrs being added into this. This will be co-ordinated
each year with Early Years colleagues as the take up rate for both Government schemes
is expected to rise.
Primary and Secondary
Coventry City Council has seen a primary age population explosion in recent years with
the current reception cohort being 24% higher than the current Year 11. This has been as
a result of larger birth cohorts which have impacted upon available school places. These
larger birth cohorts are coming from existing housing stock as well as new homes being
put into the city. There has been relatively little new housing in Coventry over this period,
but the city as a whole has become more attractive for people to raise families in, resulting
in a younger population within the city. This trend is expected to continue in the new
housing that is being put into the city. In essence more people within Coventry are having
more children. The formula for this is by examining the total number of eligible homes within
Coventry and the current Number on Roll in Schools, split between Primary and
Secondary. This gives the pupil yield for how many school age children the current housing
stock within Coventry provide. The pupil yield from a single eligible dwelling for primary is
0.39 and for secondary 0.22 pupils per eligible household.
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Sixth Form
The formula for this is calculated from the proportion of children staying on in sixth form
and also staying in education between Years 12 and 13. However it is still an inconsistent
indicator, therefore the percentage applied to the children staying on rate will be based on
the stay on rate of children the September before the application was received. For the
most recent year, the drop off between year 12 and year 13 was 8.9% of the cohort,
therefore, to incorporate this into the pupil yield only 1.9 year groups are requested. This
has resulted in a drop in the sixth form contribution asked for.
Primary SEN
To calculate the primary SEN contribution Coventry City Council use the School census
published three times annually. This lists the student details for the current mainstream
and BSSS cohort and the number of children within this cohort an EHC plan or SEN
statement. By understanding the total number of EHC plans and SEN statements within
the current primary cohort, it is possible to calculate the current % of the cohort which
require additional needs arising from new housing. By dividing the figures of total cohort
by number of EHC’s a total of 1.67% is received. This factor will be applied to the pupil
yield calculation for primary. This figure will be updated annually as the number of EHC
plans is rising in excess of proportionality of the general increase in population.
Secondary SEN
The Secondary SEN pupil yield is calculated using the same method of calculating the
current number of secondary age pupils with an EHC plan or Statement and dividing by
the total amount of children in Secondary education. The current amount of EHC plans
within Secondary school is 3.3%. This figure will be updated annually as the number of
EHC plans is rising in excess of proportionality of the general increase in population.
Appendix 7 – Forecasting Methodology and Planning Considerations
Introduction
Local authorities use different methods to forecast pupil numbers and take different factors
into account, the forecast of pupil numbers is then submitted to the ESFA annually and a
basic need allocation is granted based off the information provided. This methodology
explains the process by which the pupil forecasts are made, the following process is
followed.
Primary
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Birth Data is gathered annually from the NHS Trust that covers Coventry. This is then
aggregated annually with the most recent GP data, and broken down into each individual
school’s catchment area, using GIS software. For forecasts beyond this point, I.E When
the birth data is not yet available, a three-year weighted average for each catchment area
is used, to plot the trends and determine long term sufficiency planning.
This determines the number of pupils’ resident in each school’s catchment area. To be
determined the number of pupils expected to be educated in each school and therefore
planning area, this number is then broken down into how pupils move across the city. To
calculate how this cohort is reflected onto a school level, the variable of parental choice is
applied, with a historic percentage on the movement of pupils from each catchment area
to all schools in the city being applied.
Where any school has an excess of forecast pupils above its PAN, unless it is agreed that
the school can take above PAN, then that excess will be redistributed to other schools
within the planning area. The redistribution is added, in liaising with the Coventry City
Council school admissions team, by filling the most ‘popular’ school in planning area and
then moving onto the second ‘most popular’, and so on.
This calculates the September intake for each Primary School for Reception for the plan
period. Any other mitigating factors, such as Out of City (OOC) children entering the school,
housing, and other migration are then added after the September intake. Individual rates
of increase are applied to specific schools, based upon historic trends and housing
allocations within the Local Plan, as this is more of a factor for schools near the city
boundaries. Those rates are based on recent trends of OOC in the school. These are
manually added after the Coventry applications are factored in, to account for the effective
pushback of some of these children to their LA.
In-Year
Once the September intake is calculated. In-Year variations are applied, there are two
forms of In-Year calculations within the forecasting model. These are migration rates and
the impact of additional housing across the City.
Migration is added for each school year group in each school based off historic transience
and movement – this is often internal migration. This is based off school admissions data
on the number of pupils applying and being allocated a school place at each school over
the previous year.
The City Council maintains a database of housing developments, these housing
developments are within the Local Plan or have already been approved as windfall sites.
This database corresponds to the forecasting model and generates the estimated pupil
yield from each housing development broken down by the number of homes being built
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per year. The pupil yield numbers are then added to individual schools based upon
proximity to each housing development and the likelihood of those pupils attending that
school. This pupil yield is calculated using formulae that are based off city wide pupil yields.
In some cases, assumptions are made as to the rate the houses will be built, if this is not
identified within the Local Plan, and occupied.
Secondary
For Secondary forecasts the methodology behind them is the same as the Primary
element, with the exception that birth data is no longer used and instead the existing year
6 cohort within the city is the initial dataset.
The Year 6 cohort is calculated based on census information on the existing school cohort
and rolled forward 1 year for the transfer round. Coventry education allows for a loss of
pupils at the transfer round as children choose to attend other LA schools and private
schools. This figure is calculated annually as it is dependent upon the amount of place
available in other LA schools, this figure is typically around 5%.
Sixth Form
For Sixth form, individual rates of stay on for each school are applied. The school’s intake
figures for Year 12 are generated from actual school values by using the previous year’s
transfer of Year 11 to year 12. This figure is then placed within the context of the projected
Year 11 cohort for the forecast years. This transfer round considers the pupils transferring
to other phases of education, such as apprenticeship, or FE colleges, which the LA do not
forecast for. Therefore, only the pupils anticipated to enter a School sixth form are included
in the forecasts.
Additional Detail
It should be stressed that the projections are only indicative. For instance, where the
projection for the city is in excess of total amount of places available and an individual
school forecast exceeds the capacity of that school, therefore no redistribution can occur
as there are insufficient city wide school places, the projections do not imply that the school
will be required to admit the additional pupils.
Appendix 8 – SEN Projected Methodology
It is widely known that mainstream population has grown over the last few years. It is more
commonly acknowledged within primary, where large scale expansion of mainstream
capacity has taken place. Education Capital Strategy therefore see there is a direct
correlation at least at primary level, of the growth of EHCP’s being linked to the growth in
mainstream. With the size of the mainstream primary cohort now starting to stabilise, it can
Page 56 of 56
be assumed by way of forecast that the number of primary pupils with additional need will
similarly stabilise.
Proportion of EHCP
(Education, Health, and
Care Plan) of total
cohort
11
2015
2016
2017
2018
Early Years Cohort
0.69%
1.36%
1.79%
1.67%
Primary Cohort
1.85%
1.94%
1.98%
2.24%
Secondary Cohort
3.53%
3.44%
3.40%
3.44%
The above figures show that despite the large raw increase in Primary SEN number’s,
proportionally EHCP numbers have only slightly increased in primary compared to the
population growth. 2018 jump in primary is due to an increase in plans being issued. It also
identifies a clear stabilising numbers in proportion for Secondary need. Given that the
secondary cohort is increasing the largest, this proportion will similarly increase.
11
Benchmark data
