Proposal for a new secondary free school in East Leeds from September 2020

***CONSULTATION PERIOD EXTENDED UNTIL FRIDAY 3RD NOVEMBER***

Leeds City Council is proposing to establish a new 8 form entry (1,200 place – 240 pupils per year group) secondary free school for pupils aged 11-16 within the boundary of the Fearnville site (see the Fearnville Consultation Document for more detail). The suggested location is situated next to the new proposed Fearnville wellbeing centre being put forward by Leeds City Council. It is proposed that the new school would be linked to the new wellbeing centre allowing pupils to benefit from the use of these brand new sports and wellbeing facilities, as well as the local community. We are therefore proposing a school with a sports, health and wellbeing ethos. A separate consultation document is available with all the relevant information about the wellbeing centre proposal, and can be found at http://active.leeds.gov.uk/fearnvilleleisurecentredevelopment

The proposed opening date for the school is September 2020 with the school gradually filling over a number of years. There is no identified need for new sixth form (16-18 year olds) provision in the area.

A shortage of provision for young people with a Special Educational Need and Disability (SEND) has been identified in this area. A Resourced Provision for children with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) is included in this proposal. A dedicated resource base for one to one support/development and access to specialist teaching methods is proposed, however pupils could access mainstream education as appropriate to their individual needs.

As part of the proposed new school and wellbeing centre Leeds City Council are proposing to utilise a section of the Fearnville playing fields. Although these fields are owned by Leeds City Council, in 1925 Leeds City Council applied to what was the National Playing Fields Association – now Fields in Trust (FiT) to protect them through a Deeds of Dedication. You can find out more about this in the Fearnville Consultation Document and further information in these Fearnville questions & answers.

The extended consultation period now ends on Friday 3rd November 2017.   During this period, views on the proposal are being sought from parents, staff, residents and other stakeholders.

You may comment on this proposal by clicking on ‘leave a comment’ at the bottom of the page, or complete the online survey at https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/s.asp?k=150669152265.

You can contribute to this part of the discussion until Friday 3rd November 2017 at 4pm.

If any of the information above is required in large print / braille / alternative language version please contact Leeds City Council.

email: educ.school.organisation@leeds.gov.uk

Leeds City Council, PO Box 837,  Sufficiency & Participation Team, c/o Town Hall, Leeds, LS1 9PZ

7 Comments

  1. It would be useful to see some modelling/a map of the new secondary school catchment areas as a result of this new school. What difference will it make to the nearby secondary schools catchment/nearest school e.g. Roundhay, Bishop Young (was David Young) etc. Please can this be provided to enable local parents to see what the potential changes are?

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    • The school would be required to determine their own admission policy, and the local authority would support them to identify a priority catchment area, however as a Free School they are responsible for determining their own admission policy and may choose not to offer this priority.

      Some schools in the area have a set priority catchment area (Roundhay, Bishop Young Academy & Co-operative Academy) and those priority catchment areas would not change with the introduction of a new school. If the new school did introduce a catchment priority, this could mean that some families would receive a priority admission at more than one school. The schools in the area may consider consulting on a change to their priority catchment area, however this cannot be guaranteed.

      Leeds East Academy currently offers a ‘nearest’ priority, which is flexible and would change if the new school offered a nearest priority.

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  2. The geography of the current secondary schools in East Leeds put Roundhay Bishop Young and this proposed site close together.. indeed Bishop Young and this school would be facing each other over the Wyke Beck.
    I realise that available land is a challenge but is the best site?

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  3. The said land is under a deed of dedication It is not the best site.The LCC has land available adjacent to the BYCA . If not suitable see Wetherby road .But is this High school going to be for the new housing in Seacroft ? If not then you need to build a HIgh school for the bulge years in Harehills the ideal place would be in or around Colcottes avenue .

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    • Due to the increase in births in Leeds over the last decade, we have worked with primary schools to increase the number of places available. These primary aged children will soon be looking to move to secondary schools. Demographic data shows that the current secondary schools will not have sufficient capacity to accommodate these children from 2020 onwards, therefore an additional secondary school is needed. Analysis of demographic data shows that Fearnville is in the right location for the need for increasing schools places. There are limited sites in council ownership that would be of sufficient size for a new high school.
      The national government have introduced the ‘Free School Presumption Process’ which means that local authorities must provide the land for which any new school should be built. City Development services within the local authority have completed extensive research into possible land, and Fearnville provides a fantastic opportunity to provide a new secondary school in an area where there will be high demand for places, and can utilise the facilities available from a new wellbeing centre, reducing the size and cost of build compared to a new school being built on another plot of land.
      Some sites that have already been mentioned during consultation are:
      • Harehills park – this site is too small
      • Soldiers Fields – green belt, historic park, not in the right location
      • Foxwood – new SEMH provision currently being developed on this site

      In September 2017 City Development produced a report for the council’s Executive Board detailing all the other sites in Leeds that have been considered for leisure facilities. The report can be found at https://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/documents/s164944/Leisure%20Wellbeing%20Centre%20Cover%20Report%20080917.pdf

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    • The consultation drop-in on 24th October at Fearnville Leisure Centre was extended from 5pm – 7pm to 5pm – 8pm. We also extended the consultation period from 31st October to 3rd November, and included another drop-in session on Monday 30th October 5pm-7pm. These extensions and the additional session were advertised widely on social media (Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, LCC webpages), with posters and flyers distributed in the local area (Fearnville leisure centre, Gipsil, Oakwood medical centre, Shelly’s Deli, newsagents, Seacroft OSC).

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