Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: April 17, 2025

Purpose: Report sufficiency in Secondary School places and plan for capacity issues in order to meet the council's statutory duty to be able to offer a school places to every child in the borough.

Content: The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Children’s Services, which sought to inform of the annual review of secondary school places across the borough, evaluating the sufficiency of available places and providing forecasts for the next six years. The report also sought approval of the necessary expenditures for managing the school estate to ensure the council fulfils its statutory obligation to provide a school place for every child residing in the borough.   The Transformation Project Manager Sufficiency was in attendance to present the information and to address the questions and the comments of the Cabinet Members.   Cabinet Members noted that the Department for Education (DfE) Littleborough Secondary School project was currently “paused”, pending the government’s national spending review. The DfE advised an update on this would be anticipated in “Late Spring” 2025.   Resolved: That the updated forecasts borough-wide for both the Heywood / Middleton area and the Pennines / Rochdale area be noted; That the timeline for the decision by the Department for Education for the potential new Littleborough Secondary school of “late spring” 2025 be noted; That the Basic Need funding as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report for the Pennines / Rochdale area for the 2026 intake where additional places may be needed be approved.   Reason for decision: The council had a statutory duty to provide education and school places for all school-aged children residing in the borough and was consequently responsible for ensuring effective planning to accommodate projected pupil numbers. In accordance with Section 14(1) of the Education Act 1996, the Local Authority had a duty to ensure sufficient school places are available and acts as the strategic commissioner for the provision of new school places within its area. A local authority shall exercise its functions under this legislation to contribute to the spiritual, moral, mental, and physical development of the community by ensuring that efficient primary and secondary education, and in the case of a local authority in England, further education, are available to meet the needs of the population within its area.   Alternatives considered and rejected: The council was required to meet its statutory duty to maintain sufficient places, and consequently must work in partnership with all schools (maintained and non-maintained) to manage sufficiency. Not delivering additional capacity as requested in (2.3) of the report could put the council in danger of not meeting its statutory obligations.