The Cabinet will be provided with an update on North Tyneside Council’s Strategic Education Review, specifically a proposal to close Monkseaton High School. The reports pack also includes a summary of responses to a formal consultation about the future of the school.

Proposed Closure of Monkseaton High School

A report prepared by Julie Firth, Director of Children's Services, and Jon Ritchie, Director of Resources, for the meeting summarises the findings of two consultations about the future of Monkseaton High School. The first, a pre-publication consultation, was carried out between 17 September 2024 and 30 October 2024, while the second, a formal statutory representation period, began on 15 November 2024 and will close on 13 December 2024.

The closure of Monkseaton High School is considered necessary on the basis that it is no longer viable. In addition, there are surplus places elsewhere in the local area, which can accommodate displaced pupils, and there is no predicted increase in demand for the school in the medium to long term.

The report pack says that, after considering the responses to both consultations, the meeting will decide whether to approve the closure of the school. It outlines several reasons why the school should close.

Monkseaton High School is said to be in a significant financial deficit. As of 31 March 2024 the school had a cumulative deficit of £5.285 million, which is projected to grow to around £7.2 million by 2027. The deficit has been growing since 2015-2016, and several reasons are given for this.

Declining pupil numbers have played a part in the school's financial difficulties. The school, which has capacity for 964 pupils, has seen pupil numbers fall every year since 2009 when it had 783 pupils on its roll. In January 2024 only 527 pupils attended the school, and the October 2024 census recorded just 504. The report pack states that this decline is due to lower birth rates and parental choice. It suggests that parents prefer to send their children to other local secondary schools. Only 20% of Monkseaton High School's pupils live within the school's catchment area, with the majority coming from other areas. Of the pupils who live within the school's catchment area, 85% attend other local schools, with only 15% choosing Monkseaton High School.

The report pack also points to changes to government funding, the national funding formula and higher-than-average building running costs at the school as factors in its financial difficulties.

The report pack states that the Authority has worked closely with the school’s leaders to stabilise its finances and explored a number of alternative options to avoid closing the school, none of which were viable. These included:

• Merging with other schools
• Becoming an academy
• Changing its age range to become a secondary school and increasing pupil numbers
• Changing catchment areas
• Making the school a sixth form centre
• Creating a SEND centre¹ in the school
• Renting out spaces in the school building
• Fundraising

The report pack says that the Authority has explored all possible options to avoid closure and that this has been reinforced by discussions with the Department for Education. It says that no viable options have been suggested, and recommends that the Council approve the closure of Monkseaton High School on 31 August 2026.

The report pack includes detailed accounts of both consultations. The results of the first, pre-publication consultation, show that 84% of respondents disagreed with the proposal to close the school. Respondents were asked to suggest alternative proposals for the school’s future, with these being the most popular:

• Becoming a secondary school (175 respondents)
• Merging with another local school (172 respondents)
• Changing catchment areas (156 respondents)
• Becoming a Sixth Form Centre (98 respondents)
• Becoming a SEND centre (94 respondents)

Respondents were asked to comment further on the proposal. The most common themes were:

• Concern about where pupils would go to school (119 respondents)
• Concern that other local schools are already oversubscribed (91 respondents)
• The impact on pupils' mental health and well-being (88 respondents)

The report pack also outlines the methodology used for the second statutory representation period. As part of that process, parents and pupils at the school, alongside other interested parties, were asked to comment on the proposal. The consultation closed on 13 December 2024, and a summary of responses to the consultation has been included in the meeting pack. A supplementary report with more detailed findings will be provided before the meeting. 86% of respondents objected to the proposal, and a number of key themes emerged from their comments:

• The impact of closure on pupil and staff well-being, particularly the separation of friendship groups and potential negative impacts on pupil’s mental health.
• Concerns about the consultation process, with requests for more detailed information.
• A perceived lack of a detailed plan about the future of Monkseaton High School, including where displaced pupils will go to school, long term impacts on other local schools and the future of the three-tier education system in North Tyneside.
• Concern that there is a lack of capacity at other schools to accommodate displaced pupils.
• Concern about the potential impact on house prices.

Some respondents suggested alternative uses for the school building, such as merging it with Monkseaton Middle School or making it a specialist SEND school. Some respondents suggested that the Authority was planning to sell the land for housing.

The report pack contains detailed plans for the closure of the school, if it is approved. It sets out a timetable for both consultations and details of an extraordinary in-year admissions arrangement that will be put in place for pupils at the school to apply to other schools. If the closure is approved, Year 9 pupils will transition to other schools at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year, and no pupils will be admitted to Year 9 or Year 12 in September 2025. Current pupils in Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 would continue their education at the school until it closes on 31 August 2026. The report pack states that there is sufficient capacity in other local schools to accommodate all of the displaced pupils. The report pack also includes details of how pupils with SEND and those with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) would be supported during the transition to new schools.

The report pack sets out four options for the Cabinet to choose from:

• Approve the proposal to close Monkseaton High School without modification
• Approve the proposal to close Monkseaton High School with modifications
• Approve the proposal to close Monkseaton High School with or without modifications, subject to certain conditions being met
• Reject the proposal to close Monkseaton High School

It recommends that the Council approve the proposal to close Monkseaton High School without modification.