Lord

Hill of Oareford Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools Department for Education Sanctuary Buildings Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BT

8th March 2012

Dear Jonathan, Proposed Beccles Free School I refer to your letter of 2nd February 2012, in which you invited me to put forward additional evidence which will be considered alongside the statutory consultation responses when a decision is made as to whether or not to enter a funding agreement with the Seckford Foundation for setting up a Free School in Beccles. Below I set out my observations and conclusions. This letter is written on an open basis, as I have sort the views of constituents and interested parties and I believe it is appropriate that they should be aware of my conclusions and the representation that I have submitted to you. 1. Introduction Last year the Seckford Foundation, responding to a request from parents in the Beccles area, submitted an application to set up a Free School in Beccles. On 10th October 2011 the Secretary of State for Education decided that this application should proceed to the next stage of the Free Schools process. The proposal is for a 540-place 11-16 Secondary School in Beccles which it is proposed should open in September 2012. In deciding whether it is appropriate for the Secretary of State to enter into a Funding Agreement with the Seckford Foundation it is necessary to take into account Section 9 of the Academies Act 2010 (as amended), which is set out in Appendix 1. It is also necessary for the Seckford Foundation to carry out a consultation in accordance with Section 10 of this Act. This is reproduced in Appendix 2. You and I have corresponded, spoken and met since the Secretary of State made this decision. I wrote to you on 18th October 2011, advising you that whilst I supported the ethos and policies behind Free Schools I had concerns including whether there was sufficient demand and enough pupils for both the Free School and the existing Sir John Leman High School. This letter is reproduced in Appendix 3. We subsequently spoke on the telephone on 8th November when I elaborated on these concerns.

 On 13th December 2011 I wrote to you (see Appendix 4) regarding the arrangements for the Department for Educations Free School Group to inspect both the Beccles Middle School and the Sir John Leman High School. On 19th January 2012 I wrote to you again (see Appendix 5) following a meeting that I had arranged with the Seckford Foundation and the Head Teacher and the Deputy Head Teacher of the Sir John Leman High School. In this letter I summarised my views on the Free School proposal that it would have an adverse impact on other schools and education establishments in the Waveney area. You and I met on 9th February when I expanded on these considerations. I have encouraged interested parties to respond to the Seckford Foundations statutory consultation, as well as to write to me with their views which I have taken in to account in making this submission. Since last October I have sought to have an open dialogue with both the Sir John Leman High School and the Seckford Foundation. I have succeeded in doing this, though relations between the two parties have become strained. In making a decision as to whether to enter a funding agreement with the Seckford Foundation, I believe that it is necessary for the Department for Education to be fully aware of the changes that are taking place in the provision of education in the Waveney area. In an effort to improve the education system and to raise aspiration and standards of attainment the local education authority, Suffolk County Council, have carried out three structural changes as follows:- a) A new High School at Pakefield in south Lowestoft opened in September 2011 to provide additional high school places that were required following the significant housing development that has taken place primarily in the Carlton Colville area in recent years. The opening of Pakefield High School has resulted in a reduction in size of the Sir John Leman High Schools catchment area and instead of there being too few high school places in the area, there is now the likelihood of an over capacity. Suffolk County Council project that there will be overcapacity in 8 of 10 years from September 2012 onwards. This assessment is made without opening a Free School in the area. I provide further details on their findings below. b) A move from a three tier to a two tier system of education has taken place with middle schools being abolished. This transition took place in the Lowestoft area last September though some building work is still ongoing and it is taking place in the Beccles and Bungay catchment areas this coming September. This process has created some upheaval and uncertainty though ultimately I believe that it will have a positive impact. c) As you are aware, a Sixth Form College opened in Lowestoft last September, which has got off to a very good start. The former Lowestoft high schools do not now have

 sixth forms, though they continue to be provided at both the Sir John Leman High School and Bungay High School. In addition to these changes, three of the High Schools in the area are now academies; Sir John Leman High School, Bungay High School and East Point Academy (formerly Kirkley High School). These changes are both challenging and exciting and provide an opportunity to significantly improve education opportunities in the Waveney area. There has inevitably been some associated upheaval and there is a strong argument that a period of consolidation should now take place to ensure that the new arrangements are properly embedded and given every opportunity to succeed. 2. The Sir John Leman High School The Sir John Leman High School was established in Beccles in 1631 when Sir John Leman (Lord Mayor of London in 1616) left a legacy to educate pupils from Beccles and the surrounding villages. The school was originally a Free School. In 1914 it became a county mixed grammar school, in 1961 a comprehensive and on 1st August 2011 an Academy. As a result of being long established in the town the school is very much part of the community. Whilst the schools catchment area is varied, it is not a deprived area and the proportion of students being eligible for a free school meal is lower than the national average. According to figures released by the Department of Education, half the Free Schools opened in 2011 are located in the 30% most deprived communities in the country, whilst analysis of the current proposed schools due to open in 2012 reveals that more than 90% of the applicants are either in areas that are deprived or crying out for places. Neither is the case in this instance and thus consideration should be given as to whether Beccles is an appropriate location for a Free School and whether a more appropriate policy to pursue here would be to concentrate efforts and resources on the existing high school. I have studied the last three Ofsted Inspection reports for the Sir John Leman High School published in 2006, 2009 and 2011. I shall not comment on these in detail, other than to make the following observations:- a) The school is generally classified as a good (grade 2) school and there are strong indications of steady and continuing improvement. b) Areas in which the school excels and is rated as outstanding (Grade 1) are working in partnership with other schools (for instance in establishing the North Suffolk Skills Centre to which I refer in more detail below), its contribution to the wider community and the provision of a broad range of extracurricular activities, which promote pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. c) In my opinion an area in which the school should be concentrating in the next few years is the sixth form, where the latest Ofsted report draws attention to the

 improvements that are being made. For these efforts to be seen through it is important that the school does have a sustainable number of pupils in the lower school so that the retention of the sixth form remains viable. 3. The proposed Free School Thomas Seckford, who died in 1587, was a near contemporary of Sir John Leman. He bequeathed property for the benefit of the Suffolk town of Woodbridge, which is approximately 33 miles to the south of Beccles. Today the Seckford Foundation run the independent Woodbridge School. The Foundations proposals for the Beccles Free School are set out in their consultation document. I shall not comment in detail on these as they are largely self explanatory. I am aware from some of the feedback that I have received that their proposals appeal to some parents, though others do not view them in such a positive light. Two observations that I do make are as follows:- a) Some of the positive features that are highlighted in the consultation document are already well provided for by the Sir John Leman High School. These include community involvement and pastoral care. b) Limited consideration has been given in the consultation document both to the issue of capacity and the impact of their proposals on existing education establishments. I comment further on these two issues in the next section. 4. Impact on existing educational institutions Section 9 of the Academies Act requires consideration to be given to the impact of the Free School proposal on educational institutions in the area. I have various concerns in this respect as follows:- a) As mentioned above, following the reorganisation of schools in the Beccles and south Lowestoft areas, there is now an over capacity of high school places, which the provision of a Free School would exacerbate. With fewer pupils going to the existing schools, it is likely that they would reduce staffing levels and review the breadth of the curriculum available to pupils. These worries are best articulated by Suffolk County Council in their representation to the Department for Education of 23rd February 2012. I reproduce in Appendix 6 that part of their submission which relates to the Beccles Free School. b) As the Sir John Leman High School is just one mile from the proposed long-term site for the Beccles Free School (the existing Beccles Middle School) it is reasonable to assume that it is the school which would be most affected by any reduction in pupils. As well as those impacts mentioned above this could threaten the viability of continuing to provide a sixth form. This would mean that there would only be two sixth forms in the Waveney area; at Lowestoft College and at Bungay High School (I

 am not including the sixth form at the private St Felix Southwold School which is in the Waveney District though not in the Waveney Parliamentary constituency). I believe that such a narrowing of choice is not in the best interests of the local community. c) The Sir John Leman High School is a partner along with Bungay High School, Leiston High School, Stradbroke High School and Lowestoft College in the North Suffolk Skills Centre at Halesworth. This offers a wide variety of vocational courses for learners aged over 14 in such specialisms as engineering, construction trades, hospitality and catering and health and social care. There is a concern that a reduction in pupils and hence income at the Sir John Leman High School would lead to them withdrawing from this partnership and this could threaten the future of the Skills Centre. This would impact upon a wider area in North Suffolk; not only the catchment of the Sir John Leman High School, but also those of the three other aforementioned high schools. It is possible that an alternative private source of funding could be found, though I do not believe that it is right to risk creating such a scenario when the education sector in north Suffolk already faces challenges on a number of fronts. 5. Demand Section 10 of the Academies Act requires the Seckford Foundation to carry out a consultation on their proposals to establish the views of the local community and to ascertain the level of demand for a Free School. I do not know the outcome of this consultation. The Department for Education will be provided with this and you will be able to analyse the position for yourself. Below I set out my own observations on demand based on the feedback that I have received and my own views of the situation:- a) The proposed Free School received 513 expressions of interest in May 2011. As the MP for the area I could have expected to have received approaches from parties seeking to lobby for my support for this proposal. I received no such approaches at that time, which does lead me to question the depth of support for the proposal in the Beccles area. There is a view that some of those who indicated their initial support did so as they saw it as a way of retaining a school on the Beccles Middle School site. As a result of School Organisation Review the Middle School is closing in July and this is something that has caused some upset locally. This is a view which I believe does have some validity. b) I would also question whether the Department for Educations procedure for assessing demand at this initial stage was sufficiently rigorous and able to

 differentiate between casual expressions of interest and genuine intent. It should be noted that the procedure for gauging demand has subsequently been changed and is now considerably more exacting as confirmed by a comparison of Section 5 from the Department for Educations document Free Schools in 2012: How to apply Mainstream Schools with Section E in Free Schools in 2013: How to apply Mainstream and 16-19 Free Schools. These two sections are included in Appendix 7. c) I issued my own press release in late January, asking people to let me know their views on the proposal. I have received 73 representations, of which 9 support the Free School and 64 are opposed to it. Comments put forward by the former are summarised in Appendix 8, whilst those opposing the Free School are outlined in Appendix 9. I should emphasise that these are the observations and opinions of people who have made representations to me. Some of them are contentious and open to dispute and I have not sought to substantiate them. However they illustrate how the proposal has generated a considerable amount of discussion locally and you will be aware that this debate moved on to a national platform on Friday 2nd March, when Radio 4 Any Questions was broadcast from the Sir John Leman High School. d) I have also been presented with two petitions from those opposed to the Free School. 2016 have signed the petition for those aged over 18, whilst 717 have signed the one for those under 18. In the same way as I have questioned the veracity of the original demand survey carried out to establish demand for the Free School one can have concerns about such petitions. My own conclusion based on the comments and opinions that have been put to me by a wide variety of people in the Beccles area, is that there is a clear majority whose preference is to continue to support and to avoid undermining the Sir John Leman High School which has been part of the Beccles community for several centuries. 6. Temporary use of Carlton Colville Primary School The Seckford Foundation propose, that for a two year period from September 2012, whilst the Beccles Middle School is being temporarily used by the Sir John Leman High School to accommodate the additional two year groups arising from School Organisation Review, to use Carlton Colville Primary School, which is now vacant following the schools relocation to the former Gisleham Middle School. This temporary use of buildings approximately 7 miles from Beccles raises three issues:-

 a) It moves the Free School, albeit for a limited time, into the catchment area of another school, Pakefield High School (2.4 miles away from Carlton Colville Primary School), and also close to that of another, East Point Academy (2.9 miles away from the Primary School). As such the Free School could have a more significant impact on other education establishments that was not originally foreseen when the decision was made that the Beccles Free School should proceed to the next stage of the Free Schools process. b) Carlton Colville Primary School is located in a predominately residential area where the roads are relatively narrow and in some places the footpaths are inadequate. With the Free School pupils being bussed in from Beccles, the roads could become more congested at the beginning and end of the school day. There is a Pre-school group at the nearby community centre and the new Primary School is only 0.5 miles away. The roads and footpaths around the latter school are particularly inadequate and further work is required to address this specific problem. c) The Primary School is not particularly well suited for use as a High School, as it is laid out for use by younger pupils, with limited provision as such for the teaching of science, and with limited sports and outdoor facilities. 7. Financial considerations At a time of financial austerity, it does seem perverse to many to be spending money on refurbishing two schools (one for only a temporary 2 year period) for use by the Free School when there is already an over capacity of high school places and there are outstanding funding challenges in other schools arising from the changes made to the education system that Suffolk County Council are carrying out. These include:- a) The completion of the new Pakefield High School. I raised this with you in my letter of 18th October 2011 (Appendix 3). Subsequently Suffolk County Council have undertaken to provide funding for the majority of the outstanding work though there is still a shortfall which needs to be met. This is a task on which I am working with Pakefield High School and the County Council. b) As mentioned above the road and footpath network in the vicinity of the new Carlton Colville Primary School is inadequate and there is a pressing need to upgrade it. To many in the Carlton Colville area it will appear illogical to spend funds on a temporary refurbishment of the Primary School when this work remains outstanding. In my opinion, it is more appropriate to concentrate resources on tackling these challenges that the existing schools currently face, rather than undertaking further projects.

 8. Community Issues One of the consequences of Suffolk County Councils School Organisation Review is that a number of middle school sites have become surplus to operational use and this has led to Town Councils and other community groups working up proposals for the sites to be used for alternative community activities; invariably in areas where there is a shortage of such facilities. This work is most advanced in Halesworth, where the Halesworth Campus Steering Group have worked up proposals for the middle school site in the town to be used for sporting and other activities. Work on this scheme is due to start after the school closes in July. You will recall that those involved in the project wrote to you in January when the site was being considered for temporary use by the Beccles Free School. In Beccles it has been drawn to my attention by the Town Council that they had come to an formal understanding with both Suffolk County Council, the owners of the Middle School site, and Waveney District Council, as the local planning authority, that once the Middle School site becomes vacant this summer consideration would be given to working up proposals for use of the site for a variety of community and sports based activities. I attach as Appendix 10 the information which I have been provided confirming this informal understanding. In Carlton Colville such plans are less far advanced, though there is in many ways a more pressing need for further community facilities, as a significant amount of residential development has taken place there in recent years without the necessary supporting infrastructure being provided. What was a medium sized village has grown into a settlement with a population of the order of 8,300. I have received correspondence from Carlton Colville Town Council advising that they are considering providing such facilities in the primary school and preliminary plans have been prepared. I have met the Chairman of the Town Council to discuss these plans and a public meeting is taking place this Sunday to obtain the views of the community. 9. Conclusion Having considered all relevant factors, whilst supportive of the principle of free schools it is my conclusion that the Department for Education should not enter a funding agreement with the Seckford Foundation. This was my initial view back in October and it has been reinforced by subsequent events and the representations that have been made to me. In my opinion, taking into account the provisions of Section 9 of the Academies Act 2010 the Free School would have a significant negative impact on the existing educational institutions in the Waveney area, in particular the Sir John Leman High School.

 In addition based on the feedback that I have received, there is limited public demand for the Free School and after a period of significant change in the organisation of schools in the Waveney area I believe that there should now be period of consolidation to ensure that the changes that have been made can be embedded and have every opportunity of achieving their objectives. Whilst I appreciate that you need to carefully consider all the representations that you have received, not least the feedback from the Seckford Foundations consultation, I do believe that a decision should be made promptly, as the continued uncertainty as to the nature of the high school education that will be available in Beccles from this autumn is unsettling and unhelpful. Hopefully this letter is self-explanatory; though if you do need further information please let me know. Yours Sincerely Peter Aldous MP for Waveney