BUSINESS CASE FOR PROPOSED BID TO EFA RE CAPITAL FUNDING OF 4M AND EXPANSION

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1 BUSINESS CASE FOR PROPOSED BID TO EFA RE CAPITAL FUNDING OF 4M AND EXPANSION BACKGROUND - The School St Michaels was judged Outstanding in every category by Ofsted in July 2013 and this followed a previous 2011 Outstanding judgement. The College converted to Single Academy status on 1 st November From the funding agreement the planned capacity of the Academy is 750 in the age range years. This includes an expanding sixth form. ( , ) St Michaels provides consistent and sustained excellent educational provision for secondary school children in the London Borough of Southwark. A popular choice with parents, the College is heavily oversubscribed and currently overcapacity. Given this and the local child population growth, we feel it is our duty to improve and extend our exceptional service, providing essential high quality educational provision to those most in need. Our record of academic attainment is well above the national average and is regarded as high achieving by the local authority of Southwark. In % of students achieved 5 A*-C including both English and Maths at GCSE and 75% in 2014, on single entry and not including any re-takes. 50% attained an Ebacc in 2013 and 53% in See attached 3 year data. Our relatively new sixth form (opened in 2011) has seen a steady improvement in results while our value added is above average. Many children in the Borough live in low income families. The majority of children living in poverty reside to the north and mid-section of the borough in which St Michael s is based and serves. Regardless of their backgrounds and personal circumstances, students at St Michael s respond positively to our ethos of academic rigour and care. Students are keen to be involved in everything the college offers them. They are rarely absent with the college achieving 98% overall attendance and are strongly committed to their learning. Their selfdiscipline and exemplary behaviour contribute very strongly to their academic and personal development. Indeed They behave well not just because it is expected of them but because they want to do well. (Ofsted 2013). Beyond enabling all students to excel to reach their potential, St Michael s is particularly adept and practised at raising achievement and outcomes for students supported by pupil premium. This group do exceptionally well in all years because high quality teaching is well matched to their specific needs. There is no gap in student attainment, while they achieve better GCSE results than most students do nationally. This places us in the unique position of being able, not only to provide more, much needed places for students, but also the type of education and quality of environment that in particular many local students need to thrive. St Michael s is passionate about encouraging community cohesion since it is a school committed to the neighbourhood in which it sits and our wider society. 58% of the child population in Southwark come from black and ethnic minority backgrounds with black African children making up the largest group of 43%. The cultural aspect of the Borough is reflected in the school population and in St Michael s relationships between students from different ethnic and social groups are harmonious and mutually supportive. Students report 1

2 that they feel exceptionally safe and are encouraged to show respect for the diversity of the local community and others. (Ofsted 2013). All of the above occurs in challenging building circumstances. St Michaels was the sample school for Southwark BSF programme from 2007 onwards but was built for 600 students, when it already had 690 students on roll at the time of design. Whilst the school building itself is beautiful and provides an inspiring learning environment, lack of teaching space is proving problematic, and in 2015 there will not be enough classrooms to teach the students. The school currently has 797 pupils on roll. Moreover, as stated earlier, since opening in March 2011, the school has introduced a much needed and requested sixth form (expanding numbers by currently a further 150). To balance the need for space with the duty to provide for more students we have added a stand-alone two storey modular block, providing 8 classrooms. We are an outstanding College providing outstanding education for children who we believe would benefit greatly from investment of capital funds for a bespoke building project. Summary of College Vision St Michael s aim is to facilitate academic and personal success in a rigorous learning community and in a culture which embraces spiritual values of serving others, tolerance, prayer and forgiveness. It is our belief therefore that students grow into mature and responsible adults through: Learning together in a Catholic community Aspiring to academic excellence and success Acquiring confidence, self-esteem and fulfilment of their individual talent Developing a love of learning, a love of Christ, and a love of each other Introduction - Design and Access Statement A Design and Access Statement has been prepared by Architype on behalf of St Michael s College. It accompanies a planning application submitted in September 2014, for the proposed expansion of the existing school at Llewellyn Street, Bermondsey London, SE16 4UN. This Statement will be read in conjunction with the application drawings and supporting documents for the final CIF bid to be submitted by 11 th December. The proposals include a new build extension block with teaching facilities situated at the rear of the site of the existing school, along with landscape improvements and alterations of the existing boundary wall. Additionally two existing modular buildings are proposed as being removed. The new proposals are being put forward with the aim of facilitating an expansion of pupil numbers of the existing school. 2

3 Vision of New Proposed Facility/Bid The vision of the new facility/bid is to provide the following: facilitate a 4m CIF bid to the EFA which allows for student expansion from 750 students to 1150 students (900 secondary school students and 250 sixth form students). Please note that we already have 797 students with the rapid growth in sixth form provision. provide additional classrooms and adjunct learning spaces to enable student expansion provide a new sixth form centre, situated on the top floor of the new block, offering a new identity for this student group provide flexible ground floor spaces for use as dining and teaching, for socialising and for a variety of events incorporate an increase in outdoor spaces and areas along with an improvement to the quality of the landscaping of these outdoor spaces for use by students. Development of the Brief and Site Capacity Architype, our architects who have been working with us for many months since our previous bid to the EFA failed due to lack of planning permission, have undertaken a detailed feasibility study, commissioned by the London Borough of Southwark and submitted in This feasibility study developed and costed a total of seven options for expansion, and entailed meeting with planners to discuss the options. Architype was subsequently commissioned by St Michael s College in December 2013, to explore one of the options in more detail. The detailed design proposals which will be part of the CIF bid and which the College is happy to provide on request by the EFA, reflect the design research undertaken during these two substantial capacity / feasibility study stages, and consequently the design team believes that the new proposals offer the best use of the school site. Consultation and Planning Advice 2014 Architype undertook the development of the enclosed proposals in full consultation with the school s senior leadership team. Representatives of Southwark Planning Department (Alexander Cameron and Sarah Parsons), along with Southwark Council s Head of Regeneration - Capital Projects - Andrew Brown, were consulted during the development of the current proposals between May and August Peter Card of Southwark Building Control was consulted several times during this process. The project s Fire Consultant coordinated with Peter Card to ensure that the project s fire strategy conforms with requirements. As part of this consultation process, all comments made have been considered for incorporation into the scheme. Kerry Crichlow, the Assistant Director of Southwark LA, has confirmed that the bid fits in with the borough s pupil place planning, and they have endorsed the fact that it equally supports their desire to expand outstanding schools in the area. Andy Brown, Head of Southwark s Regeneration - Capital Projects has been working with Architype since the inception of the design and bid in June Area of New Build Extension The gross internal area of the new build extension is 2560m2. The site area relating to this planning application is 5817m2. 3

4 In summary, planners stated that the proposed new building of 4 storeys is not contentious, and does not have an adverse impact on neighbours. Additionally, planners support the proposal to replace the two modular classroom blocks with a new building. As reported in Architype s feasibility study, there are no listed buildings on site, and it is not located within a conservation area. The site is also not situated within the setting of either a conservation area or any listed buildings. Existing Buildings The three-storey main building, designed by BDP, was completed in 2010, replacing the older 1950 s school buildings on the site. The building, its hard and soft FM, furniture and ICT are provided through a PFI operated by 4 Futures, the Southwark LEP. 1. A new 2-storey modular block was installed in 2012, and provides a cluster of seminar rooms. 2. A 2-storey block of temporary classrooms, leased by the school, has been installed. This block is of poor construction standard - see the introduction (page 2) for further explanation. Landscape 1. The MUGA (Multi-use Games Area) is laid out as three 5-a-side football pitches or four basketball or tennis courts. 2. There is car park which has 22 spaces plus 2 wide disabled bays. 3. Outdoor space is used as a social space but is difficult to supervise. Access Pupils access to the school is from East Lane. Visitors access is from Llewellyn Street. Cars access the car park from Llewellyn Street. Kitchen deliveries in the main school building also access the kitchen via Llewellyn Street and the car park area. Surroundings The school site is next to the Chambers Wharf development site. Blocks providing up to 700 apartments are currently under construction, with an anticipated completion date of Sixth form pupils are allowed to go off-site at lunchtimes to alleviate pressure on the limited dining space available within the school site. John Felton Road is positioned alongside the school s southern boundary, with an existing vehicular access for sole use by LEB (London Electricity Board). Thames Tideway tunnel construction is also on Chambers Wharf. 4

5 The Need to Remove / Replace the Existing Temporary Classroom Block In order for the school to expand and maintain its excellent standards of teaching, the existing temporary block of classrooms should be replaced. The school has found the temporary classroom accommodation inadequate and the classrooms are not accessible for wheelchair users. The following items have had to be rectified during the last two years: Bad fittings - e.g. one radiator falling from the wall and injuring a teacher. Poor electrical supply leading to intermittent blackouts of services. Unsafe external steps in wet weather the unprotected steps can be slippery. A number of the windows do not shut properly within their frames, which causes draughts and security problems. The fire door jams, so to not compromise the fire escape and fire safety strategy, the door is left in an open position during school hours. Inadequate security of doors and windows limits the types of equipment that can be kept in the building, and inhibits the use of ICT in these classrooms. Inappropriate floor finishes at entrances caused accidents, including a student slipping and requiring hospital care. This had to be rectified. Water damage and flooded classrooms due to inadequate drainage. Faulty heating systems incur inadequate temperature levels at times. Inadequate acoustic separation between classrooms incurs disruption. With the works at the Thames Tideway Tunnel taking place, there is an additional upcoming need for improved acoustics. The Need to Remove / Replace the Existing Block with Sixth Form Seminar Room Block This building provides 8 small seminar rooms. Detached from the rest of the school facilities without WCs for students and staff, and with outdoor staircases which are prone to creating slippery conditions, the College is keen to integrate these seminar rooms with other sixth form facilities. No Potential Risks The school site does not fall within a conservation zone, nor are any buildings listed or protected. The site does not fall under any restricted zones such as Metropolitan Open Land or Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. Earlier Planning Discussions Earlier discussions with Planners took place with the initial feasibility work. Planners confirmed that the proposals for constructing an additional floor on the roof of the existing building would not be supported, as it could have too great an impact in the context of the neighbouring 5

6 Demand for increasing student numbers The current number of students is 797 students (641 secondary students and 156 sixth form students). The College receives an inordinate number of applications for student places, on average 4/5 for each place and recognises that the wider community would benefit from the College s expansion. Consequently, the College has taken the decision to re-organise our site to expand student numbers. Facilitated by the additional facilities proposed in this document, the additional number of students is planned as being 353 students. The above proposals provide an extension that enables an increase of student numbers while at the same time improving the quality of the outdoor spaces for all. 6