Consultations

Consultation on the proposal to open a new school in Bishop Stortford North:

Avanti Grange Secondary School

Section 10 Consultation

Avanti Schools Trust

Avanti Schools Trust (AST) is a successful and growing multi-academy trust (MAT) with a track record of delivering strong outcomes for children in both the primary and secondary phases of education. To date all of our schools that have been designated by Ofsted are rated ‘good’, the majority are over-subscribed and we have a proud history of delivering projects on-time and within budget.

Avanti Schools Trust currently maintains 10 schools, with school number 11(Avanti Meadows) set to open in Bishop Stortford in September 2021.

National performance data shows that our learners achieve high standard and the majority make good and better progress from their starting points. Overall standards in our schools continue to remain high.

Avanti Schools Trust (current primary academies)

Avanti Schools Trust (current secondary/all-through academies)

Why a new free school in Bishop Stortford North?

East Herts District Council has granted planning consent for over 2,500 new homes at BSN. Demand for school places resulting from these new homes is anticipated to reach around 11 forms of entry (FE) following the completion of the development based on the latest yield modelling. As part of the strategic planning for BSN, Hertfordshire County Council has worked with the District Council and the developers to secure land and contributions to deliver new, sustainable primary and secondary provision in the heart of this new community.

In addition, significant housing growth of approximately 2,500 new homes is planned within the local area to 2033 as part of East Herts District Council’s Local Plan. It is proposed that the new secondary school at BSN would meet some of the demand for places generated from this scale of new housing. This growth in housing excludes the new Garden Villages planned at Gilston which in themselves will provide a further 3,000 homes within the Local Plan period.

New homes are now under construction and the building of Avanti Grange Secondary School (6FE) in the central part of the development has will commence soon. The school is scheduled to open September 2022 on the site of Avanti Meadows before moving to the new, permanent site in September 2023.

A Vision for Avanti Grange Secondary School

Avanti Grange Secondary School will provide parents and pupils with the highest standards of education and pastoral care. We want our children to take pride in their new school and for every member of the school community to work hard to provide high quality education, care and support for every child and every family. We will set the highest expectations from the outset to ensure that we provide creative learning experiences, which inspire and challenge our pupils to achieve the very best in all aspects of their learning. Our curriculum will be based upon the National Curriculum and we will adopt a personalised approach in order to provide tailor- made learning paths for all pupils. Avanti Grange’s permanent site will have facilities will be bespoke, contemporary and first-class, which will make for a unique learning experience. We are working in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council to ensure that careful planning and preparation is in place to make Avanti Grange a first-choice school for the children of Bishop’s Stortford North. This is a very exciting time as we see the new school develop towards the opening date of September 2022 and we expect that demand for places will be high.

Community Engagement and Section 10 Consultation

AST plans to undertake an extensive consultation exercise in order to provide an opportunity to share information with the local community and fulfil the legal obligation to consult the public and interested parties prior to the Secretary of State for Education signing the Funding Agreement.

The consultation period will run for 6 weeks between June 14 2021 and July 26 2021. The objective of this consultation is to consolidate the support we have already received through informal consultation; communicate the vision, values and distinctive ethos of the new school to the local community and share information about opening dates.  The intention is to engage a diverse range of stakeholders and receive feedback throughout the process.

Methodology

Legal basis

The Academies Act clearly states that all new schools must conduct a consultation before entering into any agreement with the Secretary of State. Section 10 of the Academies Act states:

“Consultation: additional schools

(1) Before entering into Academy arrangements with the Secretary of State in relation to an additional school, a person must consult such persons as the person thinks appropriate.

(2) The consultation must be on the question of whether the arrangements should be entered into.”

The Act does not prescribe who should be consulted, and the only question that is specifically required relates to whether ‘arrangements’ should be entered into. This is understood to mean the ‘funding agreement’ to be signed by the Secretary of State, enabling the establishment and funding of the school.

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