Shefford and Stotfold

Shefford and Stotfold area

In December 20023, Central Bedfordshire Council’'s Executive officially authorised that the planned transition to two-tier across Shefford and Stotfold will not take place by September 2025 for Southill Lower, Shillington Lower, Stondon Lower, St Mary’s Lower (Clophill), Roecroft Lower, Shefford Lower, Fairfield Park Lower and Haynes Lower Schools.

Also approved is that we will develop a revised two-tier proposal for these schools and bring forward informal and formal consultations, as required, to implement the change of age range. A future paper will be brought back to a future meeting of Executive to agree prescribed alterations as the decision maker for maintained schools and confirm the proposed year of implementation based on consultation outcomes.

We remain totally committed to:

• supporting all three-tier schools across Central Bedfordshire to transition to the established Primary and Secondary school (two-tier) model;

• investing in school maintenance;

• providing more school places where needed; and

• creating specialist provision for children with Special Educational Needs.

The Council is investing £140m in this work over the next few years.

In light of the new forecast data and budget constraints, we have made some decisions and you can read the full announcement from Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, Cllr Hayley Whitaker. 

The decision for schools in the Shefford and Stotfold area are below.

Where we are now

Phase 1 schools:

Building work for Clifton All Saints, Derwent, Henlow, Langford and Raynsford is either completed or nearing completion, with the schools having completed the legal transition to the two-tier model of education in September 2021.

Year 5 and 6 pupils at Meppershall Primary continue to attend Henlow Secondary school.

Phase 2 schools:

• The planned transition to two-tier across Shefford and Stotfold will not take place by September 2025 or 2026 for schools that have not yet made this change and, at this stage, we do not currently have a date for this transition.

• The planned relocation and expansion of Campton Academy will not be completed in September 2024, as there is no pressure for school places, but will instead be considered as part of the wider cluster plan.

• If you are thinking about the next stage of schooling for your child, there will be no change to your current options.

The reason for this is that current available data, including current children living in the area as well as forecasts for new children being born and those moving into the area in the future, reflects what we know to be the national picture with a decrease in birth rates and overall less emerging demand. 

Changes like this have meant that the number of children we expect to need school places in the short to medium term has reduced. The previous model is no longer appropriate because it would create too many school places, which could have a negative impact on children’s education and place unnecessary pressure on school operations. This is because school funding is linked to the number of children being taught each year at that school.  

Given the size of some of our smaller, rural schools, there are also constraints which mean at least two lower schools could not expand into a primary school teaching the same number of children each year (as previously planned). 

At this stage, we are not experiencing pressures for school spaces but we do acknowledge that some year groups in specific schools in this area are popular, and this has resulted in siblings not securing spaces at the same schools.

What’s happening next?

Although we cannot provide a plan at this stage for Shefford and Stotfold, what we can say is that any new plan will be subject to consultation and once agreed, it is expected that it will take two to three years for schools to transition to the two-tier model. So, changes will not happen quickly and therefore your will have time to plan for your children’s education journey.

We will continue to work with school leaders to develop a new plan. Whilst we recognise this is frustrating and unsettling if you are planning your child’s school journey, please be assured that this is the right course of action to avoid longer-term uncertainty for school's futures.

This is because we can plan for children that have already been born or are in school now, while ensuring that our plans can be flexible to meet longer-term school place needs, for instance, if birth rates increase in the future.  

Also, the future relocation and planned expansion of Campton Academy will need to be considered as part of the wider two-tier planning for the Shefford and Stotfold to provide the best solution for our children’s education.  

We will continue to review admissions criteria to consider ways to improve a situation which has resulted in some siblings not securing spaces at the same schools. 

The following tables indicates the current status of each school in this area on its journey within the Schools for the Future programme. 

Shefford and Stotfold has been split into 2 phases. Phase 1 has already transitioned to the primary / secondary model from the start of the 2021/22 academic year.

While every effort to ensure that building work is completed at the same time as the change to primary / secondary model of education, delays in construction may mean that accommodation is delivered after the point of transition to two-tier.

The Schools in phase 2 of Shefford and Stotfold have not yet transitioned to the primary / secondary model. The previous model which was consulted on is being reviewed. See text above for further details.