1. Ashton Hayes Primary School
Class Structure Meeting – 22nd March 2017

2. Tonight’s Meeting Pupil Admission Number (PAN); School capacity;
Number of pupils in school including the number of boys/girls;
Explaining mixed Year Group classes;
How the classes will be made and the factors behind it;
Budget limitations and the impact on plans for capital / revenue spend; school facilities etc.
Proposed class organisation for the next academic year.

3. PAN – Published Admission Number
The published admission number or PAN as it is commonly referred to is the number of pupils in each year group that the admission authority has agreed will be admitted appropriate to the capacity of the school.
Our school PAN is set at 22, which means that this is the number of pupils the Local Authority deems that the school can accommodate in each year group.

4. School Net Capacity
This is the maximum number of pupils in the school that the admitting authority believes can be accommodated without causing problems for the school.
For primary schools, the net capacity is calculated on the basis of the number and size of spaces designated as ‘classbases’. It starts with a calculation using a standard formula laid down by the government taking into account the number and size of classrooms and the amount of non-teaching space. This produces two figures - the maximum (which is the calculated figure) and the minimum (which is 10% less than the calculated figure).

5. School Capacity
The admission authority (the Local Authority) determines the official net capacity. This will be somewhere between the two calculated figures. Ashton Hayes Primary School Net Capacity is 152.
The Pupil Admission Number is then set based on the net capacity. This is roughly one seventh of the net capacity (as there are 7 year groups in a primary school).

6. Boys versus girls Reception 12 10 22 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 11 7 18
Total number of children: 131
Total number of boys: 69
Total number of girls: 62
Year group
Number of boys
Number of girls
Total
Reception 12 10 22
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3 11 7 18
Year 4 9 16
Year 5 8 20
Year 6 4 69 62
131
Percentage
53%
47%
100%

7. Mixed Aged Classes – CWaC context
In Cheshire West and Chester there are 78 primary schools in the Authority that are normally able to organise in single age group classes throughout.
There are 52 that normally have to implement mixed- age group teaching with approximately half of these likely to be having to cross-phase teach at some point during the child’s journey through the school.

8. How are decisions taken about which children should be allocated to which class?
Experience has shown at Ashton Hayes, that we take a number of influences into consideration and make a professional judgment based on the needs of the children. Split year groups are considered very carefully, depending on each cohort of children. These include (and are in no particular order of preference):
Social learning group;
Emotional development;
Readiness to learn;
Stage of learning;
Gender and age (balance of class and year group);
Additional needs.

9. Key Questions Why are we not doing this purely by age?
Example 1: Last year’s Year 2, current Year 3. There are significantly more boys than girls. Of the boys, there is a large proportion that are summer born. If we were to this purely by age it would leave one girl remaining in their current class which could leave them socially isolated. By doing things holistically, we can prevent this by looking at the factors stated.
Which year groups will be split for ?
This depends on numbers. If the intake for Reception is low, it may be necessary to mix some current Reception children with the new intake as very small classes can be challenging.

10. Key Questions Will my child be kept back academically?
No. The ways in which learning and teaching are organised in primary schools means that teaching and work is tailored to the needs and current achievement levels of individual pupils. The staff at Ashton Hayes are experienced at planning and delivering work to match the needs of mixed age learning. They provide challenge for the more able children and support for those needing more help whichever year group they are currently in.
Much work is undertaken in small groups that contain children from 1 or 2 year groups or those of similar existing achievement levels. Furthermore, the school plans the educational experiences for pupils in all classes in ways which ensure good progression and continuity, whichever year group or class they are in.

11. Maximum Reception intake: 22
Projections for
Current numbers: 131
Y6 leavers: 11
Maximum Reception intake: 22
Projected numbers: 142

12. Budget limitations and impact
Pupil numbers :
+ 7.7%
Budget :
+ 2.8%
Budget – likely to decrease by 2%
Why? Government budgets, although in some cases increasing, do not reflect the increase in capacity and, in real terms, represent a significant cut. At present, the ‘Fair Funding Formula is out for consultation, and would see CWAC schools lose out financially from 2018.

13. Why and what this means for for Ashton Hayes…
Deprivation funding fluctuates: the school budget is set with a number of different factors, one being the deprivation factor. This is measured by the number of children eligible for Pupil Premium. The school deprivation factor went down by 5% when children eligible for Pupil Premium left the school to re-locate and at the end of Year 6.
Government budgetary cuts.
Rural schools: the benefits of a small, rural school are fantastic but with it comes the fact that you receive less money.
Inherited deficit. Although the school has operated a in year surplus every year for the past 3 years, changes in funding formula and an inherited deficit make the financial planning very difficult.

14. Why and what this means for for Ashton Hayes…
This has an impact on future planning. After another review, a capital build is out of the question. The local authority will not back the school because of:
Sustainability going forward. The school could not sustain the financial implications of an extra teacher, support staff and the initial financial outlay for a classroom.
Falling birth rate – the local authority projections suggest falling birth rates in the area for school starters in the next few years. Consequently the provision of an additional classroom with the requirement for an additional teacher is likely to leave the school financially compromised and potentially unable to set a balanced budget.
The Governing Body will continue to explore other options for improving the current facilities.

15. Other considerations
By increasing the size of the classroom space, we leave ourselves in a situation of having a Hall that is not fit for purpose.
This is a small, rural school with a family feel. Will adding more space and children affect this?

16. Proposed Class Organisation for 2017-18
After consultation with staff and Governance, the proposed class organisation for the next academic year is:

17. Considerations
Limit the number of year groups that are educated across two class bases
Allow for current Y4 to stay together as a cohort as they move into Y5
Recognised: large class in Y5/6 – opportunities to work in smaller groups + TA support

18. Thank you for listening. Are there any questions?