FOI-6917 Education Review

Education Review: Proposed closure of Monkseaton Middle School and the merger of Langley First School and Appletree Gardens

Request:

 

Please provide the following for the last five completed academic years (2019–2020 to 2023–2024) and the current academic year (2024–2025), where applicable for the schools following schools:

First Schools (Ages 5–9)

  1. Langley First School – Monkseaton
  2. Southridge First School – Whitley Bay
  3. Marine Park First School – Whitley Bay
  4. Whitley Lodge First School – Whitley Bay
  5. Appletree Gardens First School – Monkseaton
  6. Wellfield Middle School – Monkseaton
  7. Valley Gardens First School – Whitley Bay
  8. Rockcliffe First School – Whitley Bay

Middle Schools (Ages 9–13)

  1. Valley Gardens Middle School – Whitley Bay
  2. Wellfield Middle School – Monkseaton
  3. Marden Bridge Middle School – Whitley Bay
  4. Monkseaton Middle School – Monkseaton

High Schools (Ages 13–16)

  1. Whitley Bay High School – Whitley Bay
  2. Monkseaton High School – Monkseaton

Foundation Special School

1.      Woodlawn School - Monkseaton

 

Please provide the following data:

School Data

  • Pupil numbers per year and official capacity
  • Number of classes per year
  • Key Stage performance data (percentages meeting expected standards, progress measures, assessment outcomes).
  • Ofsted inspection reports and ratings.
  • Attendance and exclusion statistics (authorised/unauthorised absences, fixed-term and permanent exclusions).
  • Financial and staffing information (budgets, staffing numbers).
  • Number of pupils per year in NEPA, North Tyneside and outside of the area.
  • Numbers accepted in and outside of catchment
  • Complaint levels and reason for the complaint
  • Outstanding complaints
  • Numbers accepted outside of catchment and inside the catchment of another school
  • ARP application, decision and justification

Closure/Merger Decision-Making

  • Council reports, papers, or presentations informing closure/merger decisions, including consultation documents and summaries of public feedback.
  • Minutes, notes, and reports from meetings (officer, cabinet, committee) where closure/merger was discussed.
  • Copies of public consultation materials and all consultation responses (with personal data redacted).
  • Internal emails or correspondence between council officers and councillors concerning the closure/merger proposal.
  • All information regarding the outcome of appeals and why that appeal may not have been successful - personal information redacted.

Impact Assessments

  • Equality Impact Assessments and SEND Impact Assessments related to the closure/merger.
  • Internal reports, memos, or correspondence discussing the impact on SEND pupils.
  • Any analyses of how timing of announcements may have affected pupil applications, projected enrolment, or school viability.
  • Any documentation addressing potential indirect discrimination or unequal impact from timing of communications.

SEND and EHCP Data

  • Number of pupils with EHCPs and those receiving SEN Support, broken down by year group.
  • Alternative school placements identified for these pupils and distances involved.
  • Total number of EHCPs issued in North Tyneside and projections for the next five years.
  • Number of children awaiting EHCP assessments or placements.
  • Waiting time from application to issue.
  • Number of pupils per year in NEPA, North Tyneside and outside of the area.

Financial Evidence

  • Full financial evidence used to justify closure/merger (deficit figures, maintenance costs, budget forecasts).
  • Details of DfE or High Needs Block funding received for these schools or for SEND improvements in the last five years.
  • Council capital or maintenance investment plans for these schools in the same period.

Alternatives Considered

  • Options appraisals, feasibility studies, or business cases assessing alternatives to closure/merger (e.g., federation, repurposing).
  • Correspondence with DfE, Ofsted, or school governors about possible alternatives.
  • Criteria used to rule out alternative options.

Land and Property

  • Ownership details of school land/buildings (council, trust, diocese).
  • Leases, covenants, or restrictions on land use.
  • Communications, valuations, or expressions of interest from developers or housing associations.
  • All information regarding enquiries of land usage for proposed expansion onto land currently not utilised by a school

School Improvement Measures

·         Planning and Regulatory Documentation

·         Planning permission records for any extensions or structural changes

·         Building Regulations approvals including inspection reports and compliance certificates

·         Listed building or conservation area restrictions, if applicable

·          Details of completed and planned extensions, including floor plans and scope of work

·         Renovation or refurbishment schedules (e.g. roofing, insulation, accessibility upgrades)

·         Structural alterations such as removal of load-bearing walls or installation of new facilities

·         Energy efficiency upgrades (e.g. solar panels, LED lighting, heating systems)

·         Capital funding sources (e.g. council budget, grants, DfE allocations)

·         Cost breakdowns for each project phase

·         Tendering and procurement documentation for contractors

·         Rationale for improvements (e.g. increasing pupil capacity, improving accessibility)

·         Impact assessments on teaching and learning environments

·         Consultation summaries with stakeholders (e.g. parents, governors, community)

·         Council reports or presentations used to inform decisions on school property changes

·         Public feedback summaries from consultations

·         Ofsted inspection reports if linked to facility improvements

·          Project timelines and milestones

·         Contractor details and responsibilities

·         Health and safety compliance documentation

Timeline of Decision-Making

Request a chronological list of all meetings, consultations, and decisions related to the closure/merger proposals, including:

  • Dates of internal officer briefings
  • Cabinet and committee meetings
  • Public consultation launch and closure dates
  • Final decision dates and implementation timelines

Modelling and Forecasting Data

  • Birth rate projections and their impact on school viability
  • Pupil place planning models used to justify closures
  • Financial modelling scenarios comparing closure vs. merger vs. federation

Correspondence

· Correspondence with school governors and governing bodies

· Minutes from governing body meetings where closure/merger was discussed

·  Any dissenting views or alternative proposals submitted by governors or school leaders

Reasonable Adjustments

· The councils policy on reasonable adjustments, specifically when dealing with matters of this nature and the substantial number of Parents who have a recognised disability.

Mental Health

· Details of all Mental health provisions in schools

· Details of additional provisions (council led or otherwise)

· Wait times to access these provisions

· Current number on the wait list

· Concerns raised about pupil mental health

Legal and Policy References

  • Policy documents or statutory guidance relied upon for closure/merger decisions.
  • Any legal advice obtained regarding the closure/merger process or SEND obligations.
  • Details of any legal proceedings toward the school or council in regards to education of children in North Tyneside (personal information redacted)

Additionally, please provide all of the below service information in relation to adult mental health support available to adults residing in the NEPA area,

· Details of all Mental health provisions

· Wait times to access these provisions

· Current number on the wait list

 

Response:

After careful consideration, we are refusing your request under Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This section allows a public authority to refuse a request if the cost of complying would exceed the appropriate limit as set out in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

In this case, the appropriate limit is 18 hours (equivalent to £450). Based on our assessment, the time required to locate, retrieve, and extract the requested information would significantly exceed this limit.

To fulfil your request, a number of teams would be required to undertake extensive searches across multiple systems, files, and folders for all schools and school years specified. The relevant teams include:

  • Policy, Performance and Research
  • Schools Improvement
  • SEND and Inclusion
  • Information Governance
  • Property Services
  • Complaints
  • Finance
  • Strategic Property

Each of these teams holds information that may fall within the scope of your request. However, due to the way records are currently held, there is no central database or single point of access from which the information could be extracted. Therefore, staff in each team would need to manually check individual files and folders to locate any relevant information.

It is estimated that it would take approximately 99 hours in total to complete the searches and compile the information required. This clearly exceeds the statutory cost limit.

You may wish to narrow the scope of your request, for example by:

  • Specifying a smaller number of schools or school years;
  • Limiting the request to one or two specific service areas; or
  • Clarifying particular types of information you are most interested in.

We would be happy to provide further guidance to help you refine your request so that it can be considered within the appropriate limit.