The council is the strategic commissioner of school places in the borough. We have a legal duty to ensure there are sufficient and suitable school places for all children of compulsory school age.

Grappenhall Heys Community Primary school (GHCPS) has been identified as being best placed to cater for an area of population growth and demand in Warrington by increasing its current capacity.

The investment of £3million will be made to expand the school, from a one form entry to a two form entry (210 additional primary school places) and will ensure we have sufficient school places to meet the projected demand from local housing developments from September 2022.

This formal consultation is to ensure that parents/carers of pupils at the school and other interested parties have the opportunity to put forward their views on the proposals.

Consultation response

Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a respond to the consultation to expand Grappenhall Heys Community Primary School (GHCPS).

The council has carefully reviewed the responses to the consultation to expand GHCPS and provided a response to the comments made.

While taking full account of the objections, we have concluded that these are outweighed by the benefits of the plans. The proposal to expand GHCPS has, therefore, been approved.

The prescribed persons have four weeks to appeal to the schools adjudicator as set out in the Prescribed Alterations to Maintained Schools.

If you have questions email: schoolconsultation@warrington.gov.uk.

Responses received from consultation
Alterations to be made

To provide the school with suitable to accommodate increased population numbers and demand within the area by increasing its current capacity from 1FE to 2FE which includes:

  • refurbished / reconfigured nursery reception area
  • new infant and junior classrooms
  • new secure entrance / reception
  • increased staff accommodation
  • small hall
  • other minor internal alterations
  • playground and increased car parking capacity
  • new pedestrian access into the site off main road
Overview of the building plans
Timeline of how the building works will be carried out

Work is scheduled to start in November 2021 and will be completed by September 2022, subject to the consultation and approval process.

The work will be phased so that the school can remain open during the works.

Why expand?

GHCPS is perfectly placed to cater to the additional school place needs that are starting to come through from the local housing developments in the area.  Over the next two years there are several developments that are scheduled to complete that would put critical pressures on existing local schools being able to cater to the additional needs. GHCPS is central to those housing developments and is perfectly placed to cater to the additional place needs.

The school is built in a way that supports expansion, where each section of the school building can be expanded with the least amount of disruption to education, including the potential to carry out works during term time.

 

Why carry out a consultation?

The proposed expansion is a permanent expansion and would increase capacity at GHCPS by both more than 30 pupils and by more than 25% of the school, therefore we are required by law to carry out a formal consultation (see the Prescribed Alterations Regulations).

What are the potential effects on other primary schools in the area?

The primary schools in south Warrington are all in high demand by parents, with all primary provision rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted. The increase in available places will be managed and aligned with local housing development completions. There is no expectation that any school in the south will be detrimentally effected, as demand for places will increase in the next two years. 

All primary schools in South Warrington have been advised of the plan to expand GHCPS, these include: St Monica’s, Stretton St Matthew’s, The Cobbs Infants, Appleton Thorn, Grappenhall St Wilfrid’s, St Thomas’s and Stockton Heath.

Project costs and how these will be met

The school is central to several housing developments and is to benefit from S106 housing developer funding. All works for this project will be within the £3million capital costs, including management fees, contingency and inflation increase

Data Protection Statement

We comply with all legislation governing the protection of personal information, including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Any personal information you supply will remain strictly confidential and anonymous will be held and used in line with the Data Protection Act 2018.

We will only use your personal information for the purpose for which it has been given. For the purpose of this consultation if you disclose your name and email address this will be used solely for communicating with you about the progress of the consultation or for further consultation activity. Your postcode will not be used to identify your address, it will help us to analyse data by key geographical areas such as localities or wards.

For more information on how we handle your personal data please read our Privacy Notice here 

This consultation is now closed

Statutory Proposal Notice
Statutory Proposal Notice