1. This paper provides an evaluation of the ‘in principle’ capital proposal from Middleton Technology School to create a new purpose built sixth form centre. Prior to the school submitting proposals to the School Organisation Committee (SOC) to establish a sixth form, the LSC has to confirm that capital funding has been agreed for the project.
   
   
2. As part of the 16-19 capital fund arrangements it has been agreed that applications from schools can be submitted to the LSC in two stages. Middleton Technology School is seeking ‘in principle’ approval for 16-19 capital funding and, if approved, will submit for detailed approval of the project cost and design if the proposal for a new sixth form is agreed by the SOC.
   

Recommendation

3. The local capital committee is requested to recommend that the local Council gives ‘in principle’ consent to this capital application.

Overview of Project

4. The proposal is the creation of a new purpose built sixth form centre on the existing school site to provide post-16 provision for up to 350 learners, opening in September 2008. The school will be offering vocational education with opportunities from Level 1 to Level 3 Each student will be able to follow functional skills courses in English, Maths and ICT to the age of 19 in line with the new national entitlement. There will also be the option of either college-based or work-based pathways and the core curriculum will be enhanced by a support and development programme for all students.
   

Rationale for the project

5. The proposal stems from a presumption granted by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to Middleton Technology School in December 2005, following its recognition as a high performing specialist school with Vocational Education status as a second specialism. The DfES presumption states that high performing vocational specialist 11-16 schools should offer post-16 opportunities as alternative provision.
   

6. Middleton Technology School is based in Middleton, Manchester and is part of the Rochdale Borough. There is 1 further education (FE) college and there are 12 schools in Rochdale, 4 have sixth forms that have between 130 and 210 students. Middleton Technology School is a co-educational 11-16 comprehensive school, with specialisms in Technology, Vocational Education and Raising Attainment and Transforming Learning. It is a larger than average secondary with 1060 pupils on roll. The number of pupils claiming free school meals is below the national average. The school's population is largely white British with a small number of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above the national average. The school became a technology college in 1994 and was awarded high performing specialist school status in December 2005.
   

7. The proposal is for the construction of a 3,250 m², two-storey, stand-alone building to be constructed on the existing school site adjacent to the main school building. The building is to consist of classrooms, vocational workshops, a learning resource centre and some social space. The total cost of the project is estimated to be £6.933 million. This includes an allowance for abnormals but excludes an allowance for inflation. If the abnormal cost allowance is excluded the total cost is £5.930 million. The school is requesting 100% grant support towards the cost of the project as is allowable for 16-19 capital fund applications from schools.
   

8. The proposed new building has a gross internal area of 3,250 m² and is calculated based on 350 full-time learners. The space utilisation allowances for schools are different to the allowances for FE colleges. The calculation is based on a maximum allowable area per full-time equivalent learner. After the minimum allowance of 450 m² has been deducted the proposal equates to an area per FTE of 8.0 m². This equates to the maximum space allowance for a proposal of this type.
   

9. The total project cost, excluding any allowance for inflation is £6.933 million. If the project is agreed it will need to be considered again by the LSC in detail. At that point any increase in the cost as a result of inflation can be taken into account. It should be noted that the project cost includes £1.003 million of abnormal costs. For the purposes of assessing the cost of the project the abnormal costs are deducted from the total cost. If the abnormal costs are deducted the project cost is £5.930 million which equates to a gross cost of £1,825 per m². This passes the LSC’s capital cost criteria.
   

10. The school has considered the option of locating the proposed building on an alternative site and on another part of the school site. The proposal is considered the most practical option.

11. The school does not yet have planning consent for the proposal but has been in discussion with the local planning authority regarding the proposal. It is not envisaged that there will be any significant problems in obtaining planning consent for the proposal.
    

12. Rochdale Borough has submitted a bid to the Department for Education and Skills for prioritisation in Wave 4 of the BSF programme. The local authority hopes to receive around £150 million to transform secondary teaching and learning. The proposals for Middleton are in Phase 1 of the strategy and are as follows:

• The Queen Elizabeth School to become a new (11-18) academy (includes collaborative post 16 provision)
• Cardinal Langley RC to be refurbished and to continue with 11-18 provision (includes collaborative 11-18 provision).
• Middleton Technology School to undergo major refurbishment/ remodelling of existing buildings. Collaborative post 16 provision to be facilitated through sixth form presumption.

13. The local authority envisages these three schools working closely with Hopwood Hall College to provide a high quality vocational 14-19 programme across the Middleton partnership.
    

Educational Assessment

14. This application comes forward as a result of having met the ‘16-19 presumption criteria’ for a new sixth form and therefore meets the education criteria as stated in ‘Annex A: Capital criteria for the Approval of Applications’ in the 16-19 Capital Fund Guidance 2006-07 page 6, section 3.

Additional educational information supporting the proposal:

15. Middleton Technology School considers that the development of the post-16 centre and collaborative delivery of the specialised diplomas will address many of the aims of the Rochdale Borough 14-19 Strategy and the 14-19 Implementation Plan. In particular it will provide for:

• Collaboration through flexible local partnership which gives learners a choice of routes and qualifications
• Improved retention through robust support systems developed from already successful systems eg On-line progress file, learning mentors and progress coordinators and SEN Coordinator
• Choice of progression routes which is matched to the needs of learners, local employers and economic regeneration
• Highly successful approaches to teaching and learning used in the school to be adopted in the post-16 centre. Monitoring and support systems used to ensure consistently high quality across the spectrum of courses.
• Partnership with other consortia in the borough through the vehicle of the 14-19 Consortium to share good practice and help to drive up standards across the Authority
• The new post-16 centre will be a part of the Middleton Partnership and the 14-19 consortium arrangements which will result from the Rochdale 16-19 competition.
  

16. In order to effectively and expertly deliver the 16-19 phase of education for the learners in Middleton and beyond, the schools and colleges plan to create a collaborative post-16 offer across the Middleton township. This collaborative post-16 offer will have a corporate identity which crosses the boundaries of the institutions and creates an ethos of togetherness and coherency for the learners regardless of which institution they are attending.

     
17. The post-16 centre, on the Middleton Technology School site will be a key feature of the collaborative initiative and provide facilities to offer vocational qualifications in response to the new national entitlement, as set out in the 14-19 Implementation Plan.

     
18. The collaborative post-16 offer will allow for provision which ensures that every learner has access to a tailored learning programme drawn from a broad academic and vocational offer. Collaborative developments so far are:

• joint appointment of an assistant head teacher with responsibility for 14-19 education
• Assistant head teacher is linked to all three senior leadership teams and co ordinates 14-19 initiatives
• Middleton Technology School is a vocational specialist school leading on collaborative work
• A project team will be established consisting of representatives of each senior leadership team to ensure a greater understanding of the vision and delivery of the collaboration
• Commitment from all for the further development of the existing partnership agreement between the three high schools and colleges to either a “hard federation” or an Education Improvement Partnership
• Hopwood Hall College and The Oldham College have a Memorandum of Co-operation
• Membership of the Rochdale Borough 14-19 Consortium
• Developing the brief of the Lead Practitioner with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust for 14-19 Leadership as that role develops over time with the SSAT.
  

19. The main focus of provision will be the delivery of the new specialised diplomas which have been designed to be delivered in schools in partnership with FE colleges and other institutions.

     
20. The purpose of the Diplomas is to provide qualifications that will deliver an exciting stretching and relevant programme of learning for all young people. Each Diploma will have pathways to accommodate a wide range of aspirations. Diplomas will give young people an alternative to traditional learning styles by offering a blend of general education and applied learning. These qualifications will provide an alternative route to ensure students can progress from Level 2 to Level 3 or from Level 3 to Level 4. This need was recently highlighted in the AimHigher report which stated that progression of students from Level 3 to Level 4 was the lowest in Greater Manchester. Rochdale Borough’s Higher Education Strategy highlights the need to double the numbers of HE learners.

     
21. Middleton Technology School intends to offer diploma lines at Level 1,2, and 3 across the partnership as follows:

• From 2008 – Engineering and Health and Social Care at Middleton Technology School (specialist facilities provided in the new post-16 centre); ICT and Construction and the Built Environment at the new Queen Elizabeth 11-18 academy
• From 2009 – Manufacturing (including textiles) at Middleton Technology School (specialist facilities provided in the new post-16 centre);
• From 2010 – Sport and Leisure at Cardinal Langley RC High School

22. Facilities will also be needed to teach the functional English, Maths and ICT to Level 2 and the Maths and Science units of the Engineering diploma. Further specialist facilities and expertise and additional specialist units of the new diplomas will be provided in partnership with Hopwood Hall College

     
23. The partnership has put forward an expression of interest to the Local Authority to deliver the specialised diplomas and is in the process of completing the DfES self-assessment for the diploma lines of Engineering, Health and Social Care, ICT and Construction and the Built Environment in readiness for delivery in 2008.
    

24. Middleton Technology School is oversubscribed and applications number 2 to 1 for the places available. A recent survey of parents indicated that 93% of them would encourage learners to study post-16 at Middleton Technology School if this option were available to them.

25. The table below shows the current demand for vocational courses across the Middleton schools. From these numbers only a percentage will wish to take a further course in these areas post-16. However, the intake to proposed diplomas will not just be taken from these students; neither will they be exclusively from the Middleton schools. Some students who have followed more traditional routes at Key Stage 4 will opt for specialised diplomas at level 1 and 2.
    

26. Many learners from the Middleton and Heywood wards of Rochdale Borough travel out of the borough to learn as the table below shows The school considers that the new development will attract learners from the neighbouring areas of Oldham, Manchester and Bury and help retain learners who are currently travelling out of the borough.

     

27. In addition, there are people who are not currently accessing education or training (NEET) post-16 . Connexions reported that the NEET figure for Rochdale Borough at the end of September 2006 was 10.2%. Across the Middleton wards the average NEET figure was 9.22% which equated to 150 people.

     
28. Middleton Technology School considers that retention rates will increase if post-16 students are taught by the same teachers from their time at Key Stage 4 and that students will be encouraged to stay on because they will remain in an environment that they know. In addition, Key Stage 4 students will become increasingly aware of full time post-16 progression routes as there will be older students in the school

     
29. For all of these reasons, the school is confident that there is an educational case for the need to provide accommodation for 350 students.
    

30. The table below indicates the summary of the project costs:
    

31. As this capital proposal is eligible under presumption arrangements for 100% capital support there is no requirement to demonstrate affordability of the scheme and the appropriate level of LSC capital grant. All local authority controlled schools are governed by the Local Authority Scheme for Finance and as such are not allowed to enter into any borrowing arrangements with any banking institutions.
    
32. In the majority of capital projects funded by the LSC, institutions are expected to fund short term borrowing requirements in advance of the grant being paid over to the institution. However, given that Middleton Technology School is not allowed to enter into any external borrowing arrangements, has very limited college reserves, the LSC has agreed to profile the grant payments in line with construction costs as the project developments.

Project Cost and Value For Money

33. The technical assessment of the project from financial and property perspectives can be summarised below:
    

MNW = Minimum number of workplaces
NPV = Net Present Value

Conclusion

34. Given that this application satisfies the 16-19 capital fund eligibility criteria from an educational, financial and property viewpoint, we request that this capital proposal be recommended for ‘in principle’ approval to the local council at 100% capital grant support on a total project cost of £6.933 million