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At the end of January, Slough Council submitted its application for £80m of BSF (Building Schools for the Future) funds with St Joseph's included in Phase One of the spending plan. The application is known as a Readiness to Deliver (RtD) Submission and a redacted version is in the public domain. You can download it HERE. The RtD states on page 3 that a completely new school will be built on the St Joseph's site whether or not the amalgamation of St Bernard's and St Joseph's takes place. This differs from what was previously expected. Previously, it was anticipated that if the merger took place, St Joseph's would be replaced by another school in Phase One of the proposal. Now it transpires that the St Joseph's site will be utilised no matter what happens regarding the Academy. The RtD gives some timescales on page 16. It states that the consultation on the closure of St Bernard's and St Joseph's will begin in the summer term of 2010 and be completed before the OBC (Outline Business Case) is submitted. Page 24 says the OBC for St Joseph's will be completed by March 2011. Page 24 says that the new build St Joseph's would open in September 2014. If consultations on the closure of St Bernard's are to begin next term then presumably we should expect a decision shortly on whether the Diocese will submit the Academy EoI without the support of the St Bernard's governors.
On page 13 the RtD sets out how Slough will provide the many additional school places that it expects it will need. In essence the Council believes it will need two new schools. The RtD puts forward two options. The first assumes the merger doesn't take place. The second assumes it does take place. If the merger takes place, one of the two new schools the Council believes it will need would be located on the St Joseph's site and the Council will need one additional school. If the merger doesn't occur then the Council will need two new schools. Page 14 points out that St Joseph's has had the least capital investment of any school in Slough, which is why a new build solution is the preferred option. It seems that two sample schools are required. St Joseph's is the preferred sample of a new build school. However, page 14 states that the Catholic Academy, if it is approved, will be the new build sample school, despite the fact that the Council believes the Academy will not be funded through the PFI (Private Finance Initiative). To discuss this article, join our mailing list. |
