Councillors will be asked to give the green light to proposals to build a new primary school at the city’s newest township - Great Haddon.
The 420-place school will serve the new families moving into the new township at Great Haddon, situated to the south of Peterborough between the A1(M) and Hampton.
Once finished, Great Haddon is expected to provide 5,350 homes, 9,000 jobs, four schools, three shopping centres and sports facilities.
The first homes are currently being built and will be available from the spring 2024. The first area being developed will be made up of two, three, and four bedroom homes.
The new primary school will provide places for 60 children in each year group and will be the first of four schools at Great Haddon. In the future, the area will have another two primary schools and a secondary school.
At a Cabinet meeting on Monday 11 March 2024, councillors will be asked to agree the project budget for the new primary school and will be asked to instruct officers to start the process in finding a developer and a preferred multi academy trust to run the new school. The final decision on the academy trust will be taken by the Secretary of State for Education.
Councillor Ray Bisby, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “Peterborough is a growing city and as we build more homes we need to make sure we have the facilities there for our communities to thrive. We have a legal duty to provide a school place for every child living in Peterborough whose parents want their children to be state educated.
“I very much look forward to being involved in these plans as they progress to ensure children who move to, or who are born in Great Haddon, have the opportunity to learn in a first-class educational environment in which they can thrive.”
This new school in Great Haddon will be the first school the city council will deliver via the free school presumption route.
All new schools established through the presumption process are classified as free schools which are state-funded academy schools independent of local authority control. Free schools receive their funding directly from the Government.
As part of the process, the city council will determine the specification for the new school; lead and fund the building of the school and site; and work with the academy trust during the pre-opening phase to ensure its successful opening. After opening, the free school will be run by the academy trust and be funded by the Government.
The Education Act 2006 made local authorities commissioners, rather than providers, of new schools. There are now two routes to open new schools - via the Department for Education’s (DfE) central free school programme or the free school presumption route.