Pupil place planning and schools organisation

St Helens Borough Council has a statutory responsibility to ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils in the local area.

We complete the annual school capacity collection (in accordance with the Information as to Provision of Education Regulations 2016) for the Department for Education. This provides school-level data for every school in the borough. This information is analysed and used to determine where school places are in shortfall or in surplus.

To predict future demand of school places, we use a range of information including birth data, population forecasts, school census, school preference data, pupil migration data and information on planned housing developments (Section 106 contributions are sought when a development may create extra demand for pupil places).

By analysing this data, trends in pupil numbers can be reviewed, which helps with effective future forecasting and enables appropriate places to be commissioned, ensuring we provide sufficient places.

Statutory Consultations and Proposals

To meet the demand for school places we may need to make changes to existing schools. Proposals are subject to a range of statutory processes and consultations, for prescribed alterations to maintained schools, for the opening and closure of schools, and for school admission arrangements.

When there are proposals and consultations underway, information will be published below.

• Consultation on Pupil Admission Arrangements 2025/26
  Admission authorities must consult on their admission arrangements if they want to make changes to their policies, or at least once every 7 years, even if there have been no changes during that period. Local authorities must also consult on their co-ordinated admission scheme where the scheme is substantially different from the previous year, or at least once every 7 years. 
  
  St Helens Borough Council is the admission authority for community and voluntary controlled schools. For academies, voluntary aided and foundation schools, an academy trust, a governing body or diocesan board is the admission authority, and set their own admission arrangements and facilitate their own consultations. 

• Proposed School Admission Arrangements 2025/26 for Community & Voluntary Controlled Schools
  We are consulting with the local community to make sure our admission arrangements meet future needs. Copies of the proposed admission arrangements are provided below: 
  
  PROPOSED_Primary Pupil Admission Arrangements for 2025-26 (PDF, 454 KB)(opens new window)
  PROPOSED_Secondary Pupil Admission Arrangements for 2025-26 (PDF, 182 KB)(opens new window)
  
  The consultation period on the proposed admission arrangements above ended on 19th January 2024. 

• Co-ordinated Admission Schemes
  St Helens Borough Council has a proposed co-ordinated admissions scheme which will apply to families seeking school places from September 2025. Co-ordination of the main primary and secondary school allocations is a legal requirement, so all publicly funded schools are included within these arrangements. The aim of the co-ordinated scheme is to provide all parents with an offer of a single school place on national offer day. 
  
  PROPOSED_IYT Co-ordinated Admission Scheme 2025-26 (PDF, 163 KB)(opens new window)
  PROPOSED_Primary Co-ordinated Admission Scheme 2025-26 (PDF, 374 KB)(opens new window)
  PROPOSED_Secondary Co-ordinated Admission Scheme 2025-26 (PDF, 204 KB)(opens new window)
  
  The consultation period on the proposed co-ordinated admission schemes above ended on 19th January 2024. 
  
  Details of admission arrangements for academies and voluntary aided schools will available on their respective websites. The Archdiocese of Liverpool also consulted on planned admission arrangements, which included St Helens schools. Their consultation period ran between 4 December 2023 and 28 January 2024. Further information can be viewed at Consultation on Proposed Changes to School Admissions Criteria From September 2025 (PDF, 223 KB)(opens new window)

• Proposal to decrease the Published Admission Number (PAN) at Broad Oak Primary School
  The proposal was to reduce the Published Admission Number (PAN) from 90 places to 75 places from the 2025/26 academic year. The consultation on the above proposal ended on 8 December 2023. You can see full details of the proposal at  Full Proposal document - PAN decrease at Broad Oak Primary School 2023 for 2025 (PDF, 474 KB)(opens new window)

• Proposal to change the Age-Range at Rainford Brook Lodge Primary School
  The consultation on the above proposal ended on 4 August 2023. The proposal was to change the lower age-range of the school from age 4-years to age 3-years, to ensure the School's seamless transition and conversion to academy status and to secure the correct amount of early years places in the area. The decision was approved by the council on 2 October 2023. You can see full details of the proposal at Full Proposal document - Age-Range change at Rainford Brook Lodge Primary School 2023 (PDF, 307 KB)(opens new window)