Broadwater formal consultation - proposal to close (discontinue) a maintained school  

Closed 2 Feb 2023

Opened 5 Jan 2023

Contact

Any queries please contact:

consult@wandsworth.gov.uk

Results updated 14 Mar 2023

Broadwater Primary School and Paddock School Consultations

Further to formal consultations conducted between the 5th January 2023 to 2nd February 2023, the following proposals were approved by the Council’s Executive on Tuesday 7th March 2023:  

  1. The discontinuance (closure) of Broadwater Primary School with effect from 31 August 2023 to enable the repurposing of the site for special school provision. The reason for approval is the need for additional SEND provision for children with complex needs and the Broadwater Primary School site provides the space needed and is operating below capacity and overall pupil numbers in Wandsworth schools are declining, putting significant financial pressure on all primary schools
  2. The prescribed alterations to Paddock School for its expansion to provide a total of 292 places and the relocation of its secondary and post-16 provision to the Broadwater Primary School site, with effect from September 2025. The reason for approval is to meet the need for additional specialist SEND provision in Wandsworth for children with complex needs.

The Committee report can be found under item number 4 at the following link:

https://democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=767&MId=9084&Ver=4

Overview

Between 12 October and 29 November 2022 Wandsworth Council carried out a public consultation on the proposal to close Broadwater Primary School, with the intention to repurpose the site for a Special Needs School. You can view the consultation here

After carefully considering all responses and feedback received, Wandsworth Council has made the difficult decision to proceed to the formal stage of the statutorily regulated process for the discontinuance (closure) of Broadwater Primary School. 

A formal consultation for the ‘prescribed alterations’ to Paddock School regarding relocation and expansion onto the Broadwater site is being run concurrently. Both consultations will last for four weeks, ending at midnight on Thursday 2nd February. The Paddock School consultation can be found here

Following the formal consultation stage, if a final decision is made to proceed with both proposals, this will provide approximately 190 places to local pupils with complex special needs to meet increasing demand in the borough.

The local authority will consult with pupils, parents and carers, staff, the governing board, other local schools and trade unions. We are also consulting with other groups as well as the wider local community.

It is important that we hear your views and those of anyone affected. Please ensure you read the following documents so that you have all the information you need to respond.

Consultation document

Equality Impact Assessment

Frequently asked questions 

The following documents may also be useful:

Statutory guidance for opening and closing maintained schools

Proposed specification for special school

Updated vacancy list at local schools

Site size of local schools

How to respond: support; objections and comments

Support, objections or comments should be provided within four weeks of the publication date of this proposal (by 2 February 2023) online, by email or by post as follows:

  • We would encourage you to complete the online survey as the most efficient and secure way to give your views. Please click on the Online Survey link below 
  • You can send comments by post to: Broadwater Formal Consultation, Wandsworth Local Authority, Commissioning Team, 5th Floor, Wandsworth Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 2PU

If you need to request a paper copy, a different language or format, or if you need any support to take part in the consultation, please write to the address above, email consult@wandsworth.gov.uk or telephone 020 8871 7316. If telephoning, please choose the Admissions and Transfers option and refer to ‘Broadwater Formal Consultation’ when you get through to an Officer.

The consultation documents are also available in Urdu, Polish and Somali - please use the links at the bottom of this page or call 020 8871 7316 as above. 

What happens next

Upon concluding this consultation stage, all views will be considered in full before a final decision is made at Executive Committee in March 2023.

Areas

Audiences

  • Open to all

Interests

  • Wandsworth Borough