Colvestone Primary School FAQs

Note: These FAQs are for informational purposes only. For the latest details about the project and next steps please read the full Cabinet report.

Why was Colvestone Primary School proposed for merging with Princess May?

At Colvestone, in 2014 Reception was full with no unfilled places and there were 3% unfilled places across all year groups (6 places out of 210). By January 2023 there were 40% unfilled Reception places (12 places out of 30) and 38% unfilled places (80 places out of 210, or nearly 3 classes) across all year groups.

There were a total of 12 offers made on national offer day for children to join the school in September 2023.

* assumes 12 children join reception each year and that no children leave or join the school in other year groups. Based on reception to year 6 primary phase only.

At Princess May, in 2014 there were 2% unfilled Reception places (1 place out of 60) and 6% unfilled places across all year groups (24 places out of 420). By 2022 this had increased to 68% unfilled Reception places (41 places out of 60) and 53% unfilled places (222 places out of 420, or more than 7 classes) across all year groups.

This downward trend is forecast to continue. The number of pupils that the school can admit has been temporarily reduced to 30 for Reception and Years 1, 3, 4 and 5. 

There were a total of 29 offers made on national offer day for children to join the school in September 2023. 

* assumes 29 children join reception each year and that no children leave or join the school in other year groups. Based on reception to year 6 primary phase only.

Princess May and Colvestone are both facing the issue of falling rolls. The proposal to merge Colvestone with Princess May is due to the close proximity of the schools, minimising disruption, but also due to both schools having a high surplus, as well as high unused capacity in their buildings. Princess May is 0.3 miles away from Colvestone, a 6-minute walk. The process of merging would create a stronger and more stable school. 

Other schools within the Blossom Federation were not considered for merging with Colvestone due to the distance between them.

Why was Princess May chosen to host the proposed merger?

The schools are 0.3 miles/6 minutes’ walk from each other. Princess May Primary School is a two-form entry school building with a current net capacity of 420, and a site of almost 5,000 sqm, and it has sufficient capacity to accommodate all the children from Colvestone.  

Princess May also has the capacity to host additional classes if needed in the future. 

Why can’t Colvestone host a merger with another school?

The Colvestone building doesn’t have the physical capacity at the moment to accommodate pupils from another school: it is a one-form entry school that can currently host 243 pupils. While for some year groups there may be capacity to take in some additional children from a nearby school, as this would lead to just one class, for others the additional pupils would mean well over one class.

Would Princess May become a three-form entry school if it merges with Colvestone?

Even if the merger proceeds as proposed, Princess May wouldn’t be a three-form entry, as it has also been affected by falling rolls in recent years. Intake from Colvestone would mean it would remain a two-form entry.

While small one-form schools are sometimes preferred by parents, they are often impacted more by income loss as a result of falling rolls.

Benefits of being part of a two-form school are stability of teachers, the ability to pool more resources to diversify the offer for children.

Will the merged school be given a new name?

If the proposal to merge Colvestone with Princess May goes through, the merged school will maintain the name Princess May at this stage in the process. After the merge is finalised, the governing body can decide if they would like to consider changing the name of the school.

Is there enough space at Princess May for all the children with special educational needs? Will they receive the support they need?

Princess May has the capacity and capability to accommodate the needs of pupils with SEND, and 5% of its own pupils have an Education, Health and Care plan. 

Most schools in Hackney have a high proportion of pupils with SEND, and one of the Council’s ambitions is to deliver at least 300 new SEND places in the borough in new settings and in existing schools. 

Children with SEND will receive additional support, and schools and the Council will work together with families to make sure that the transition to a new school is properly planned and managed so that there’s as little as possible impact on children’s wellbeing. 

Is Princess May Primary School more polluted than Colvestone? 

We’ve been looking closely at the air quality at Princess May, as we know this is a concern for some parents. 

Princess May School has two playgrounds. While the latest air quality monitoring shows that one of them has higher nitrogen dioxide levels than Colvestone, both playgrounds are within air quality objectives. We will be doing further work to bring this down, as part of the wider mission to improve air quality and reduce traffic around all schools in Hackney.

Princess May already has greenery and screening between its playground and the A10, and has been shortlisted for further work as part of our green screen programme involving the installation of 2-3m high ivy plant screens on the perimeter of schools between playgrounds and busy roads. 

The school has also benefited from the 3.9% reduction of traffic on the A10 side as a result of the wider Stoke Newington Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN), which covers three sides of the school, and has a School Street on two sides, which has further reduced traffic.
We've rolled out School Streets to nearly all Hackney primaries to tackle air pollution, and we want 75% of the borough to be low traffic by 2026.

To keep reducing pollution, we need people to ditch the log burners, and walk, cycle or take public transport, or, if they need to drive, switch to car clubs or EVs.

Why can’t the Council give more time to Colvestone to benefit from the support of the Blossom Federation? 

Finding long term solutions to manage falling rolls in the borough, together with the primary schools affected the most, is an important part of the Council’s Education Sufficiency and Estate Strategy. Managing such a process of change requires time - not least to engage and consult with the school community and wider stakeholders. 

After the executive headteacher and head of school left Colvestone in August 2022, the school’s governing body supported by the Council looked at proposals from Blossom Federation and Princess May. At that time, Blossom was chosen as it had greater capacity and an experienced business manager. 

This temporary soft partnership (recently extended until July 2024) is set so that Colvestone can receive leadership and business support to improve standards and children’s outcomes, and stabilise the budget. Not to support the school would have been further damaging and inappropriate - inactivity is not part of the school improvement strategy.

Blossom has demonstrated its ability to improve outcomes and stabilise the budget. However, there is still a large budget deficit, and demand for the school remains unsustainably low.

The Council has waited as long as possible, and given all the support available to try to deal with the falling rolls issue at Colvestone, including by underwriting some of its financial deficit, but none of the measures taken so far have been sufficient. 

Is Colvestone financially viable on current student numbers? 

At the end of the financial year 2021-2022, Colvestone had a deficit of £589k. 

The final 2022-2023 closing revenue balance is confirmed to be a deficit of £561,646. 

Colvestone was granted £50k from contingency in the financial year 2022-2023, to aid the stabilisation of the school post de-federation.
Because of the high percentage of unfilled places, in 2022-2023 alone Colvestone attracted £470k less in funding compared to what it would have been entitled to if it had all classes full. 

The Council's schools finance team monitors the finance and budgets of all locally maintained schools, and with schools such as Covestone, have regular finance monitoring meetings with the school leadership to review progress with the agreed licensed deficit recovery plan.

The 3-yr projected budget produced by the Senior Leadership Team (2023/24 - 2025/26) submitted in May 2023 projects a growing deficit as follows:

By the schools’ own forecasts, despite an in year surplus in 22-23 of £28,319 (supported by a £50,000 mid year additional cash injection), they are unable to demonstrate capacity to address their outstanding deficit.

Why did Colvestone receive improvements if it is now proposed for merging with Princess May?

All schools receive regular maintenance and repairs. 

The recent works have been part of the regular works needed to keep the building fit for purpose and ensure the safety of the site. 

What is the impact of other local initiatives (The Dalston Plan, 21st Century Play Street) on the project?

There are proposed areas for regeneration and new housing across the borough, and in some of the areas close to the schools covered in this report. 

The draft Dalston Plan identifies 10 sites across Dalston town centre which could accommodate new homes as part of new developments. These 600 homes are across multiple sites.

The 21st Century Play Street proposal is not dependent on the presence of the school, nor is the broader concept limited to sites outside of schools.

Our estimates about the future need for school places are based on annual projections from the Greater London Authority, that take into account proposed new developments in the area.

Despite the extensive Council and family housing planned, the expected increase in the number of children is low and would not have an impact on school place demand in the short to medium term. Even if the proposals go through, there would still be enough school places to accommodate needs. 

Has the historic character of the Colvestone building been considered? 

Despite many challenging years for the school, the Council has always focused on the future educational needs of the borough, and will continue to do so. 

We know that the school building has a rich history and heritage, at the heart of the Dalston community. This is one of the reasons why this proposal is incredibly difficult, and not one we would be making if we had another choice. 

If the final decision of the Council is to merge Colvestone with Princess May, we will analyse the potential of the building and do everything possible to ensure that it will have a valuable, relevant use for the benefit of the local communities. There are no plans to sell the building off for private investment. 

What if I don’t want to send my child to Princess May?

Parents have the right to choose which school their child attends, and the ultimate decision belongs to them. 

In the case of a merger, all children will be offered a place in the merged school if that is what the families want. This means they can remain with their friends. The Council will support families who do not want their children to attend the merged school to explore other options. 

Where can I find more information about the project?

You can find the latest information in the latest Cabinet report. You can also access the initial information pack distributed to families in March 2023: Colvestone Primary School information pack.