Please get along and make your views heard at the Public Consultation at Discovery School on Tuesday 27th November at 7pm. See attached the document to download.

Kent County Council would like to hear your views on a proposal to expand The Discovery School from 420 places to 630 places.
Date of Public Meeting:
Tuesday 27 November 2012 at 7pm
at The Discovery School, Discovery Drive, Kings Hill, West Malling ME19 4GJ
www.kent.gov.uk/schoolconsultations

1. Summary
Kent County Council is proposing to expand The Discovery School from 420 places to 630 places.
We are currently undertaking a public consultation to seek the views of the wider community on this
proposal. There will be a public meeting on 27 November 2012 which will give you the opportunity to
make your views known and to ask any questions you may have.
This document gives you details of the proposal, information on the background to it, and outlines
the current position. There is a form at the end which we ask you to complete and return to us by 19
December 2012.

2. Background to the Proposal
Currently The Discovery School and Kings Hill School are both designated as 2FE primary schools,
which means that there are 120 Reception Class (Year R) places between the two schools.
However, due to the high demand for Year R places in 2010, 2011 and 2012 additional forms of entry
were added to The Discovery School. Including these extra places, the two schools on Kings Hill
currently provide 150 Year R places. We received 175 first preference applications for places for
September 2012.

The demand for places shows no immediate sign of abating. Data indicates that Kings Hill has a
high level of inward pre school migration which is consistently creating cohorts significantly in excess
of 120 pupils, and indeed in excess of the 150 places currently available. Table 1 on the last page
shows the growth in pre school cohorts in Kings Hill. For example, there were 139 children living on
Kings Hill, born between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007 (column highlighted in Table 1). By
2008, that number had increased to 152; in 2009 it was 157; in 2010 it was 169 and in 2011 it was
181. This means that from 2006/2007, when the children were born, to 2011 when they entered
school an additional 42 children had moved into Kings Hill.

Approximately 250 houses are still to be built and there are proposals for up to 950 further dwellings
under Phase 3. In addition to this proposal to expand The Discovery School we anticipate a third
school being required. Subject to planning consent and agreement with the developer this may be
operational for September 2015. In the meantime, we are exploring the possibility of incorporating
additional places in Kings Hill School to ensure we have sufficient provision to meet need.
Table 2 on the last page shows primary school places within 1 and 2 miles of the school. As you will
see, it is forecast that there will be sufficient places within 2 miles of the school, but these distances
are as the crow flies and in practical terms the journeys are up to 5 miles by road. On Kings Hill there
is a current shortfall of 12 places and forecasts show this shortfall remaining until at least 2016/17.
However, our forecasts do not take account of any additional demand arising from possible future
housing allocations.

3. The proposal
KCC would like to formalise the current arrangements and expand The Discovery School by 30
places per year group, taking the proposed total capacity of the school from 420 places to 630
places. The school would continue to admit 90 reception pupils per year from September 2013. The
expansion would be gradual with the additional places created annually to accommodate reception
aged pupils only.
Planning permission for the additional classroom accommodation has been secured.

4. What Happens Next?
Date Activity

18 Jan 2013 Following the consultation, all views received, either by post, e-mail or at the
Public Meeting, will be reported to the Education Cabinet Committee.
Public Notice:
8 Feb 2013 –
8 Mar 2013

The Cabinet Member decides whether to continue with the proposal. If so, a
Public Notice will be published in a local newspaper, at the school and in public
places like the library. During this time comments and objections can be made
about the proposal. The Public Notice will run for 4 weeks.
March 2013 The Cabinet Member considers all responses made and decides whether to go
ahead.
September
2013 Implementation

5. How To Give Your Views
There are a number of ways you can let us have your views:
Complete and return the response form below to:
David Adams, Area Education Officer, Mid Kent Office, Kroner House, Eurogate Business Park,
Ashford, Kent TN24 8XU Fax: (01233) 898500
Come to the Public Meeting at The Discovery School, on 27 November 2012 at 7pm.
Email your comments to: school.consultations@kent.gov.uk
(We will note all you say, but will not be able to respond individually to response forms, letters
or emails). There is a response form in the downloadable document.The Discovery School PCD 08Nov2012The Discovery School PCD 08Nov2012