Extra income for East Northants Council as school moves into its offices

A new school will soon be operating from the building where East Northants Council is based.
The council offices in Cedar Drive, ThrapstonThe council offices in Cedar Drive, Thrapston
The council offices in Cedar Drive, Thrapston

Planning permission was recently given for the change of use of part of the existing offices used by the council in Cedar Drive, Thrapston, to a school.

Progress Schools, a nationally-based organisation with independent secondary schools across England, will be moving into the Redbrick Building this month.

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It provides teaching to 13 to 16-year-olds at Key Stages 3 and 4 to ensure positive progression and readiness for the world of Further Education, work-based learning or employment, and already has six schools including in Kettering, Northampton and Liverpool.

Bosses have said the new school will accommodate a maximum of 35 students at any one time.

It is likely that only 70 per cent of the students will attend each day as they will also be registered at other schools elsewhere.

The school day will start at 9am and finish at 2.30pm.

There will be a total of seven staff members (with three based at the site full-time) who will park using the seven, including two disabled, allocated parking spaces within the existing staff car park serving the council offices.

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Once the school is established and the number of students increases towards 35, the school will employ a mini bus to transport at least 70 per cent of students to and from the school.

No outdoor recreation areas are required and no external alterations are proposed.

Documents submitted as part of the application say the majority of students will be referred from both the local authorities and local secondary schools and academies.

Referrals will be due to academic and/or social needs which ‘cannot be fully met within a mainstream establishment.’

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The documents also state: “Our six operational schools operate at an average of 70 per cent attending each day.

“We currently have 12 students on roll for the potential Thrapston school and therefore based on trends would expect to see eight students on a daily basis.”

A spokesman for East Northants Council (ENC) said: “We have been looking at how we can get the best use of our space within the ENC offices.

“By using our space more effectively, we can create the opportunity to lease out part of our building to generate income for ENC.

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“Following a period of marketing, we are pleased to report that a tenant has been found and they will be moving in February 2017.

“Our new tenants are Progress Schools and details about them can be found here - www.progress-schools.co.uk.”