Hamilton School, Significant Change Proposal for Consultation

Maiden Erlegh Trust proposes making a change to Hamilton School, Bulmershe Road, RG1 5SG. This change is considered by the DfE to be a “significant change” and therefore we are formally consulting with stakeholders and partners.

The Trust is proposing that:

• Pupil place numbers increase from 64 to a total of 98 places

• The 8 places currently reserved for post16 pupils are re-designated to pupils aged 11-16. The school will therefore become a provision for 11-16 year old pupils.

These proposed changes will require amending the school’s supplementary funding agreement and DfE registration details.

Background and rationale for the proposed change

Hamilton School is a special school for children with education and health care plans who have SEMH as their primary need.

The predecessor school to Hamilton (Phoenix College) joined Maiden Erlegh Trust on 1^st January 2020. At the time of conversion, Phoenix College was housed in completely inappropriate accommodation with 64 funded places. It had been judged Inadequate by Ofsted (2018).  As a part of the transfer to Maiden Erlegh Trust, Reading Borough Council and the Department for Education invested in the development of new accommodation on the corner of Bulmershe Road and Hamilton Road. This expanded the potential capacity of the school to 96 pupil places. The school relocated to the new building in the summer of 2022, changing its name to “Hamilton School”.

Through sustained improvement work, the school has strengthened its provision and in May 2024, it was judged to be “Good” in each inspection judgement area.

Now that the school is judged to be stable and effective, and with the full support of Brighter Futures for Children, the Trust wishes to expand pupil place numbers to the capacity of the new building. This will add significant local capacity to support children with an appropriate EHCP to access a specialist setting.

During the time that the school has been a part of the Trust, the eight place post-16 provision has not been used. Our experience has been that pupils wish to move onto the local college, other post-16 provisions, or into work. It is our view that these designated places would be better used to support the SEND need in the 11-16 age bracket.    

Maiden Erlegh Trust would appreciate your response to this proposal:

• • Do you support the proposed changes to Hamilton School outlined in this consultation?
  • Do you have any comments to make on the proposed changes?

We value your opinion so if you would like to feedback into this consultation, please complete the short survey which can be found: Hamilton School Consultation Survey or by scanning the QR code below. The consultation will run from 3:00pm Friday 25^th October until 3:00pm Thursday 21^st November 2024.