Iver Village Infant School

Grange Way
Iver
Buckinghamshire
SL0 9NT
Head teacher: Ms Sam Woodcock
Tel: 01753655104
Fax: 01753630840
Email: office@iver-inf.bucks.sch.uk
head@iver-inf.bucks.sch.uk
25/04/2016
Consultation on change of age ranges to allow for pre-school places at Iver Village Infant School
Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,
The purpose of this document is to inform you that the Governors of Iver Village Infant School
propose changes to the provision of Iver Village Infant School by extending our age of admission
to the school to 2 years old.
If the proposal was to be implemented, it would enable us to include pre-school children.
This would enable the school to integrate Richings Park Pre-school into the day to day
management of the school under the leadership of the Headteacher and Governors.
Richings Park preschool is at the moment a private nursery, however, this would change, in that
the provision would fall under the management of the Governing body, and Richings Park Preschool would formally become part of the same structure as the school.
What changes are being proposed from September 2016?
We are proposing to integrate the Richings Park Pre-school provision for 2 to 4-year-olds into our
school provision.
We are therefore proposing to lower the age range of Iver Village Infant School to 2 years old.
This will make the schools age range 2-7 years, rather than the current 4-7 years.
Please note that there is no change proposed to our determined admission arrangements. The
schools determined admission arrangements for school entry to Reception remain unchanged
and there is no change to the current policy that a nursery place in any way guarantees a
place at the school, in line with our admission policy which is on the school's website.
Children currently registered at Richings Park Pre-school will be able to continue in the settling
when it is part of Iver Village Infants School.
Parents who might be looking for a nursery place in September 2016 can contact the school.
More information will be available once everything has been confirmed.
Why is the school making this change?
Currently, Richings Park Pre-school is an Ofsted graded good provision. It has 31 places for
children aged 2 to 4 years old. There was a risk that due to staff retirement the Richings Park
Pre-school would close in July. The Governing body were concerned at the loss of the provision
and the impact that this would have on the children and community. As a Governing body,
we have always hoped to provide our own nursery provision. In discussion with the nursery
owners in April this year, we looked into the process of aligning the pre-school provision with the
infant school, with positive support from Buckinghamshire County Council Early Years Team.
If this arrangement is formalised it will not lead to the physical relocation of the Richings Park
Pre-school, it will remain at St. Leonards Hall. It will simply convert the current provision to a
nursery class within the Infant school remit and ethos.
With the pre-school provision being delivered by the Infant school, Richings Park Pre-school will
have a qualified Early years teacher to ensure children continue to get the best possible access
to quality Early Years education and bring the leadership and accountability of the nursery
within the Infant school management team.

Will the proposed change result in any educational impact on the existing Infant school provision?
We have conducted a thorough assessment of the resources needed and effects on the
existing Infant school provision and we are confident there will be no adverse impact on any
existing level of provision.
The school will be able to successfully manage this change, allowing the nursery provision
inside and the outdoor space to continue to be developed for the 2-4-year-olds. The provision
will continue to be situated in St Leonards Hall.
The Headteacher at the Infant school has significant experience of working within the early
years setting and our Foundation Stage Coordinator is an excellent Early Years leader. This,
combined with the fact that some of the present pre-school staff will remain unchanged will
ensure high-quality teaching and learning for the nursery children.
What will the impact be of providers of nursery provision locally?
The proposed increase to 30 hours free education in 2017 for 3-year-olds is expected to result in
a shortfall of pre-school places in the area. The proposal may have a small impact on other
providers in the short term but no impact over the medium to long term.
The integration of the nursery into the school provision means that there will be no additional
nursery provision, merely the integration of an existing provision, therefore, no abundance of
extra unneeded spaces.
The incorporated Richings Park Pre-school will continue to provide good or better provision for
the children of Richings Park and Iver Village.
How can you ask questions, get more information & comment on the proposal?
The consultation will be from Monday 25th April 2016 for a period of 4 weeks, closing on
Monday 23rd May 2016 5pm.
The Governing Body of the School will consider all comments received during the consultation
period. We are consulting with all relevant stakeholders as required by law when making
changes to school age range arrangements.
We would like to hear from you about the proposal. If you have any questions, please contact
the school on the number above or by email to office@iver-inf.bucks.sch.uk. If you wish to make
a response to this consultation, then please email the school on the same email address or
alternatively write to the school at the address provided above.
Sincerely,

Ms. Sam Woodcock

Headteacher

Mrs. Joyce Young

Chair of Governors