Public consultation for plans to cut new places at Markyate Village School

Hertfordshire County Council is to consult on plans to reduce the number of places available to new pupils at Markyate Village School.

Currently the school – which is in Dacorum – is currently allowed to admit 45 new pupils into its reception classes each year.

But on Monday (October 19) a meeting of the cabinet agreed to consult on plans to reduce that to 30 from 2022/23.

According to a report to the cabinet, all families who have applied for places at the school in recent years have been successful.

And councillors were told that even if the ‘published admission number’ (PAN) at the school was to reduce to 30, this would still be the case.

Meanwhile the reduction in the PAN, it was reported, would give the school greater certainty around, staffing, organisation and budget.

The proposed change will be subject to a period of public consultation in the autumn.

And the result of that consultation will be reported back to the county council’s education, libraries and localism cabinet panel in February (2021).