Consultation to Alter the Upper Age Limit at Manor

Public Consultation

The governing body at Manor is requesting that Hampshire County Council undertake a consultation on a proposal to increase the age range of the school.

Hampshire County Council would like to hear your views about the proposal to change the age range of Manor from a 4-7 years infant school to a 4-11 years primary school.

This consultation will run from Friday 6 June to Friday 4 July 2025.

The Proposal for Manor Church of England Infant School

Manor was graded as a ‘Good’ school by Ofsted in July 2023, and as ‘Excellent’ in 2019 by The Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS). In recent years, falling birth rates, both locally and nationally have meant that the school is currently seeing an insufficient number of children from within the catchment area to meet the school’s Published Admission Number (PAN) of 30. This coupled with lower forecast numbers of children has meant that the school, the governing body, the Portsmouth and Winchester Church of England Diocesan Education Office and Hampshire County Council have concerns about  falling numbers on roll in future years.

The purpose of this consultation is to ask for your views and consult on changing the age range at Manor Church of England Infant School to become a primary school from September 2026, and, at the same time applying to the Office of the School Adjudicator to reduce the PAN to 15. It is important to hear your views at this stage so we can consider them as part of the work to be undertaken, should approval be obtained.

Transition arrangements

Should the proposed changes be agreed, those children on roll at Manor Church of England Infant School will no longer be required to make an application for a year 3 place. Those children in year 2 at the school will simply transition into year 3.

The consultation

A drop-in session where you will be able to discuss the proposal with Hampshire County Council officers and the Deputy Director of Education for the Portsmouth and Winchester Diocese will take place on Thursday 19th June between 3.30pm and 6.30pm in the school hall. 

If you wish to make a comment then please write to Owain Hale-Heighway, Strategic Development Officer, Children’s Services Department, Elizabeth II Court, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 8UG or by e-mail to:  strategicplanningunit@hants.gov.uk  by Friday 4 July 2025.

Further Information

After this date, officers will take into consideration all the consultation responses received before deciding whether the proposal should continue to the statutory publication stage.

If the decision to proceed is made, a report will be taken to a future Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services Decision Day seeking approval for a statutory Public Notice to be published. This will set out Hampshire County Council’s intention to change the age range of Manor Church of England Infant School. It is anticipated that the Public Notice will be published in the Autumn Term.

After the date of publication, there will be a four-week period in which any representations can be made. After the conclusion of this period, the County Council will decide whether or not to proceed with the proposal. If approved, it would be implemented no earlier than 1 September 2026.