Broadleaf Partnership Trust intend to request that the Department for Education formally approve the amalgamation of Town Junior School and Holland House Infant School. This request is driven by our commitment to putting the needs of the children front and centre of all of our decision-making. We propose the closure of both schools to create a single all-through primary institution operating under a new name. This transition will deliver sustainable improvement through providing further agility in resource management and a more robust, cohesive learning environment.

Background

In contrast to amalgamations driven by performance concerns both Town Junior School and Holland House Infant School are high-performing institutions, both judged ‘Good’ by Ofsted in 2025. Broadleaf Partnership Trust has already proactively forged a strong alliance between the schools by:

• Amalgamating leadership across both schools.
• Converging local governance arrangements.
• Aligning the school curriculums to ensure educational continuity.

The Broadleaf Partnership Trust Proposal

What would change?

Operationally, this change will have a minimal impact on day-to-day life, as the schools already work closely together. The primary difference is administrative: the schools will be recognised as one single entity for inspections, educational data returns, and workforce censuses.

As one school, staff may work more agilely across the whole school, creating a greater consistency and knowledge of children as they transition from key stages.

As two separate schools, parents have to formally apply for a place in the junior school. Under a single school arrangement, this will no longer be necessary, removing administration for parents and uncertainty for children.

Rather than retaining one of the current school names, we propose giving the new primary school a different identity in recognition of their new era.

We have drafted a shortlist of three:

• Sutton Trinity Primary

Taking inspiration from the electoral ward in which we reside. It also pays tribute to the triangular piece of land originally gifted to Town School at the bottom of Trinity Hill in the town centre.

• Bracebridge Primary

Taking inspiration from Bracebridge Pool in Sutton Park, named after Sir Ralph Bracebridge, a medieval landholder who is credited as first creating the pool in the 15^th century. Bracebridge Pool is split into two, with Little Bracebridge created to provide an area for small fish to develop before graduating to the main pool and acts as a feeder for Plants Brook, just as our new Primary will do so.

• Town House Primary

Merging parts of the current names to forge the new conjoined identity.

What would not change?

Whilst our ultimate vision remains bringing the infant and junior school onto one site, we are not in a position to deliver a new building at this point in time. Therefore, the primary school would continue to operate from the current school buildings – predominantly serving infants on Holland Road and juniors from Ebrook Road.

We are not proposing any change to the number of children we admit into each year group.

The conjoined staffing and governance structures that have developed over the last year will remain.

The Trust believes there is a powerful case for formalising this partnership to better serve our community. The merits of this proposal, rooted in our core values, include:

1. Financial Agility and Efficiency

• Financial Savings: We will achieve economies of scale, through eliminating duplicated costs for services, subscriptions, and resources by contractually signing up only one school, putting the school in a stronger position to invest in our pupils.
• Whilst ‘lump sum’ funding will be reduced as a result of this amalgamation, we anticipate this will be more or less offset by split-site funding[1].

2. Seamless Knowledge Retention and Support

• Uninterrupted Provision: Amalgamation ensures synchronised and uninterrupted pastoral and safeguarding support for children and families. A single school team can support families from nursery through to Year 6 meaning there is no loss of knowledge about children and families between two separate schools. Using one unified system across eight years ensures a more robust approach to pupil welfare.

3. Educational Continuity and Aspiration

• Curriculum Consistency: Teachers will have an overview of the full primary phase, ensuring a deep body of knowledge is built incrementally from ages 3 to 11. This will lead to a greater continuity for pupil’s learning, progress and tracking arrangements.
• Policy Alignment: The proposal ensures complete policy alignment and familiar procedures that support children and families throughout their entire primary education.
• Seamless Transition: The move from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 (Year 2 to Year 3) will better reflect transitions between any other year group, removing the anxiety of a “big move”.

4. Strengthened Alliance with Families and Staff

• Simplified Communication: Parents will benefit from a joined-up approach to events, training, and regular communications, removing the need to manage two sets of school communications for staff and those parents with children currently in both schools.
• Admissions Ease: There will be no need for parents to apply for a junior school place, providing certainty for families.
• Staff Development: Formal amalgamation provides greater flexibility to deploy staff and support staff across different key stages. Shared training and professional development allow our workforce to understand the full primary pedagogy, increasing staff retention and expertise.

Next Steps

The Broadleaf Partnership Trust is of the firm opinion that this amalgamation is in the best interests of school improvement, pupil progress, and community continuity. By formalising this alliance, we are creating a more efficient education system to serve the children of our community.

The consultation period will last for three weeks to collect the views of parents, the Local Authority and neighbouring academy trusts on the proposed changes before deciding whether to proceed with a formal amalgamation application to the Department for Education.

If you would like to contribute to the consultation, have any questions or would like to share views on the proposed names or suggest another option, please contact us via consultation@broadleafpt.co.uk

[1] ‘lump sum’ and ‘split site’ funding are two elements of DfE funding that may be allocated to schools. Each individual school receives a ‘lump sum’ payment to recognise the cost of site maintenance. When amalgamated, the schools will benefit from a transitional protection arrangement for this funding. Once tapered out, the new school should attract ‘split site’ funding, recognising its operation across two sites.