Statutory notice for the proposal to move Furze Down School sixth form

Overview

We want to hear your views on a proposal to move Furze Down School sixth form to the short breaks day service building in Buckingham (also known as the Buckingham Opportunities Centre).

Notice is given in accordance with section 19 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 that Buckinghamshire Council intends to relocate the sixth form provision from Furze Down School, Verney Road, Winslow MK18 3BL to a site in Buckingham currently used by the Buckingham Short Breaks Day Service located in Well Street, Buckingham MK18 1EN. 

This proposal would allow:

• Furze Down School to add 26 places for pupils aged 4 to 16 years old
• the short breaks day service in Buckingham to continue providing adult services from a smaller area of the current building

Together with the Governing Board of Furze Down School, we have considered the responses to the recent consultation on the proposals for the school.

This Notice is an extract of the full proposal. A copy of the full proposal is available to download below. Alternatively you can request a copy via email FurzeDownandBuckinghamConsultation@buckinghamshire.gov.uk or by post: The School Commissioning Team, Buckinghamshire Council, 1st Floor, Walton Street Office, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 1UZ.

Proposal to move Furze Down School sixth form

We are proposing to move the 40 sixth form pupils from Furze Down School to the short breaks day service building in Buckingham.

This proposal would support sixth form pupils with:

• developing independence and preparing for adulthood – including travel skills
• an integrated supported employment and learning provision
• access to work related activities in Buckingham

Under our proposal, no areas of the building or site would be shared:

• the building currently used by the Buckingham short breaks day service would be divided – about 70% of it would be used for Furze Down’s sixth form
• the short breaks day service and Furze Down sixth form would each have their own entrance, secure areas and external area

There will be no staff redundancies as part of this proposal.

Related documents

Before you respond to this consultation, please have a look at the following documents:

• Statutory Notice for the proposal to move Furze Down School sixth form (PDF 0.15MB)
• Statutory proposal to move Furze Down School sixth form (PDF 0.26MB)
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs) and consultation responses (PDF 0.31MB)

How to make a representation

Within four weeks of the date of publication of this proposal, any person may agree, object to, or make comments on the proposal in the following ways:

• Complete the online survey using the link at the end of the page
• Complete, and return, a printed version of the survey (PDF 0.21MB)
• Email us at FurzeDownandBuckinghamConsultation@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
• Write to us at The School Commissioning Team, Buckinghamshire Council, 1st Floor, Walton Street Office, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 1UZ

If you have any questions about this activity, please email us at FurzeDownandBuckinghamConsultation@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.

Please tell us your views by midnight on Tuesday 7 November 2023.

What happens next

With the Governing Board of Furze Down School, we will consider all responses we receive.

The Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, with the Cabinet Member for Education and Children's Services, will make the final decision on the proposals. We expect this decision to be made in December 2023.

If the decision is taken to proceed, Furze Down sixth form will be moved and Furze Down School will be expanded ready for September 2024.

Privacy

We will use the information you provide here only for this activity. We will store the information securely in line with data protection laws and will not share or publish any personal details. For more information about data and privacy, please see our Privacy Policy.

If you have questions about data and privacy, please email us on dataprotection@buckinghamshire.gov.uk. Or write to our Data Protection Officer at Buckinghamshire Council, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF.