A council with ‘no experience’ will be at the helm as a new school is built in Eastleigh.
The building of the new One Horton Heath School, to serve the 2,500-home development east of Eastleigh, will be overseen by the borough council.
This has been dubbed an unusual move as the responsibility for building new schools usually lies with Hampshire County Council which makes sure they meet Department for Education standards.
Eastleigh Borough Council has now decided to directly fund and deliver the new school, despite advice from county council officers.
To make sure the school is delivered on time and with the standards set up by the DfE, the county council will be represented on an education steering group, which will oversee the building and running of the primary school.
County council officers said: “It’s an unusual step for another local authority to take, and one with no experience building schools, hence the need for the education steering group.”
Officers said that within the Section 106 developer contributions arrangements, the county council has put in place “step-in clauses” that mean it can step in should it need to.
Officers added: “So should it need to step in to ensure the school is delivered or Eastleigh feel unable to deliver the school at any time, we can step in on a full cost recovery basis to deliver the school in a timely manner.”
Cabinet member for education, Cllr Steve Forster, said the borough decision is a “change from the norm” and that the council will keep a “very close eye” to see how Eastleigh performs.
The new school will be an academy, with the buildings and land leased by the borough council directly to the academy trust for 125 years upon completion.
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