Options and back ground data for Forest Hall and Ivy Road

Background

The Council is proposing to merge Forest Hall Primary School and Ivy Road Primary School.

The Council divides the borough into four separate planning areas for schools. The North West Planning area (NWPA) consists of the collective catchment areas of the three secondary schools in this part of North Tyneside, including George Stephenson High, Longbenton High and North Gosforth Academy. This proposal relates to two primary schools within the catchment area of Longbenton High School.

Due to the size of buildings and school sites, it is proposed that Forest Hall Primary School would relocate to the existing Ivy Road site. The merged school would retain the original Forest Hall Primary School name, Department for Education school number and be based on the Ivy Road site.

This would mean the closure of the Ivy Road Primary School.

Forest Hall Primary is located on Delaval Avenue, Forest Hall. The school occupies a site comprising of a main building, built in 1907 with a modern extension added in 2014. Externally, there are two yards, a playing field and an open letch (stream) to the north of the main yard. The school joined the North Tyneside Learning Trust in September 2012. Forest Hall Primary School was judged as a ‘Good’ school by Ofsted in November 2021.

Ivy Road Primary is located on Ivy Road, Forest Hall. The school occupies a site comprising of a main building, built in 1961. A modular Nursery with brick base was added later. Externally, there are large yards and playing fields significantly larger than required for a school building of its size. The school joined the North Tyneside Learning Trust in September 2014. The school operates as a one form entry school but has capacity to accommodate 1.5 forms of entry. Ivy Road Primary School was judged Inadequate in February 2024, with an Academy Order raised in May 2024.

The expected number on roll (NOR) in each school in September 2025 is 133 at Forest Hall Primary School and 136 at Ivy Road Primary School. Based upon their PAN capacity, the surplus capacity in each school will be:

Forest Hall Primary School 37% surplus places, and
Ivy Road Primary School 35% surplus places.

Reasons

Ivy Road Primary School has been judged by Ofsted as Inadequate (February 2024) and has an Ofsted Academy Order upon it with no identified sponsor.
When the school was judged Inadequate, the DfE immediately began the process of finding an ‘academy sponsor’ which means a Trust that could take over the school and make rapid changes of improvement. Unfortunately, no Trust has been identified.
The DfE have requested that the Council find a solution.
Ivy Road’s financial deficit is forecast to worsen – from deficit of £0.156m as at 31/3/25 to £0.624m by 31/3/28.
Forest Hall’s financial position is forecast to worsen – from deficit of £0.075m as of 31/3/25 to £0.120m by 31/3/28
The proposed merger would sustain high quality education in the community, provide greater stability for all local pupils, improve financial sustainability, and support the provision of a high-quality education for everyone.
If left unchanged, the risk is that the two schools would continue to grow in deficit, and this in turn would limit their ability to sustain high quality education.
Forest Hall Primary School is operating in a school building that is too big for the number of pupils it admits each year as it currently has 37% surplus places, and this is increasing its risk of financial instability despite it being a good school.
However, Forest Hall Primary School site is not sufficient in size (in its existing buildings) to provide accommodation for the combined number of pupils from both schools, which would exceed one form of entry.
Ivy Road Primary School has a large and developing catchment area. Closure of Ivy Road Primary School, without the associated relocation / expansion of Forest Hall Primary School would require existing pupils to be relocated to a number of other schools. These schools would not necessarily be the same for each year group, and potentially four or five other schools would be affected, which may impact sibling links and travel arrangements for families.
The closure of Ivy Road Primary School without any associated relocation / expansion of Forest Hall Primary School, absorbs all surplus capacity in the area and leaves no flexibility for new and developing housing sites.
Forest Hall Primary School is significantly closer to other local school provision therefore their catchment pupil population is diluted across 14 other Primary Schools, including itself and Ivy Road Primary School.

This map shows the two primary schools (and also the other schools in the local area). The two schools are within 700m of each other.

Which options have been considered?

Option	Reasons the option was discounted
Do Nothing	Ivy Road Primary School has been judged as Inadequate (February 2024) and has an Ofsted Academy Order upon it with no identified sponsor. When the school was judged inadequate, the DfE immediately began the process of finding an ‘academy sponsor’ which means a Trust that could take over the school and make rapid changes of improvement. Unfortunately, no Trust has been identified. The DfE have requested that the Council find a solution, meaning that doing nothing is not a viable option. Even without the Ofsted judgement, action would still need to be taken in the Forest Hall area because of the falling birth rate.
Close Ivy Road without making any other changes	Ivy Road Primary school has a pupil population of 137 (Jan 2025 census). Closure of this school, without the associated relocation / expansion of Forest Hall Primary School would require existing Ivy Road pupils to be relocated to other settings. The local schools would not necessarily be the same for each year group, and potentially four or five other schools would be affected, which would impact sibling links and travel arrangements for families. Ivy Road Primary School has a large and developing catchment area. The closure of Ivy Road Primary School without any associated relocation / expansion, would absorb all surplus capacity in the planning area and would leave no flexibility for new and developing housing sites into the future.
Close Ivy Road and merge with Forest Hall and use the Forest Hall site	The Forest Hall Primary School site is not sufficient in size in its existing buildings to provide accommodation for the combined number of pupils from both schools, which would exceed 1 form entry. Equally, the opportunity to expand on site to provide 1.5 forms of entry is limited. The site is already disadvantaged by having no on-site parking and therefore there would be a greater highway impact in the local vicinity.
Close Ivy Road and merge with another Primary School	Other schools in the planning area have less surplus capacity than Forest Hall Primary School and also have less physical capacity than the Ivy Road Primary School site. Equally, no other school in the planning area has the same challenges that Forest Hall Primary School with regard to surplus places and financial viability. The Ivy Road site is also the closest to the local strategic plan development site at Killingworth Moor The nearest non-faith school in the planning area is Benton Dene Primary. There are 415 pupils in the school and only 1% surplus places (Jan 2025 census data). The school site is not sufficient in size in its existing buildings to provide extra accommodation for a combined cohort from both schools, and the opportunity to expand on site to provide any more capacity is limited. Therefore, there is no other suitable option for a merger. See Map below

The maps below show the local Primary schools at the centre point of a circle with an 800m radius. (© Crown Copyright and database right 2025. Ordnance Survey License Number AC0000820329)

This map shows each of the local Primary schools at the centre point of a circle with an 800m radius. If Forest Hall were to relocate to the Ivy Road site as proposed, it shows that there would be no houses that would be further than 800m from their nearest Primary school.

This map shows each of the local Primary schools at the centre point of a circle with an 800m radius. If Ivy Road were to close and Forest Hall were not to relocate to the Ivy Road site, it shows the houses that would be further than 800m from their nearest Primary school.

Here is the data used to inform the proposals:

Pupil and population data is taken from January 2025 Census.
Birth rate data is taken from the last full year of data (September 2023 to August 2024, published Oct 2024).
Projections are calculated using our pupil projection methodology. This table shows the number of GP birth registrations in North Tyneside with a breakdown for each planning area in the Borough (the planning area is the geographic region of North Tyneside)
Pupil and population data is taken from January 2025.
Birth rate data is taken from the last full year of data (September 2024 to August 2025, published Oct 2024).

This is how it looks for North Tyneside as a whole on a graph:

This table shows as of 2024/2025:

The admissions capacity (Published Admissions Capacity)
The capacity of the school buildings (which is often higher than the admissions capacity),
The number of children at the school (as of January 2025)
Unfilled places as a percentage of the available admissions places (also known as ‘surplus places’
The number of all pupils living in the catchment area
The number and percentage of chidlren living in the catchement area who choose to attend the school

These tables show how many pupils attended both schools in the last nine years:

These tables show pupil projections for the next nine years and what the surplus would be compared to the admissions capacity of the schools (based on local birth rate data)

These tables show the number and percentage of current pupils living in the catchment area who are choosing to go to either Forest Hall Primary School/Ivy Road Primary School, another school in the North West Planning Area or another school in North Tyneside.

This table shows how many pupils attend the schools and where they live.

Options and back ground data for Forest Hall and Ivy Road

Reasons

Ivy Road Primary School has been judged by Ofsted as Inadequate (February 2024) and has an Ofsted Academy Order upon it with no identified sponsor.

When the school was judged Inadequate, the DfE immediately began the process of finding an ‘academy sponsor’ which means a Trust that could take over the school and make rapid changes of improvement. Unfortunately, no Trust has been identified.

The DfE have requested that the Council find a solution.

Ivy Road’s financial deficit is forecast to worsen – from deficit of £0.156m as at 31/3/25 to £0.624m by 31/3/28.

Forest Hall’s financial position is forecast to worsen – from deficit of £0.075m as of 31/3/25 to £0.120m by 31/3/28

The proposed merger would sustain high quality education in the community, provide greater stability for all local pupils, improve financial sustainability, and support the provision of a high-quality education for everyone.

If left unchanged, the risk is that the two schools would continue to grow in deficit, and this in turn would limit their ability to sustain high quality education.

Forest Hall Primary School is operating in a school building that is too big for the number of pupils it admits each year as it currently has 37% surplus places, and this is increasing its risk of financial instability despite it being a good school.

However, Forest Hall Primary School site is not sufficient in size (in its existing buildings) to provide accommodation for the combined number of pupils from both schools, which would exceed one form of entry.

The closure of Ivy Road Primary School without any associated relocation / expansion of Forest Hall Primary School, absorbs all surplus capacity in the area and leaves no flexibility for new and developing housing sites.

Forest Hall Primary School is significantly closer to other local school provision therefore their catchment pupil population is diluted across 14 other Primary Schools, including itself and Ivy Road Primary School.

This map shows each of the local Primary schools at the centre point of a circle with an 800m radius. If Forest Hall were to relocate to the Ivy Road site as proposed, it shows that there would be no houses that would be further than 800m from their nearest Primary school.

Here is the data used to inform the proposals:

Pupil and population data is taken from January 2025 Census.

Birth rate data is taken from the last full year of data (September 2023 to August 2024, published Oct 2024).

Projections are calculated using our pupil projection methodology. This table shows the number of GP birth registrations in North Tyneside with a breakdown for each planning area in the Borough (the planning area is the geographic region of North Tyneside)

Pupil and population data is taken from January 2025.

Birth rate data is taken from the last full year of data (September 2024 to August 2025, published Oct 2024).

This table shows as of 2024/2025:

The admissions capacity (Published Admissions Capacity)

The capacity of the school buildings (which is often higher than the admissions capacity),

The number of children at the school (as of January 2025)

Unfilled places as a percentage of the available admissions places (also known as ‘surplus places’

The number of all pupils living in the catchment area

The number and percentage of chidlren living in the catchement area who choose to attend the school

These tables show pupil projections for the next nine years and what the surplus would be compared to the admissions capacity of the schools (based on local birth rate data)

These tables show the number and percentage of current pupils living in the catchment area who are choosing to go to either Forest Hall Primary School/Ivy Road Primary School, another school in the North West Planning Area or another school in North Tyneside.