Consultation on Reduction of Pupil Admission Number
Statutory Consultation on the Proposed Change to Published Admission Number (PAN) for Marlcliffe Community Primary School for the Academic Year – 2027/2028
Consultation Document
Background
The governors of Marlcliffe Community Primary School invite you to take part in a consultation about a proposal to change the Published Admission Number (PAN) for Reception admission from 75 to 60, with effect from September 2027.
The PAN is the number of places we make available as part of our normal Reception intake. Once the PAN has been set for a school, we will not refuse applications submitted during the normal admission round for Reception where the PAN has not been exceeded.
For children already in school, there will be no change.
The proposed change will not affect pupils who choose to accept an offer for a school place in September 2026.
Why We Propose the Change
- We currently have a PAN of 75, which means a total school capacity of 525 pupils across 7 year groups.
- Class sizes are capped at 30 for infant school classes, which means we must currently run 18 classes across the school.
- Historically, when the school has been full, our class structure has been:
|
|
Class 1 |
Class 2 |
Class 3 |
|
Reception |
25 |
25 |
25 |
|
Year 1 |
30 |
30 |
|
|
Year 1/2 |
30 |
|
|
|
Year 2 |
30 |
30 |
|
|
Year 3 |
30 |
30 |
|
|
Year 3/4 |
30 |
|
|
|
Year 4 |
30 |
30 |
|
|
Year 5 |
30 |
30 |
|
|
Year 5/6 |
30 |
|
|
|
Year 6 |
30 |
30 |
|
- We receive funding for 75 children, with three classes in reception. However, these three classes could accommodate 90 children. This funding mismatch increases the financial pressure on the school. This is exacerbated as we have had admitted fewer children into Reception than our PAN of 75 for several years.
- As a school, we are currently undersubscribed with 464 children on roll. We receive funding for the children on roll and therefore our budget has reduced significantly over the past few years. The current structure creates financial pressure.
- Additionally, there is a falling birth rate and demographics in the local area mean that we are forecast to be below our current PAN over the next 4 years at least.
Proposed PAN Change for 2027/2028
Having sought input from the local authority, the governors propose to reduce PAN from 75 to 60 places from academic year 2027/2028.
This reduction in PAN will not affect the ethos, values or success of the school. It will ensure that the quality of education and the available facilities are further improved.
The Consultation Process
- The consultation process will last for 6 weeks.
- It will commence on Monday 8th December 2025 and conclude on Sunday 18th January 2026.
- Responses can be sent to the governing body at enquiries@marlcliffe.sheffield.sch.uk
- The deadline for responses is midnight on Sunday 18th January 2026.
We welcome your views.
Kind regards
Clare Hayes
Headteacher