Request:
Please provide copies of any notes, minutes, attendance lists, or summaries from stakeholder meetings, working groups, or partnership discussions concerning the proposed Langley First School and Appletree Gardens merger or the wider North East Planning Area (NEPA) school reorganisation.
This should include sessions with headteachers, governors, or external partners not formally recorded as consultation events.
Please include materials held by Children’s Services (Julie Firth), Education Place Planning, and the Chief Executive’s Office (Jackie Laughton) from January 2023 to present.
Response:
No information held relating specifically to the he proposed Langley First School and Appletree Gardens merger
Below is information about the wider North East Planning Area (NEPA) school reorganisation.
No notes, minutes, attendance lists or summaries are held but the information below identifies which Heads or Governors were invited.
No meetings held with any external partners.
Since early 2023, North Tyneside Council has held a series of meetings with headteachers and governing bodies across the North East Planning Area (NEPA) to explore the challenges facing the local education system and to shape potential solutions together. These meetings have included:
- 20 January 2023 – Initial meeting with headteachers of the eight first schools, four middle schools and two high schools in NEPA to discuss the emerging challenges and begin exploring options.
- 6 March 2023 – Follow-up meeting with NEPA Headteachers to review a number potential models.
- 27 March 2023 – Further meeting with secondary and middle school heads to refine thinking around the most viable options.
- 24 April 2023 – Meeting with headteachers of NEPA first schools to discuss the implications of falling pupil numbers, surplus places, and the need for system-wide alignment.
- 3 May 2023 – Continued engagement with secondary leaders to assess implications of different structural models and financial scenarios.
- 4 December 2023 – Meeting with all NEPA Headteachers and Chairs of Governors to discuss ongoing education review and consider options going forward, including the exploration of a multi-academy trust.
- 26 May 2023 – Wider pyramid meeting involving leaders across the NEPA to ensure shared understanding of the challenges and to support collaborative planning.
- 12 March 2024 and 22 May 2024 – Meetings with leaders from Monkseaton Middle, Appletree Gardens First, and Langley First Schools to discuss the interdependencies between proposals and site-specific considerations.
- 23 September 2024 – Meeting with headteachers of NEPA middle schools to discuss the implications of the potential closure of Monkseaton High School and the need for system-wide alignment.
- 3 October 2024 – Meeting with headteachers of all middle, secondary and high schools in the borough to discuss the implications of the potential closure of Monkseaton High School and the need for system-wide alignment.
- 8 October 2024 – Meeting with headteachers of NEPA first schools to discuss the implications of the potential closure of Monkseaton High School and the need for system-wide alignment.
- 12 February 2025, 20 March 2025, 30 June 2025 and 17 July 2025 – A series of meetings with NEPA Headteachers from first, middle and high schools to discuss the ongoing education review, the need for system-wide alignment and the implications for the NEPA area.
Throughout this period, the Council has also held individual and small group meetings with headteachers and chairs of governors, including confidential briefings and working sessions. These discussions have helped shape the proposals now being consulted on and have ensured that school leaders’ insights, concerns, and ideas have informed the development of options. We are grateful to all school leaders for their continued engagement with this process.