Middleham Church of England (VA) and Spennithorne Church of England (VC) operate as a federation of schools. A federated governing board is responsible for the governance of both schools, and an executive headteacher works with the board to make sure that good standards of teaching and learning are available for all pupils.
Following a statutory consultation process about proposals made by the Federated Governing Board, the Local Authority has approved that the following changes to the organisation of the schools will take effect from 1 September 2026:-
- that the age range of Spennithorne Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School be changed from 4-11 to 4-7 such that the school becomes Spennithorne Church of England Infant School
- that the age range of Middleham Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Primary School be changed from 4-11 to 7-11 such that the school becomes Middleham Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Junior School
- that the schools would have a shared catchment area, comprising an amalgamation of the existing schools’ current catchment areas
- the PAN will be increased to 20 places at each school
- that the status of Spennithorne Church of England School is changed from Voluntary Controlled to Voluntary Aided.
You can read further details about this process in the Agenda for Children and Young People's Service - Executive Members & Corporate Director Meeting, which was held on Tuesday, 24 March 2026 at 1pm.
At its meeting on 16 December the Local Authority’s Executive agreed that the following discretionary provision for home to school travel should apply: -
That the Council provides discretionary travel for children, already assessed as eligible for travel and on roll at schools on 1 September 2026 at The Federation of Middleham (VA) & Spennithorne (VC) CE schools for the duration of their education at the schools within the federation, subject to there being no change in their circumstances.
On 12 March 2026, the Federated Governing Board submitted a request that the Local Authority consider the following proposal for an additional discretionary provision to be made under the Home to School Travel Policy: -
The Local Authority approves through its discretion a ‘nearest gate in the federation’ approach for home school transport, which would be conditional upon the federation continuing to provide support with inter-school transport where that is required.
Home to School Travel
The Local Authority has a statutory duty to provide free school transport to eligible pupils.
Eligibility for free transport is determined in accordance with our Home to School Travel policy (pdf / 1 MB).
The Council’s policy is aligned with the Department for Education’s Statutory Guidance on Home to School Travel and provides that pupils who are eligible to receive free home to school transport are transported to their nearest suitable school with available places.
Home to School Travel Arrangements for the Federation of Middleham and Spennithorne Primary Schools
Pupils at Middleham CofE VA and Spennithorne CofE VC Primary School who are eligible to receive free home to school transport are provided with transport to the school at which they are registered. Where it is required, the federation provides transport for pupils who are required to travel between the two school sites.
As noted , the Local Authority has already approved that the following discretionary provision of free home to school transport will apply with effect from 1 September 2026: -
That the Council provides discretionary travel for children, already assessed as eligible for travel and on roll at schools on 1 September 2026 at The Federation of Middleham (VA) & Spennithorne (VC) CE schools for the duration of their education at the schools within the federation, subject to there being no change in their circumstances.
As also noted above, on 12 March 2026, the Federated Governing Board requested that the Local Authority also consider the following additional discretionary provision: -
The Local Authority approves through its discretion a ‘nearest entrance point in the federation’ approach for home to school transport, which would be conditional upon the federation continuing to provide support with inter-school transport where that is required.
This provision would relate to home to school transport only and not to the arrangements for school admissions.
How the proposal works
If the Local Authority were to agree to this proposal, then it would mean that pupils at either school:
Would have their eligibility for free home to school transport assessed using ‘the nearest entrance point in the federation’ to determine their home to school travel distance; and
If they were eligible for assistance and if the ‘nearest entrance point in the federation’ was found to be their nearest suitable school with available places then they would be provided with transport to the school of the ‘nearest entrance point in the federation’
The federation would continue to provide transport between the schools for those pupils required to attend the other sites
Examples showing how this would work:
A Y4 pupil with eligibility for assistance with home to school travel would be provided with assistance to Spennithorne Church of England Infant School if that was their nearest suitable school, and the federation governors have committed to arranging travel between schools so that the pupil can be transported to the federation school at which they are registered, i.e. Middleham Church of England Primary School
A Y2 pupil living within the statutory walking distance of Middleham Church of England Primary School would not be provided with free home to school transport by the Local Authority if they attended Spennithorne Church of England Infant School. In this case the pupil would be transported to Spennithorne Church of England Infant School by the federation.
If a pupil was attending either Middleham Church of England Junior School or Spennithorne Church of England Infant School and neither school was identified as being the nearest suitable school with available places then the pupil would not be eligible for free home to school transport provided by the Local Authority.
This consultation closes on 14 June 2026.
What happens next
A report on the outcome of the consultation will be produced by officers. This report will be considered on 30 June 2026 by our Executive Member for Education, Learning and Skills and, if agreed, the proposal would be implemented from 1 September 2026.