A head teacher says that the plan to double the size of his school is an opportunity for the whole community.

A consultation has been launched this week on the proposed expansion of Bysing Wood Primary School.

The intake for reception will rise from 30 to 60 in 2017, and with 210 pupils at present, Kent County Council has announced plans to increase the numbers to 420 by 2023.

Proposed and approved developments could see Faversham grow by more than 1,000 houses over the coming years, adding thousands of youngsters to the town’s population.

Last year, the national media reported a crisis with primary school heads and authority leaders saying the system is at breaking point, with councils forced to borrow cash to finance extra places.

Head teacher of Bysing Wood, Andrew Harrison, said this week: “The governing body and I see the proposed expansion as an opportunity to provide even more for our pupils and their families, as well as the wider community, whilst being socially responsible regarding the need for extra school spaces in the town.”

He says that extra pupils would mean additional funding which would allow the school to support new specialist staff including a music teacher or sports coach.

There could be a care suite which would provide better support for children with medical or physical disabilities.

“All of this would allow us to offer an even richer curriculum, extra spaces for play and lunchtimes, further additional support for pupils and families, more after-school clubs, and more capacity for community use of the facilities.” - Head teacher Andrew Harrison

Mr Harrison said: “All of this would allow us to offer an even richer curriculum, extra spaces for play and lunchtimes, further additional support for pupils and families, more after-school clubs, and more capacity for community use of the facilities.”

He said the project as a whole offers too many benefits to turn down.

The consultation comes just months after the Faversham News exclusively revealed that a primary school is set to be built at the Abbey School.

It could become an all-through school from 2018/19.

County council education officer Marisa White said: “Faversham’s primary-school population is increasing and new housing development is proposed for the locality.

“Bysing Wood Primary School is an increasingly popular school judged good by Ofsted. We are proposing to permanently increase the size of the school to provide 30 additional places per year group.

“It is planned that the expansion would be gradual, in order to maintain the character and ethos of the school.

“The school would be provided with additional classrooms and facilities which will require a separate planning consultation process that will run alongside the education consultation.”

The consultation runs until noon on Thursday, February 11.

A report summarising the response received during the consultation period will be submitted to the education and young people’s services cabinet committee at their meeting on Thursday, March 17.

The cabinet member for education and health reform will then decide whether to proceed with the proposal, publish a public notice for a period of four weeks and welcome comments.

The member will then make a final decision on whether to proceed with the expansion.

Click here to view the consultation files