Another threat to our small schools

Jan 28 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save closure-threatened schools in the North-East reacted with alarm yesterday to claims that hundreds of small village schools across the UK are at risk of being shut down.

The National Association for Small Schools (NASS) says between 100 and 300 schools could shut their doors – despite a Government pledge in 1998 to reverse a trend which saw 450 lost in the preceding 15 years.

NASS warns there is an “infectious official line spreading across the UK”, with pressure on local education authorities not only to cut the number of spare classroom places but also not to have too many schools.

It says more than a dozen counties are currently involved in closure programmes, with more waiting in the wings.

The warning comes as local campaigners are opposing the proposed closure of small schools in Northumberland, South Tyneside and County Durham – with numerous first schools also at risk under Northumberland’s switch to a two-tier education system of primaries and secondaries. Parents have launched a petition against the proposed closure of Boldon Church of England Primary under South Tyneside Council’s plans to reduce the number of surplus places. A decision is expected next month on whether to move its 100 pupils to other schools.

Yesterday Sean Hudson, who has a daughter at the threatened school, said: “I believe it would be catastrophic to close hundreds of small schools across the country. It is very easy to close them, but virtually impossible to re-open them.

“We feel very much part of a wider closure programme because there are fewer and fewer small schools in urban communities compared to rural areas, where they see the benefits of small schools.

“Urban areas are losing out because when local authorities look at surplus places it is easy to target small schools where they know there are not going to be as many objections.

“Small schools which offer the opportunity of one-to-one teaching and the ability of pupils to socialise better with their peers are vitally important in areas like South Tyneside which have high levels of deprivation.”

Parents and governors in Esh Winning are fighting moves by Durham County Council to close 50-pupil Hamsteels Primary because of falling rolls and rising repair bills. Yesterday governors’ chairman, the Rev Reg Crozier, said: “We can’t see why they need to close our school and it seems that local councils are too ready to close small schools without examining the facts properly.”

Northumberland County Council has been involved in controversy over plans to close rural village schools to cut surplus places and save money.

Many small schools including schools in Ashington and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea are also at risk of closure or amalgamation into larger primaries under the county’s Putting the Learner First (PLF) programme, which is axeing three-tier education.

Yesterday the county council’s executive member for children’s services, Coun Jim Wright, said schools were only proposed for closure under programmes aimed at investing in new buildings and providing a better educational future for the children involved.

He said: “Part of the rationale for PLF is to address the issues of surplus places and the number of schools, because we have more schools per head of population than any county in England.

“However, we recognise that Northumberland is different to many other authorities. We have a lot of small, rural schools and we put a value on them.

“We have not changed our position on this issue at all and we will not be closing down small schools per se. In reality, a disproportionate amount of money goes to schools in rural areas but we accept that and are committed to retaining village schools unless we can be persuaded otherwise.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Small school closures in the North-East:

2004

• Kirknewton First School, near Wooler – closed when pupil numbers dwindled to just three.

• Byrness First School, Northumberland – closed when pupil numbers fell to four.

• Temple Park Infant School and Temple Park Junior School, South Shields – amalgamated into Temple Park Primary.

2005

• Chapel House, Chapel Park and Throckley middle schools, Newcastle – closed in a reorganisation that abolished the three-tier system in parts of the city.

• Eastwoods Middle School in Prudhoe, Northumberland – closed because of falling pupil numbers.

2007

• Tyne View, Windmill Hills, Lindisfarne and Kepier Chare primaries, in Gateshead – all closed as part of a programme to get rid of surplus places.

• Kramel First School and Parkside Middle School, Cramlington – closed as part of reorganisation plans that moved Cramlington to a two-tier structure.

2008

• Hamsteels Primary School and Esh Winning Primary School, County Durham are due to be amalgamated due to falling pupil numbers and mounting repair bills.

• Chatton School, near Wooler, Northumberland –- proposed for closure due to falling pupil numbers.