Isle of Wight Council Cabinet members are being asked to consider plans for the local authority to start a full public consultation on the future of Chillerton and Rookley Primary School.
Pupil numbers at the school have fallen steadily over the past few years and currently stand at 22. Its capacity is 91.
As schools are funded on a ‘per pupil’ basis, surplus places are resulting in a significant funding challenge for the school, which is forecasting a budget deficit of £118,057 in 2022/23.
To respond to this issue, an informal consultation on the amalgamation of the school with Godshill Primary School was launched earlier this year at the request of the Stenbury Foundation, which governs both schools.
A new report published on Wednesday) includes many of the suggestions made during that process — all of which will undergo a full, 6-week public consultation if approved by Cabinet on Thursday 14th October.
The options are wide-ranging and include:
- Leave both schools open and federated, meaning the status quo remains.
- Amalgamate Chillerton and Rookley Primary School with Godshill Primary School with the closure of Chillerton and Rookley Primary School.
- Amalgamate Chillerton and Rookley Primary School with Godshill Primary School with the closure of Godshill Primary School.
- Seek an academy/free school sponsor for Chillerton and Rookley Primary School and, if successful, defederate the school from the Stenbury Federation.
- Defederate Chillerton and Rookley from the Stenbury Federation and re-form it as a stand-alone primary school.
- Seek another local maintained school to federate with Chillerton and Rookley Primary School.
- Set up provision for flexi-schooling on the Chillerton and Rookley site to sit alongside full-time provision.
The council would also welcome any other suggestions from stakeholders during the proposed consultation.
Councillor Debbie Andre, Cabinet member for children’s services, education and skills, said:
“In line with our administration’s commitment to taking a measured and thorough approach, no decisions have yet been made.
“This report for Cabinet sets out the options for a full and comprehensive public consultation during the second half of this autumn term in which everyone can have their voices heard and we will listen.
“I would urge anyone who has an interest to take part in the consultation so that as many views as possible can be given to inform next steps.
“We remain fully committed to ensuring all pupils have access to high-quality educational provision.”
Subject to approval, a further report would be presented to Cabinet next spring setting out the outcomes of the consultation, including recommendations.
To read the Cabinet paper in full, visit https://iow.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s4965/Report.pdf.
The low numbers of pupils in these areas prove that in other areas where social housing has a large footprint, it is the fact that people are ‘better off’ by having children, via tax credits.
Thus where more private houses are, and the parents are less likely to be paid to breed, child birth numbers are far lower.
If these areas had a large influx of ‘social housing’ then it would be certain that the schools would be full to bursting so long as benefits are still being paid.
IF I were you, I would rather have the effort of driving my child to school rather than endure the misery of such as many endure living near such places.
It’s so depressing now as the do gooders idea of making every area tainted by certain types means every area comes down to a lower level. Their idea is “why should some people have the benefits of living in nicer areas?” but if they reduce everywhere to a same level of uniformity then there is nothing better for anyone to aspire to and no variety except frustration for the few left who have more cultured values and no choice in the shops except what the benefit breeders want to buy as they always become the majority in any area they move into and the shops can only stock that which they can sell.
Sadly IBB these ‘do gooders’ which seem to be a minority group themselves have massive sway. The BBC etc now are run by such, and we are brainwashed in our living rooms.
There is so much one could say, but being local to my land, I am not allowed to.
Shameful the way people just tolerate such.
or it could be that most of the people living in villages are not families with kids, because let’s face it, towns over here are not the nicest places any more.