Issue - meetings

Report by the Director of Children’s Services

38.1     The Lead Member considered a report by the Director of Children’s Services, together with representations from the statutory proposal, including those received after the closing date, regarding the proposed closure of Broad Oak Community Primary School.

38.2     The Lead Member RESOLVED – to approve the closure of Broad Oak Community Primary School on 31 August 2020.

Reason

38.3     Whilst recognising the level and nature of objection to the proposal and the impact on the small number of pupils living in the Broad Oak community area, the case for the closure of Broad Oak Community Primary School remains strong for the following reasons set out in the report:

·         the governing board’s budget proposal is predicated on the school moving to a two-class structure from September 2020. Even then, the school would be in deficit from 2020/21 and would rely on Dallington in particular to prop up its budget. This would deny funding to Dallington pupils who could be negatively affected;

·         in addition to using the budget from Dallington to underwrite Broad Oak’s deficit, leadership capacity in Broad Oak, Dallington and Punnetts Town would be significantly reduced to offset the costs of keeping Broad Oak open. All three schools would have insufficient headship capacity to discharge effective, coherent and consistent leadership which has the potential for creating significant performance vulnerabilities in each school;

·         the surplus places in the area, and at the school in particular, are still high and the forecast demand for places in the coming years does not indicate that the situation in the area will markedly change; and

·         there are sufficient places at other schools in the area to accommodate all displaced pupils from the school.