Primary school could be facing closure in 2014

Parents at Mountfield and Whatlington Church of England Primary School received a letter last Friday (June 28) informing them that East Sussex County Council is considering the future of the school.

The council says dwindling pupil numbers are to blame.

As of January there were only 54 pupils on the roll against a capacity of 84.

The last time the school reached its full capacity was in 2005/2006.

The council is due to decide on Monday whether to go ahead with a consultation over the proposed closure.

If county agrees to push ahead, a consultation period would start on September 13.

This would include a public meeting.

A final decision would be made in January 2014, which could see the school closing in August 2014.

If Mountfield and Whatlington were to close, it would be the first primary school to be shut down by the council since Eridge Primary School the late 1970s.

Mountfield and Whatlington was placed in special measures following an Ofsted inspection in April last year.

The inspector’s report criticised the quality of teaching, leadership and achievement of pupils at the school.

But an interim inspection back in March this year said the school was ‘making reasonable progress’ towards being lifted out of special measures.

Mountfield and Whatlington is currently under the leadership of an Interim Executive Board (IEB) and executive headteacher Barbara Gill, who is the headteacher at Netherfield Primary School.

In the past year a number of parents are believed to have pulled their children out of the school.

Only five children have been allocated a place at the school in reception year for September 2013.

None of them live in the Mountfield and Whatlington area.

The council estimates that pupil numbers for the start of the 2013/14 academic year could be as low as 43.

ESCC says all pupils displaced by the closure could be relocated to Salehurst Primary School.

Spaces are also available at other local schools.

In a report, Ged Rowney, interim director of children’s services at ESCC says: “The council is concerned about the long term sustainability of the school on the grounds of standards, pupil numbers and declining popularity.

“The Church of England Diocese of Chichester, the chair of the IEB and the executive headteacher share this concern.

“For this reason lead members are recommended to approve the commencement of a statutory consultation process in relation to a proposal to close Mountfield and Whatlington CE Primary School by September 2014.”

A decision on whether to consult on the proposed closure will be made at a meeting on Monday at County Hall, starting at 2pm.

See next week’s Battle 
Observer for more.