Primary school now recommended to close
Council leaders are set to agree proposals to close a primary school in Gateshead after a final review concluded the provision is no longer viable.
Colegate Community Primary School is a local authority-maintained school in the Felling area of Gateshead.
The school is suffering from low pupil numbers with more children leaving than joining, alongside a deficit of £208,630, which is predicted to rise to £350,000 by 2025/26.
A consultation exercise, which followed the process set out by the Department for Education (DfE), was conducted with the school community following a Cabinet decision to look at the school's future.
The options consulted on included staying open as it is but with reduced staff and more mixed-age classes; reducing the size of the school into a single building and having more mixed-age classes; or that it closes entirely,
A report to Cabinet in June led to a further four-week period of representation on a final option to close the school.
Cabinet members will hear about the findings of this consultation from officers, before making a final decision on the future of the school.
Helen Fergusson, Strategic Director of Children's Services for Gateshead Council, said: "It is always a difficult decision to close any school, and this is not something we take lightly.
"Pupil numbers have been falling for quite some time, and two years ago the only feasible way to mitigate this was to ask the School Forum to de-delegate funds from other maintained schools across Gateshead. This is a board of head teachers and school governors, and they felt this could not be sustained on a long-term basis as it would put other schools in a difficult position, including other schools in a deficit position. A full public consultation was therefore conducted over the identified issues with the sustainability of the provision, leading to a further period of consultation over potential closure.
"This new Cabinet report outlines the results of the final consultation exercise and our rationale as to why the school now needs to close. There was nothing in these further responses which changed the current view of the council, which is the school is sadly no longer viable.
"The recommendation is that we now look to close the school and work with current parents on how that will happen.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who have taken part in the consultation and engagement. It was essential that we ensured everyone had their chance to be heard, understood the process, and had clarity of what to expect next. Our priority is to ensure that all pupils in Gateshead receive the best education possible to thrive, and we are working hard to ensure the best outcome for pupils at the school."
All impacted pupils will be offered places at their nearest or preferred schools, where possible.
Read the agenda and reports for the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 17 September. Colegate Community Primary School is agenda item number four.
Minutes from the meeting will be published within 10 days of the meeting date.
Council leaders are set to agree proposals to close a primary school in Gateshead after a final review concluded the provision is no longer viable.
Colegate Community Primary School is a local authority-maintained school in the Felling area of Gateshead.
The school is suffering from low pupil numbers with more children leaving than joining, alongside a deficit of £208,630, which is predicted to rise to £350,000 by 2025/26.
A consultation exercise, which followed the process set out by the Department for Education (DfE), was conducted with the school community following a Cabinet decision to look at the school's future.
The options consulted on included staying open as it is but with reduced staff and more mixed-age classes; reducing the size of the school into a single building and having more mixed-age classes; or that it closes entirely,
A report to Cabinet in June led to a further four-week period of representation on a final option to close the school.
Cabinet members will hear about the findings of this consultation from officers, before making a final decision on the future of the school.
Helen Fergusson, Strategic Director of Children's Services for Gateshead Council, said: "It is always a difficult decision to close any school, and this is not something we take lightly.
"Pupil numbers have been falling for quite some time, and two years ago the only feasible way to mitigate this was to ask the School Forum to de-delegate funds from other maintained schools across Gateshead. This is a board of head teachers and school governors, and they felt this could not be sustained on a long-term basis as it would put other schools in a difficult position, including other schools in a deficit position. A full public consultation was therefore conducted over the identified issues with the sustainability of the provision, leading to a further period of consultation over potential closure.
"This new Cabinet report outlines the results of the final consultation exercise and our rationale as to why the school now needs to close. There was nothing in these further responses which changed the current view of the council, which is the school is sadly no longer viable.
"The recommendation is that we now look to close the school and work with current parents on how that will happen.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who have taken part in the consultation and engagement. It was essential that we ensured everyone had their chance to be heard, understood the process, and had clarity of what to expect next. Our priority is to ensure that all pupils in Gateshead receive the best education possible to thrive, and we are working hard to ensure the best outcome for pupils at the school."
All impacted pupils will be offered places at their nearest or preferred schools, where possible.
Read the agenda and reports for the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 17 September. Colegate Community Primary School is agenda item number four.
Minutes from the meeting will be published within 10 days of the meeting date.
