Proposals to close Belah school in Carlisle this August have been approved at a meeting of the county council's Cabinet today (Tuesday 8 January).
The decision follows extensive public consultation on the future of primary education in north Carlisle, undertaken during June and July 2007, statutory proposals to close Belah school lodged in October, and a six week period for people to send in 'representations' in response to the proposals.
During those six weeks, no objections to the proposals were received.
The consultation, and from that proposals to close the school, are part of a countywide review of schools which began in 2005. The review aims to deal in a strategic way with key issues such as falling pupil numbers which, if not addressed, will see a quarter of school places in Cumbria become empty over the next 10 years, and educational standards in the county.
At the meeting today, councillors heard that:
- over the last decade, pupil numbers at Belah have fallen dramatically from over 320 to the current figure of around 45
- currently, well over 80 per cent of primary aged children in the school's catchment area go to other schools
- for a variety of reasons, including the fall in pupil numbers and the financial difficulties that this has brought about, educational standards have declined over the past few years. This has resulted in a significant negative impact on pupils' progress and achievement.
- at present, the education of pupils is being protected by the input of considerable staffing and other resources way beyond what the school can afford via its own budget
- the school has had a budget deficit for the last six year and it is likely that this deficit will have grown to around £220,000 - £240,000 by the end of the current financial year.
Today's Cabinet also agreed a linked proposal to extend the age range at Kingmoor Junior School from 4-7 to 3-7 from 1 September 2008.
Councillor Jim Buchanan is Cabinet member for Children's Wellbeing. He said:
"The reasons for closing Belah are clear; it has poor educational performance standards; it has a lack of support from parents in the catchment area - they are sending their children elsewhere - and a high budget deficit; there are good alternative schools in the the area, and there are surplus school places overall in the county.
"It is not a decision we have taken lightly but there have been no objections to its closure at this stage."
Director of Children's Services, Moira Swann, said:
"Although this initial controversy over this decision has dissipated, it is still an important one which affects children and families across north Carlisle."
End
Further information from Alison Lister, Media Team, on 01228 606335
Notes
Across the UK there is a trend for falling pupil numbers in primary and secondary schools. In Cumbria, at the present rate, a quarter of school places will become empty over the next 10 years.
To deal with this issue, and to ensure the quality of education in Cumbria's schools, the county council launched a thorough review of all its schools in 2005.
The council set up a school organisation forum headed up by ex-headteacher Roger Alston, with a membership of county councillors, district councils, employers' bodies, the church, MPs and teachers' associations.
Each area of the county has its own Local Partnership Group - LPG - in this instance, Carlisle LPG. This group comes up with recommendations. These are then presented to the county council , which either approves them, or returns them to the school organisation forum for further discussion.
In May 2007 the Government abolished School Organisation Committees (previously the final decision-makers) and introduced new decision-making arrangements relating to statutory proposals for school organisational change. Decisions on whether or not to approve the vast majority of proposals regarding Cumbria's schools now fall to the county council.
A decision on any statutory proposal needs to be made within two months of the end of the period for representations.
For further information about the council's review of schools follow this link