School closure decisions to be reconsidered

1 hour ago

Martin HeathHertfordshire political reporter

News image — Albury Primary School has just 11 pupils and no applications for reception places in September

Martin Heath/BBC A primary school with a yard in to the left and old two-storey brick buildings to the right. There is a white building with a triangular upper floor in the background, and a brick wall in the foreground with a wooden gate across the entrance. There is a church to the right. — Albury Primary School has just 11 pupils and no applications for reception places in September

A council's decision to shut two primary schools will be reconsidered after concerns were raised about the evidence on which it was based.

The closure of Albury Primary and St Nicholas Primary in Elstree, which both have low numbers of pupils, was agreed by Hertfordshire County Council's cabinet last month.

A scrutiny committee found that the cabinet had not fully considered how the plan to close the schools had made them less attractive to parents.

One of the local MPs said he was concerned about the effect of the decisions on other village schools in the area.

When the decision to close the schools was made, campaigners said it would "tear the heart" out of their communities.

Albury has only 11 pupils even though it can accommodate 90, while St Nicholas has just 46 and has spaces for 110.

The cabinet decided both were no longer viable.

Mark Pope, a Conservative councillor on the authority, "called in" the decision because he felt responses to a consultation were not properly considered and there was no "robust evidence base".

He also said the cabinet had acknowledged that some families had withdrawn their children from Albury School because its future was in doubt, but had then used the resulting low pupil numbers to justify the closure.

Google School entrance with hedges either side and a road leading into a car park where a blue and a silver car are parked. There is a single-storey school building beyond with a white block to the right, with a facade of mainly windows, and a brick building to the right, with smaller windows. — St Nicholas Primary in Elstree has just 46 pupils

The scrutiny committee decided to refer the decision about the school in Elstree to the full council, and to send the decision about Albury Primary back to the cabinet.

It said there should be more clarity about how consultation responses were considered and how the effect of the consultation on pupil numbers would be mitigated.

The committee also wanted a proper comparison between the costs of closure and recovery plans proposed by the village communities.

Josephine Quinton Josephine Quinton with long red-coloured hair, looking at the camera and wearing a black leather jacket. She is sitting on a black leather chair. — Josephine Quinton says the decision to reconsider the closures is a victory for parents

Josephine Quinton, who has two children at Albury Primary School, said the committee's verdict was "a major victory for parents" and had "thrown the proposed closure into turmoil".

Chris Hinchliff, the Labour MP for North East Hertfordshire, said: "The cabinet must take time to reflect on the serious shortcomings in how the decision to close the school was reached."

He was also concerned about the "really grave precedent this decision sets for the future of our village schools".

"They are such loved institutions across the villages I represent - we have to protect them," he added.

At a previous meeting, the council had said any school with a roll of fewer than 60 pupils was at risk of being unviable.

The council has been contacted for a response.

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