A London council has warned it may be forced to close down a “good” school after being blocked from shutting a half-empty "inadequate" one.
Islington Council wanted to close Pooles Park Primary school in Finsbury Park because pupil numbers had plummeted.
But the Department for Education allowed the school, which was rated inadequate by Ofsted, to become an academy, which is out of the control of the council. It is now being run by the Bridge Multi Academy Trust.
Islington said it now has to consider the closure of another good local school in a bid to manage the excess of school places in the area.
It comes amid warnings that almost 8,000 fewer children will need school places in London over the next four years due to a falling birth rate and families leaving London due to Brexit, the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.
Councils are trying to manage the drop in demand by closing schools, to ensure the remaining schools are financially viable.
This is because schools are funded according to the number of pupils they have – meaning half-empty schools struggle to survive.
Just 182 places out of the 405 available were filled at Pooles Park school in October 2022, and overall one in five reception places were empty in Islington primary schools in October 2022, council documents show.
Islington Council told the Standard the decision to appoint an academy sponsor at the school is “disappointing and undermines our commitment to ensure every child in Islington has an excellent education at a good, financially viable school”.
A council spokesman said: “Islington, like many places in London, has a growing excess of primary school places for reasons including lower birth rates, changes to EU migration, and families moving out of central London.
“Schools receive funding per pupil, so too many surplus places means less funding for salaries, books and other costs.”
The council added that over time the lack of funding at the school could harm the children’s education and that closing the school was a “last resort”.
The local authority hit out at the DfE and said its actions have compromised the council's duty “to ensure children can access an excellent education”.
The spokesperson added: “Closing Pooles Park – which is less than half full and was rated Inadequate by Ofsted last year – would have supported the future of neighbouring schools which are all rated Good by Ofsted and face similar problems with surplus places.
“The closure would have improved their ability to deliver an excellent education to all their pupils, including those transferred from Pooles Park, while reducing their surplus places and improving their financial stability.
“The decision taken by the DfE means there will still be too many school places locally, which means these schools will continue to not be funded properly.
“The decision will now force us to consider the closure of another good local school.”
A DfE spokesperson said: “Every child should be able to attend a good school and our evidence over the past decade shows strong academy trusts can transform schools that are underperforming.
“In the rare cases where schools receive an inadequate Ofsted rating, like Pooles Park, we put in place support for them to improve as quickly as possible, in the best interests of pupils, families and staff.
"The Bridge Multi Academy Trust is a strong local trust which can work with the school to drive improvement.”
Pooles Park Primary School has also been contacted for comment.
