A primary school in Leeds has been given a proposal by Leeds City Council to close the school in 2023, with parents, staff and children devastated after being told they have four weeks to save the school.
The Leeds local authority has proposed a plan to permanently close Queensway Primary School in Guiseley due to a decrease in birth rate within the area. It means the school is no longer seen as a viable source of income but the parents and the school say the plans are shocking as they announced they will be fighting to keep the school open.
In a letter submitted by the council, it said: "Unfortunately, Queensway Primary School has also seen a large fall in the request for places in its reception class and future numbers are expecting to decline further."
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The decision means that the school would be closed at the end of the current academic term in July 2023. All children who have just joined the school would then have to move to a different educational setting next summer.
Mark Duce, the headteacher of Queensway Primary School, said, in a statement: "We are all in utter disbelief and are completely shocked and devastated at the local authority’s actions. When I joined as headteacher a year ago, it was clear there was wor to be done at the school and since then, the staff have been working tirelessly to make Queensway a school to be proud of.
“There are many children in our school who need a huge amount of dedicated, specialist support and the staff have spent months and even years building that vital trusting relationship with these children so that they get fair access to a quality education.
"Closing our school takes away all that, and no child deserves to have their futures put at risk in this way. Queensway is a fantastic school and one that I am incredibly proud to be a part of. I will be making sure I leave no stone unturned when it comes to fighting for the future of this school and the wonderful children, families and staff that are part of it.”
A consultation has begun today lasting four weeks where parents and other interested parties will be able to write letters and share their views on the plans.
The school is now at risk of closing permanently at the end of this academic year, leaving more than 150 children, many of whom are extremely vulnerable or have special educational needs, deeply anxious and concerned for their futures.
Vicky Lancaster, 38, has two children at the school and is a member of the PTA. She spoke to LeedsLive about her shock when they received the letter outlining the plans.
She said: “We got the letter on Thursday saying that LCC intend to close the school in July 2023, we have a four week window as of tomorrow for people to enter the portal and write a letter about the school. I have two children there, one is in year one and one is year 3, both of those kids have attended the school since they were 2 years old.”
Vicky also has an older son who was at the school, he is autistic and she said the school were so supportive and helped diagnose his condition whilst he was enrolled. Alongside the closure, Vicky and the family have been facing difficult time as Vicky's partner has stage IV cancer.
She said: “I have an elder son who is autistic, and the school helped diagnose him, all the staff were absolutely amazing, they are not just teachers most of them live in the community, so they know the children.
"The reason I am so passionate about the school, is that my partner has stage four cancer, the last few years have been a nightmare, they have been so helpful through it all.
“Since Thursday, I have barely slept, I have emailed every MP and councillor under the sun. My children are so upset, Joey especially, he is part of a close-knit community.
“My partner is on life-long treatment, he has about five years to live and all I want is my children to be in a happy environment, nothing should change, it shouldn’t need to change.”
Vicky and other parents are working hard to try and get the decision reversed, she said she was in tears when she first read the letter.
“I was in absolute shock, I’ll be honest I did cry, I stopped everything I was doing and I went to the school, I wanted to speak to other parents to see what their reactions were. I am part of various Whatsapp groups and we communicate every hour to discuss what we can do to make a stand, we want them to feel our presence, we are going to fight from day dot," Vicky said.
Today (Monday, September 26) parents will gather outside the school for their first demonstration. Over 200 signs and banners have been made for parents to speak out about the decision.
There will be a large gathering outside the school at 3.45pm today. Members from Leeds City Council are also expected to arrive to discuss the closure.
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: "In recent years the Guiseley and Yeadon areas have seen a significant drop in the numbers of children being born, and there are several primary schools across the area with surplus places.
"We want schools to have sustainable numbers for the future so that they can meet the needs of their learners. As part of a wider plan to manage places across the area, we will be asking the local community for their views on a proposal to permanently close Queensway Primary School.
"A four week consultation will start on Monday 26 September and during this time, anyone with an interest in school places in the area will be able to find out more, ask questions and share their views with us. The Queensway school community has been informed about the proposal and we are encouraging them to take part in the consultation to help shape important next steps.
“We understand that parents and carers will have questions about what might happen, and we will be supporting them with information about this during the consultation.”
Queensway takes part in local charity events, hosts other agencies such as a Children Centre and wrap-around care in the form of Kangaroo Kids - although there are no current plans to remove these, it is highly likely that both of these will be rehoused too - removing further support for vulnerable families in the area.
A petition has been created online to gather signatures opposing the closure. So far it has received over 2,000 and needs 3,000 signatures to reach the next stage.
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