There are just two days left for people to take part in the consultation over the future of closure-threatened St Barnabas Primary School in Montpelier. Distraught parents have been campaigning locally and have now gathered over 2,000 signatures in support of keeping the school open.
A final decision on its future will be made in February at a Bristol City Council cabinet meeting. The results of the consultation will be considered before any decisions are made.
Parents have complained of a lack of communication and fear there will not be places for all children to attend local primary schools. And some of the parents with SEND children are concerned that if forced to leave, they will struggle to find a suitable mainstream alternative.
READ MORE: St Barnabas Primary School threatened with closure after 150 years
The local authority school was judged as requiring improvement by Ofsted in 2017 and although measures to improve the school have been put in place, the decline in pupil numbers means less funding for the school and classes combining year groups. Suggestions over converting the school into a specialist provision or joining a local Multi-Academy Trust have been deemed unviable.
Due to the school being the only local-authority run school in the area, a merger has not been possible. None of the local MATs have accepted St Barnabas and current legislation of opening special schools only allows for them to be set up as ‘free schools’ so the council doesn’t legally have the right to make such proposals.
Bristol City Council says it will ensure local school places for all families if the school closes. But parents believe the data given by the authority in regards to a surplus of local places is out of date now that two local schools have recently reduced their pupil numbers.
Parent Lottie Cronk, whose child has SEND and gets a lot of one-to-one support at the school, is anxious about her son having to move to a bigger school. She said: “We can’t believe it’s closing because we felt that we’ve absolutely landed on our feet with this school.
“It hasn’t got the best reputation and a lot of parents don’t consider it because of its Ofsted whereas once you actually get there you can see how happy the children are and how well they’re looked after in a really holistic way.”
Lottie added that many of the SEND children at St Barnabas do not have EHC (education, health and care) plans because they “haven’t needed one” due to the small class sizes. This means that they will be moved to another mainstream school where they will “struggle to cope with full class sizes”.
A council spokesperson said: “Following a steady decline in pupil numbers, the school’s governing body decided, with the support from council officers, to carry out a formal process to consult parents, carers, and other stakeholders about its future. No decisions have been made and parent and carer feedback is vital to ensure school leaders and council officers can make appropriate recommendations.
“The results of the consultation , and the future of the school, will be considered by cabinet in February, 2023.” You can view the online petition here.
The consultation closes on December 16, 2022. The cabinet meeting is on February 1, 2023.
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