‘Threat of closure to village schools’

CAMPAIGNERS warned last night that small schools in the region could close because of pressure on councils to cut spare places.

The National Association for Small Schools (NASS) has warned that between 100 and 300 schools across the country could face closure.

It says there is an "infectious official line not only to cut the number of spare places, but also not to have too many schools".

But former Chief Whip Hilary Armstrong, who recently saw a school in her North-West Durham constituency close, said last night that the Government remained committed to village schools.

In 1998, the then School Standards Minister, Stephen Byers, pledged to "end the stream of closures" in which more than 450 village schools had been lost in the preceding 15 years.

NASS officials fear education authorities may be left with no alternative but to order the closure of smaller schools to save money.

Small schools are under pressure because many cannot offer extended services out-of-hours because of their small number of teachers.

And falling pupil rolls are forcing education chiefs to look at school provision throughout the country.

In the North-East, Boldon Church of England Primary School is one of two identified for closure in a South Tyneside Council report on removing surplus places. Parents say the 100- year-old school, which has 120 pupils and 20 unfilled places, should not be shut.

Mervyn Benford, information officer for the NASS, said authorities were coming under increasing pressure from the Government to have a minimum limit of 110 pupils.

He said: "If local authorities with a lot of rural schools, such as North Yorkshire or Durham, feel under pressure from the Government using this minimum, then any school with less than that should feel at risk. "We want to warn people that this is happening."

Ms Armstrong has recently expressed concerns about the closure of a primary school in her constituency.

But she said the proposed closure of Hamsteels Primary, in Esh Winning, was for different reasons to those outlined by the NASS.

The final decision was made at a heated meeting of Durham County Council's cabinet, where parents pleaded with councillors to save their school.

Members were told that standards were falling at Hamsteels, and inevitably places in the North receive more than places in the South. I have some very small schools in my constituency and I have had no indication of any threats to them.

"There's nothing that says the Government has changed its policy outlined in 1998 and I am still confident that's what it is."

Anne McIntosh, the Conservative MP for the Vale of York, said she was not convinced by the Government's commitment to small schools.

She said: "If there's truth in this - and I'll be working closely with North Yorkshire County Council on it - it just shows that the Government has no regard for rural communities."

Forest in Teesdale School, in County Durham, is one of the smallest in the country, with only 14 pupils.

Kath Toward, clerk of Forest and Frith Parish Council, said: "Small schools do not need to be closed. They just need to look at how they manage their costs.

"They do not necessarily each need to have a headteacher - one headteacher could perhaps be in charge of three small schools. It has been used in Cumbria and has worked well there."

Shadow Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "Parents should be backed in the decisions they make about their children, and good schools should be defended. "The political pressure that is leading to good and popular small schools being closed should be resisted."

A spokesman for the Department for Communities, Schools and Families said: "Decisions on changes to local school provision and organisation are made locally and ministers have no role in the process.

"Primary pupil numbers have fallen by approximately ten per cent since 1999, due to demographic shift and a declining birth rate. This presents challenges and opportunities to local authorities. To support this they have unprecedented levels of capital funding.

"We are clear that there needs to be a strong case for closure of any rural primary school and it must be in the best interests of education provision in the local area."

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