Content

RESOLVED:
 
Having considered
all of the supporting documentation, particularly the statutory
notice set out at Appendix 1; the comments and objections raised by
the four respondents at Appendix 2; the Equalities Impact
Assessment (EIA) at Appendix 3; and the report on the alternative
options set out in Appendix 4, Cabinet approved the proposal to
discontinue (close) St Mary's Church of England (CE) Primary School
on 31 August 2025.
 
REASONS FOR DECISION
 
The recommendation is made in order to
determine the Council’s response to the 28 Day Statutory
Notice issued on 6 February 2025 attached as Appendix 1. This
recommendation has been put forward after Officers considered a
number of alternative options set out in the attached Appendix
4.
 
The proposals above are recommended to Cabinet
in light of the following viability issues facing St Mary’s
CE Primary School.
 
· 
a declining pupil roll;
· 
a lack of pupils now applying to the school;
· 
evidence to show there is little prospect of a material increase in
the numbers of pupils within the pupil place planning area in the
medium to long term; and
· 
the school’s unrecoverable budget deficit.
 
DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND
REJECTED
 
Cabinet could decide not to proceed with the
closure proposal for St Mary’s CE Primary School. The Council
would then have to decide on how the school’s budget deficit
would be funded beyond the 2024/25 school year, given that the
school is not financially viable and is very unlikely to see a
sufficient increase in its pupil numbers for the situation to
change in the foreseeable future.
Cabinet could decide to delay its decision on
school closure, but this would mean that the School’s
financial position would worsen, further impacting on the quality
of education for its current pupils and leaving an even bigger
budget deficit, should the school close later than the proposed
date of 31 August 2025.
 
Delaying the decision would not be in the best
interest of children and families or education provision in the
area because St Mary’s CE Primary School’s worsening
financial position would make it increasingly more challenging to
provide pupils with a rounded education that meets their academic,
social and emotional needs.
 
The Council considered a number of alternative
options set out in Appendix 4.