Decision by London borough to shut primary schools unlawful, rules schools adjudicator

Last week (17 July), the watchdog ruled that Fenstanton Primary School and Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School will remain open - also rejecting a proposal by the governing bodies to amalgamate the two schools.

The council had agreed to close or merge six schools in November after classrooms were affected by plummeting pupil numbers.

Following the decision, the schools and community requested time to come up with an alternative plan, and the council agreed that could happen via a modification to the closure decision. 

However, the Office of the School Adjudicator (OSA) rejected the modified closure decision as unlawful.

In a statement this week, the council said: “This decision is specifically about the technical process used to modify the original closure decision, not about whether change is needed, which the OSA has not disputed. 

“This is despite the council having taken external legal advice, at every step of the process, including on the wording of the modification, before making its decision. The council acted in good faith and has already committed to learning from this outcome.”

The OSA also rejected a proposal by the governing bodies of Fenstanton Primary School and Holy Trinity CofE Primary School to amalgamate the two schools.

That proposal suggested closing Fenstanton Primary School, and keeping Holy Trinity CofE Primary School open on the Fenstanton site. 

Following the OSA’s decision, the council said it will seek to meet with the watchdog and Department for Education to discuss how to address the challenge of falling pupil numbers.

Cllr Ben Kind, Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families at Lambeth Council, said: “This is a deeply challenging time for schools across London as falling pupil numbers impact education budgets and sustainability. The very difficult reality we face is that a big drop in pupils in has seen the number of children starting reception classes falling by more than 1,000 over the last 10 years.

“We have worked hard to address this, running a pupil place planning process that aims to make sure viable and sustainable school remain in the local area – minimising disruption and retaining education provision in a way that would protect the quality of education for our children.

“We respect the OSA decision and will now consider what it will mean for our approach to tackling the excess of school places in Lambeth.”