Richmond Council proposing to close an exceptional, close-knit primary school

[SerenityRam]

Hi everyone, first post on here!

Hoping for some advice and/or support for my son's state school as it faces potential closure in Richmond. Details below:

Many families have chosen Kew Riverside Primary over dozens of other schools they researched and visited across London — drawn to its rare, nurturing, village-school atmosphere in a big city, where every child is genuinely known and valued.

Now Richmond Council proposes closing it in September 2027, despite its recent Ofsted inspection rating it Strong in Early Years, Inclusion, and Personal Development and Wellbeing, alongside excellent academic outcomes. Its exceptional SEND/EHCP support has been life-changing for children who struggled through multiple previous schools before finally finding somewhere they could truly thrive.

The council cites 87 pupils against a current operating capacity of 120 as part of a mixed-year model. It also projects a deficit exceeding £400,000 by 2028/29. It is currently not in deficit.

Families recognise the financial challenges but question whether viable alternatives have been sufficiently explored. Announcing potential closure just weeks into the school year also risks discouraging new applications, creating the very decline in enrolment being used to justify closure.

Our parent-led campaign is asking for a fair opportunity to rebuild pupil numbers and pursue sustainable alternatives.

If you’re part of the Richmond community — whether you live, work or study here — we’d love your support! You can explore our campaign website, read heartfelt parent letters, watch parent stories on our YouTube channel, and support our forthcoming council petition once it’s live.

And if you’re considering primary schools for your child, we’d especially encourage you to visit one of Kew Riverside’s upcoming Open Days and experience this wonderful community for yourself!

Campaign Website

Open Day registration form

YouTube link

Council consultation closes 16 October.

There’s a cost to being nurturing and inclusive, and the council can’t afford that cost. You forget that it’s others who are paying for this lovely little school for your children and that’s not fair on them when there are other schools with capacity. The money spent running your darling little school could be better spent on potholes or something that benefits all tax payers.
if you want nurturing and inclusive you can pay for it.

She’s clearly a woman with a cause and she’s fighting for what she thinks is right.

If anything, we need more people like her.

Perhaps, but in my view, this cause is selfish and entitled. It would be a poor use of tax payers' money to keep this school open when there is capacity in numerous schools nearby.

Exactly this!

I would disagree, but I don’t want to get into a discussion on what LBRUT is wasting money.

I am disappointed at the classist point of view some posters display.

I agree with you. Twickenham Primary for example was set up to offer private school ethos for free. But at the end of the day these new schools took what buildings they could - they are thriving because they have found a market, and some other schools just didn't have sufficient appeal. I wonder if more will close.

Oh, I'm sure there's waste elsewhere too, but that doesn't mean this school should stay open.

Yes, she is, quite literally, entitled. Because every child in this country is, broadly speaking, entitled to a state school place and parents are entitled to express a preference about where that place should be. It doesn’t mean that they will get it, but they are entitled to express that preference.

If the Prince and Princess of Wales wanted a state primary place for Prince Louis then they could enroll him at Kew Riverside and they would then be entitled to express a view on the proposed closure.

Inverse snobbery and resentment is as corrosive and destructive as snobbery in the other direction.

I don't think that is true. I think most state school parents would be sad, maybe angry and have a moan, but they wouldn't believe other people's money should be spent on keeping an enviable school open.

I agree it would be a poor use of taxpayers money, but there is an open consultation and people have the right to speak up without being attacked for their accents.

I know social class isn't a protected characteristic, but that's no excuse for nastiness.

Btw, I'm from the north of England originally so all native southerners sound "posh" to me, but I don't let it cloud my opinion of them.

Oh dear me! Facts are facts and anyone who watched the news heard it, it came across as incredibly entitled which some living in that area are.

Oh dear. That was supposed to be unviable

This is the top and bottom of it for me too.

If nothing else this thread has taught the campaign they need a different spokesperson!

@AbsintheAndChips I think OP reposted my points because didn’t want to assume everyone would necessarily have a chance to read every single comment some only search for comments from “OP” :} Got all that from myself and one other parent I chatted with, not any PSA/the school or anything …

@CommunityRoots Ah, I see. Yes, could be. I was just pointing out that it wasn't necessarily suspicious or weird!

‘Posh spoken’?

I’ve heard it all now. Such prejudice. Unbelievable. Not to mention the appalling g grammar. Spare us.

Oh do get off your high horse!
🤣 take a look at your own sentences.
Spare us 😬.

It was typed in a rush FYI.

I don't think it's entitled to want the school to stay open. As far as I can see, the argument isn't "Keep our little school running at 75©% capacity so it's nurturing and inclusive", but rather "We're building our reputation and we need time to attract parents to the school to fill capacity. The deficit budget is only projected, so if we can attract parents it might never happen. The LA is acting too soon."

I don't necessarily agree. To project a £400k deficit means you've been running your reserves down for a few years to balance the books. It's a common situation small schools get into. They've had capital reserves, they eat into the reserve until it's gone, then the true deficit is glaring. Then there's the doom spiral of cutting roles as people resign/retire, recruiting NQTs/ECTs to save money, people jumping before the ship sinks, so you have an ever less experienced workforce. Standards slip because all those extra bits the experienced staff did as a day to day routine aren't worked into job descriptions and junior staff don't even know it needs to be done. Parents vote with their feet. Classes are merged... It goes on. That's before you get to extreme sex splits in classes that really matter because they're so small. DD3 was in a year group with just 9 girls. Throw in a few kids with high needs - that's now over 10% of the year group, but there aren't enough staff to manage the need well.

The LA is being responsible.