How do I find out if school at risk of closure?

[Smith888]

Hi, I've found this gorgeous little school for my DS. The class sizes are very small and the whole school has just 50 pupils (it can accommodate a maximum of 70 so it is fairly low subscribed). It is a government school. Socialisation doesn't seem to be an issue as all kids play together. My biggest concern is the threat of closure. Would the HT inform me of this? How can I tactfully ask the question?

Is it part of an academy trust with a shared head? My dc’s school is a similar size but twinned with another similar school in the next village. Occasionally talk comes up of having one school as infants and the other as juniors but nothing has really changed in the last 7 years. The last time it came up was after a bad ofsted report.

I don’t think the HT would mind you asking that. Don’t expect a fully honest answer though! I find the best source of knowledge is the pta. Is there a toddler group or something linked to the school that you could go to dig for gossip?

How many classes does it run?

I would be very concerned to be honest, school funding has been decimated and isn't about to get any better so on the face of it a 50 child school will barely be able to run even on 2 classes, before you get into overheads etc.

As the PP says though if it is part of an academy trust that may be what is supporting it right now. Are there other local schools that could take the children if it closes? If so and it's not an academy, then I would be very worried as the LA will have little incentive to help.

You could ask the governors for their view on the schools financial stability.

It depends a lot on location, the land it sits on and projected population change in the area. A school will declining rolls, no new housing planned or no room to expand if they did have new housing is likely to be under threat even with good ofsted etc whereas a small school on a good sized plot with housing planned can expand. Distance to the next school and its ability to expand to accommodate additional pupils comes into play too. Different councils have different approaches so see what already happening. So remember that small can mean under resourced

No it's not an academy. The school he is in now in CofE and has the governor's meeting notes posted and clearly states the school may not be viable in three years and that's with 90 kids! This school is actively recruiting children Their SATS are in fact amazing but I guess they should be! There are three classes I think - reception, 1 and 2 are in one, year 3 and 4 in another, and last 5 and 6. This school has a SENCO at the school which is a bonus and my son's current school only has one on Mondays. (My son has trouble with handwriting but it's not serious).

3 classes and 50 pupils is not sustainable at all in the current climate. Even if it stays open, it's highly likely it would have to go to 2 classes if pupil numbers are less than 60. We've been told that classes need at least 22 to be financially viable (we have a couple of classes hovering about 19/20). Support staff is going in order to keep the teaching staff and the school is predicted to grow with the next few intakes but things are very very tight without full classes.

People still aren't seeing the full effect of Tory funding cuts because schools are so good at covering it.

Yep it’s pretty grim. My dc’s school has a rota of parents who clean and work as lunchtime assistants as the school can’t afford to pay anyone. This is a school in an affluent area that had donations from the parents of nearly £50k last year. It’s totally unsustainable, but it’s being kept open as there’s a housing estate of 70 houses that’s been approved in the village. They’ve still shut the post office, public toilets and got rid of the library bus though.

50 children is a very small school and finances must be very tight.

I would take the direct route and speak to the headteacher and say you would really want your child to come to the school but are concerned that the finances of the school are not viable, can they give any re-assurance to you about the finances of the school.
If the school is being very open then they might just show you the budget and whether they have any surplus if they think this is the deciding factor in your child joining the school.
If you get an evasive answer then you probably have your answer, it is not really viable and sometime in the not to distant future the school will have to close or amalgamate