Forced Amalgamation?

[InfantTeacher]

Does anyone know whether, upon one head vacating a post, a local authority have the legal power to force an amalgamation of separate LA maintained infant and junior schools if both governing bodies vote against it and neither school is in a category?

By 'amalgamation' I actually mean the closure of one school and an increase in the age range of the other.

Is one school or both becoming unviable in terms of NOR? In which case, yes. Another justification can be when one school can not get out of serious weaknesses.

No, neither in serious weaknesses and both full in terms of NOR.

I'm not sure then. Are you in an area that struggles to recruit head teachers? Or are there very few separate infant and junior schools so there is a LA agenda to amalgamate all into 4 -11 schools as soon as possible?

I think they do if it's on their agenda. In my county all infants and juniors are gradually being amalgamated despite serious objections in some cases. It's definitely in the pipleline for us.

There is a fairly lengthy process to go through when schools are ammalgumated. It took around a year for ours to happen. They have to consult with parents, the local community and staff but I think if they have made up their mind then it will happen.

It has happened here every time a head retired/left for the last 20 years. I can only think of one example where the parents'/governors objections were successful and that was where the merged school would have been huge (almost 1000 students) and they became academies instead

Are the schools occupying the same site OP, the only school in my LEA that has avoided this had 2 separate sites some distance apart.
A federation of schools where 2 schools have the same Head but are still separate schools may also be a possibility.

Yes, both on the same site catslife. Federation has been suggested I believe, but amalgamation seems to be the LA's preferred course of action.

Well presumably from the LA's point of view it's much cheaper to have one head for a primary school for 4-11 year olds, as the majority of schools in this country are, than one for infants and one for juniors.