What happens when a school is undersubscribed?

[Hineini]

Second intake year in a row that we've been about 20% under PAN. What are the repercussions likely to be?

Lower funding levels can have a huge impact on resources etc. If it continues , the school may need to amalgamate classes and lose a teacher.

How would that work in a 2-form entry school?

This is a school that has always been full or over-subscribed, with outstanding Ofsteds. There has been a lot of development in the town, mostly houses, without building new schools in parallel. Surely within a couple of years the intake is likely to increase again? Would it not be counter-productive to run the school down in the short term?

Our school had a decline in intake over about 4 years so went from 3 form entry to 2 form entry. A teacher will need to leave every year, thankfully someone has always chosen to leave so far so nobody has been let go.

Mixed classes e.g. Y1/2 as well as Y1 and Y2?

We looked at a school that was in a high mobility village within a low mobility district (one large employer near this school only). Y4 and 3 were 20-ish but then Y1 was 30-31 so they won't shut upper classes. I imagine when it was YR/1 that were small they knew how many were in the 3yo cohort.

Lots of schools around here with very low numbers. We are not unusual in having a YR/Y1/Y2 class and another class consisting of all KS2.

Another has YR/1, Y2/3/4 and Y5/6.

When numbers are low, the norms in how classes are organised have to go out the window.

You may need to drop to something similar if numbers are low but likely to be so only temporarily.

Also, one school locally had to go to just one class for all children. School survived two years like that (massive TA support needed!) then closed.

Its not a question of running the school down, it is a question of what you can afford. With a 2 form entry, you are talking a PAN of 60, each child is worth c £4000. A 20% below PAN means you are missing an income of 12x£4000 per annum, that's a teaching member of staff you can no longer afford. But 48 pupils means you need over a class and a half! You will inevitably have to have mixed age classes simply to continue.