Final votes on closing five Isle of Wight primary schools will likely take place at a crunch cabinet meeting this Thursday.
County Hall’s executive is expected to approve the closures of primaries in Cowes, Arreton, Brading, Wroxall and Ryde as well as the roll out of a 12-place primary resourced provision for autistic children at The Bay CE School in Sandown.
Deferred meeting
Cabinet members were originally scheduled to vote on the closures at a 6th March 2025 meeting, but after an outcry from the Corporate Scrutiny Committee over being given only three working days to read hundreds of accompanying papers, the decision was deferred by two weeks.
The ruling Alliance administration’s plans have provoked considerable controversy over the last few months, with parents, councillors, campaigners and trade unionists expressing disquiet over impacts on children, communities and staff.
Full Council vote
In an advisory ballot in January, Full Council voted against issuing closure notices, with 12 members opposed, 11 in favour and six abstentions.
In February, the Church of England’s (C of E) Diocese of Portsmouth sent a letter to the council threatening legal action over what it described as “unclear, inconsistent and damaging” closure plans.
Three of the primaries earmarked for closure – in Brading, Oakfield and Arreton – are C of E schools.
Cost of closures
At the 6th March cabinet meeting, campaigner and parent representative at Oakfield CE Primary School Jen Hughes questioned the financial viability of the process after it emerged closures could cost over £3 million.
Unison’s local government branch secretary Mark Chiverton urged the administration to rethink the plans and “consult meaningfully over a much longer period”.
His plea came days after five trade unions representing ‘thousands of school workers on the Island’ said they were currently ‘in the process of initiating indicative ballots for industrial action’, following member requests.
2,311 unfilled physical school places
A cabinet report published in advance of Thursday’s meeting said,
“In November 2024, we had 2,311 unfilled physical school places. This has increased from 1,898 unfilled school places in October 2023.
“Falling rolls make planning and staffing decisions difficult, with schools potentially having to make year on year redundancies.
“At times, the effective management of school places will include the need to remove surplus places and/or expand provision to ensure overall provision aligns with forecast need.
“Due to a significant reduction in birth rates on the Island, action is recommended in the primary phase to ensure demand and capacity are aligned and we continue to provide the best outcomes for children, which is the focus of this report.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
