A West Wight primary school could close due to low pupil numbers.
The Isle of Wight Council will launch a consultation following a forecast decline in the number of young children living in the West Wight.
Currently five schools
There are five schools in West Wight — All Saints, St Saviour’s, Yarmouth Primary, Brighstone Primary and Shalfleet Primary (details below).
A council spokesperson said:
“A report is being taken to Cllr Brading, Cabinet member for Children’s services, education and skills on 19th March, seeking his permission to enter into a consultation with the local schools, parents and the wider community.
“The report will give up to date information about the numbers of children living in the area and will suggest ways forward for discussion.”
Not denied
The council did not deny one of the outcomes could be a school closure, but said a decision would be made after the consultation process had finished.
The consultation would begin in early March, and run for six weeks.
Current West Wight schools
Below are the current West wight schools:
All Saints
All Saints, Freshwater, has 87 pupils on the school roll and was described by Ofsted inspectors as a ‘smaller than average primary school’. It has a capacity for 210 students. The school has three mixed-year classes, plus early years.
It was judged to require improvement in the three most recent inspections (2013, 2015 and 2017), although inspectors said early years provision was good. During a monitoring visit in July 2018, Ofsted inspectors said the senior leaders and governors were not taking effective action to tackle the areas found to require improvement — including challenging pupils, oversight of teaching and development of leaders’ skills in monitoring.
St Saviour’s
St Saviour’s Catholic Primary school has 135 pupils, with a capacity of 140. The school has four classes, some mixed-years, plus early years.
At the most recent inspection in 2018, the school was found to be good. The school was judged to be outstanding for the behaviour and safety of its pupils. Inspectors praised the school’s ‘inspirational headteacher’ and said the school was a happy and caring place where pupils behaved well.
Yarmouth Primary
Yarmouth has 90 pupils, and a capacity for 140. It belongs to the Federation of Church Schools of Shalfleet and Yarmouth. The school has three mixed-year classes.
During a short inspection of the school, inspectors said the school continued to be good. Inspectors praised attendance and said the leadership team had maintained a good quality of education.
Shalfleet Primary
Shalfleet has 171 pupils, and a school capacity of 168. It has six classes, plus a reception.
The school has been judged to be good in the four most recent inspections, including a short inspection in 2018. Inspectors said pupils enjoyed learning, had good attendance and made good progress.
Brighstone Primary
Brighstone has 123 pupils, and a school capacity of 210.
Inspectors judged the school to require improvement at the previous two inspections (2016 and 2018). They said leaders had stopped the decline in standards, and outcomes were beginning to improve, but they were not in line with other schools nationally. They praised early years provision, which was judged to be good.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may be been made by OnTheWight. Ed
