Earlier in the week, the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) announced its decision to reject the Isle of Wight council’s Cabinet decision to close Arreton St George’s (ASG) CE Primary School.
OnTheWight has had sight of the 30-page OSA report and set out below a summary of the key findings.
The adjudicator rejected the Isle of Wight council’s plan to close Arreton Primary School, citing serious procedural flaws and insufficient justification for closure.
Key issues identified
1. Flawed school selection process
- No transparent, evidence-based method was used to select schools for closure.
- Criteria were inconsistently applied and based on subjective “professional discussions”.
The Diocese raised this exact concern, and the adjudicator agreed.
2. Misleading consultation materials
- Closure justification overstated the impact on surplus places: IWC stated 210 places would be removed, but PAN had already been reduced to 20 (140 total places).
- It was wrongly suggested that Barton Primary School (BPS) was the nearest alternative for most pupils: None of the ASG pupils live closer to BPS than to another school.
- Assurances that the on-site nursery would remain were made without the Diocese’s consent: Land ownership issues were not settled.
- Plans for a therapeutic mental health provision were presented as more certain than they were, potentially influencing consultation responses: Inclusion of a start date and lack of clarity about legal constraints was seen as misleading.
3. Incomplete or inaccurate information in statutory documents
- Published PAN for Arreton was wrongly stated as 30 when it had already been reduced to 20: PAN had already been reduced to 20, but 30 was still used.
- Claims about limited curriculum and disadvantages of mixed-age classes lacked evidence and contradicted DfE guidance: The adjudicator stated no specific evidence was provided and that mixed-age teaching is not inherently disadvantageous.
- Transport cost estimates only included 9 children, ignoring others likely to incur travel costs: Council used figures only for the 9 pupils living closest to ASG.
4. Inadequate consideration of rural school protections
- As a rural school, Arreton had legal protections requiring careful assessment of community impact and alternatives. These were not properly considered: This is a core reason for rejecting the proposal.
5. Poor transparency in decision-making
- No clear reasons given by Cabinet for deciding to close Arreton and Cowes, while keeping three others open: No reasons given for diverging from the officer’s recommendation.
- Council failed to notify key stakeholders of the decision, as legally required: Notification requirements were not met.
6. Council scrutiny ignored
- Both Full Council and the Corporate Scrutiny Committee opposed the closure.
- Their concerns about community and social impact were not addressed by Cabinet.
OnTheWight has put a series of questions to Isle of Wight council and will update once we hear back.
When published, the report will be available on the OSA’s website.
