THREE C of E primary schools on the Isle of Wight have been marked for closure under proposals to tackle a surplus of just about 1900 school places.
The Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Revd Jonathan Frost, has expressed concern that the “vital and distinctive” offering of such schools could “easily be lost” within the reorganisation.
A press released by the Isle of Wight Council last week announced “major plans to remodel Island education to make sure a brighter future for all children and young people”. The surplus of places in primary schools — 1898 school places were unfilled in October 2023 — was set to rise to 3056 by September 2027.
The Council has calculated that, for each empty seat, schools lose greater than £4500, affecting resources, opportunities, and the standard of education that children receive. “Surplus places mean schools struggle to keep up a broad and high-quality curriculum,” it said. “Falling rolls also make planning and staffing decisions difficult, with schools potentially having to make 12 months on 12 months redundancies or having to restructure.” Data indicated that the college system on the island “consistently underperforms in comparison with national trends”.
Among the six schools earmarked for closure — chosen in line with criteria that include quality of provision, children’s locations, and financial viability — are three C of E schools. Arreton St George’s and Oakfield schools have each been rated as “requires improvement” by Ofsted, while Brading is rated “good”.
The Council has calculated that tons of of recent specialist places are needed for kids with special educational needs and has proposed that five of the six schools’ sites be “repurposed” accordingly.
“I can understand the rationale behind the proposals, but I think Church of England schools offer something vital and distinctive that might easily be lost,” Bishop Frost said this week. “Our position is evident: if an area authority proposes the closure of a C of E school, we’ll argue that oldsters ought to be offered an alternate C of E school that is well accessible. . . I’m asking clergy across the entire island to walk alongside and support those affected by this uncertainty and stress.”
Councillor Jonathan Bacon said: “None of that is on account of any fault of our schools, their leadership teams or staff. The problem stems from the national decline within the birth rate.” By 2027, just 876 children are expected to begin reception, down from 1404 in 2018. A report by the Education Policy Institute this 12 months said that, by 2028/29, the Isle of Wight was set to experience the second largest fall in primary school pupils within the country at 23.7 per cent, after Lambeth in London.
The Cabinet was on account of yesterday vote on whether or not to start a consultation on the proposals, with changes not on account of take until September next 12 months.
