Fountains Earth Church of England Primary School will officially close for good at the end of this month.

North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative-run executive met yesterday in Northallerton to approve the closure following a consultation.

The school in Lofthouse near Pateley Bridge has faced dwindling pupil numbers in recent years and currently has no pupils on its books.

The council’s executive member for education Annabel Wilkinson said “nobody wants to close a small school” and it was “a very hard decision”.

Fountains Earth is part of Upper Nidderdale Federation alongside St Cuthbert’s Church of England Primary School in Pateley Bridge and Glasshouses Community Primary School.

Earlier in the meeting, Cllr Andrew Murday (Liberal Democrat, Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale) pleaded with councillors to delay a decision as he called for an investigation to take place first into the leadership of the school’s federation related to its academic and financial performance as well as communication with parents.

He noted that the school received a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted in 2022 and if the issues were resolved, he believes parents would bring their children back.

Cllr Murday said:

“There would be pupils if the dispute with the federation hadn’t happened. Families have put houses up for sale because the school’s not there. It’s a chicken and egg situation.

“Rural schools are important for communities and they gain something from being small and within the community.”

However, the council’s legal officer Barry Khan suggested it would be out of its remit to investigate governance at the federation.

The number of pupils at the school had declined from 20 in 2017 to 10 in 2022.

This led executive member for finance Cllr Gareth Dadd to say keeping a school open with such few potential pupils “would be doing a disservice to those children”.

Cllr Greg White, executive member for environment, said for rural schools to remain open, residents need to “breed and have children”.

Cllr Dadd said: 

“I feel very uncomfortable sending a child to a primary school with 8 pupils. I don’t think it can be beneficial to that child. It’s not just about education it’s about social interaction as well.”

Amanda Newbold, assistant director for education and skills at North Yorkshire Council, said this had been a factor when parents withdrew their children.

She said: 

“Four to 11-year-olds were being taught in one class. This was a challenge for the one member of staff who then moved on and the school struggled to recruit. They relied on agency staff or other teachers from the federation.

“When a child became the only one in their year group, the parents wanted to move them to schools with other children their own age to prepare for secondary school.”

The school will officially close on March 31 and its catchment area will become part of St Cuthbert’s Church of England Primary School in Pateley Bridge.

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A petition calling for an investigation into the leadership of a Harrogate district school has been launched.

North Yorkshire Council has begun moves to close Fountains Earth Primary School in Lofthouse, near Pateley Bridge.

The school has no pupils left and although the council attributes this and a struggle to recruit teachers as key factors in opening a consultation on closure, parents say long-running leadership issues contributed to its decline.

They say pupil numbers were increasing until parents were alienated and poor leadership prompted them to send children elsewhere.

Their petition has already achieved 500 signatures.

Fountains Earth is part of the Upper Nidderdale Federation, which also includes Glasshouses Community Primary School and St Cuthbert’s Church of England Primary School in Pateley Bridge.

Parents previously said they were “devastated to have been left with no choice but to remove our children” and warned closure would “rip the heart” out of Lofthouse.

Now a petition, launched by Ashley Gatehouse, calls for “a full, objective and thorough investigation into the leadership of the Upper Nidderdale Federation”.

It says small rural schools foster community spirit and can deliver high quality education, when managed and governed appropriately.

The petition says:

“This investigation should carefully assess the leadership and management of the Upper Nidderdale Federation, including their academic performance, financial stability, community engagement and communication with parents.

“It is imperative that all relevant stakeholders, including parents and former parents, direct and non-direct contracted staff as well as local residents, have the opportunity to contribute their insights and concerns during this investigation process.

“We request that this matter is taken seriously and that the best interests of our community’s children are prioritised.

The petition concludes by urging the council to halt closure “until a full and thorough investigation has been conducted”.

A ‘heavy and sad decision’

The Stray Ferret asked the Upper Nidderdale Federation if it wished to respond to the parents’ claims.

A statement by co-governors Helen Nelson and Hugh Smith said:

“The autumn term started at Fountains Earth with no pupils on roll.

“Unfortunately, this is not an unprecedented situation in North Yorkshire and the governing body has looked at every possible option for the school to keep going.

“Without children, there will be no future per pupil funding for the school from April 2024.

“Taking everything into account, and having discussed the situation with officers at North Yorkshire Council and the Diocese of Leeds the governors took the heavy and sad decision to ask North Yorkshire Council to begin consultation on a proposal to close Fountains Earth school. This is a formal process led by North Yorkshire Council.”

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Amanda Newbold, the council’s assistant director for education and skills, said:

“We very much recognise the problems of falling pupil numbers at small rural schools, which is an issue affecting a number of communities in North Yorkshire.

“Sadly, there are currently no children enrolled at Fountain’s Earth CE Primary School in Lofthouse in Nidderdale.

“After a challenging time for all, the school governors have made the difficult decision to begin the formal process of applying to the council for a consultation on proposed plans to close the school.

“The request will be formally considered in November. If a consultation is given the go-ahead, it would be undertaken later this year and include a public meeting.”

A Harrogate district school facing closure has found it impossible to recruit a single permanent teacher for five years, according to North Yorkshire Council.

The council has recommended consulting on whether to close Fountains Earth Church of England Primary School in Lofthouse, near Pateley Bridge, on March 31 next year.

Elected councillors will vote whether to accept the recommendation next week.

The council claims the decision is largely due to falling pupil numbers, and with no children remaining on the roll the decision appears a formality.

But villagers claim they have been let down by the council and the Upper Nidderdale Federation, which the school is part of, and say closure will rip the heart out of Lofthouse.

The federation also includes St Cuthbert’s in Pateley Bridge and Glasshouses Primary School. The three schools share one headteacher.

A report by council officers ahead of next week’s vote said “it has not been possible to recruit a permanent teacher” for the last five years.

It attributes this to the school’s remote location as well as difficulty finding someone capable of teaching a wide range of ages and abilities from reception pupils to year six.

The report adds:

“Staff retention has also proved difficult with a high turnover of staff over the last five years resulting in use of agency staff which comes with increased staffing costs.

“The school is just over six miles from Pateley Bridge at the top end of Nidderdale which, by virtue of the local road, can be a slow journey as part of a longer commute for staff.”

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The report added supply staff only need to give a day’s notice, which caused further disruption.

It said:

“Recruitment of the right people is a time-consuming activity which has required a substantial amount of the federation’s senior leadership team resource over the past few years.”

Rated ‘good’ at last Ofsted

Fountains Earth was rated ‘good’ at its most recent full Ofsted inspection in April 2017.

The school’s governing board recently approached the council to request consultation on a proposal to close the school after all pupils had transferred to other schools by the start of the current academic year in September.

Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, the council’s Conservative executive member for education, learning and skills, will decide whether to trigger a five-week consultation starting in November.

Cllr Wilkinson said:

“North Yorkshire maintains more small, rural schools than any other local authority in the country. Sadly, the reality is that many of our schools, particularly those in rural areas, are seeing pupil numbers reduce year-on-year.

“Fountains Earth Primary School is among the rural schools finding itself in a difficult position, particularly around pupil numbers and funding, and I will consider these issues carefully when deciding if a public consultation should proceed.”

A prominent landowner has been fined for illegally burning peat on a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Pateley Bridge.

Ben Ramsden, 59, pleaded guilty to three charges of burning vegetation on a designated site on a peat that is of a depth of more than 40 centimetres without a licence.

The offences took place at Thrope Farm, Lofthouse, on April 8 this year.

Ramsden owns Lofthouse Moor, which is used for grouse shooting.

He was also a director of the Moorland Association, which manages over a million acres of the moorlands of England and Wales, at the time of the offences. However, he resigned this position on October 1 this year.

Illegally burning peat can impede its restoration.

Skipton Magistrates Court fined Ramsden, of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, £600 at a hearing on Friday.

Skipton Magistrates Court

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £240 and court costs of £85.

Magistrates said they took into consideration Ramsden’s guilty plea when imposing the sentence.

A spokesman for the Moorland Association said:

“We are aware of this case and our understanding is that this was a genuine error.

“The land management team believed they had taken the appropriate and necessary precautions.”

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Devastated parents have said a village near Pateley Bridge will have its heart “ripped out” by the closure of a primary school.

Governors of Upper Nidderdale Federation have issued a statement saying they have taken “the heavy and sad decision to ask North Yorkshire Council to begin consultation on a proposal to close Fountains Earth School” in Lofthouse.

A formal decision on closure is expected next year but the fate of the school, which was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted at its last full assessment in 2017, appears sealed as no pupils remain.

The council has said the closure is part of a trend caused by declining pupil numbers at rural schools but numerous parents have contacted the Stray Ferret to dispute this.

They say they felt compelled to withdraw their children because of the way the school was run and that it could have a viable future if the will remained.

A joint statement by a group of parents said they were “devastated to have been left with no choice but to remove our children”. It added:

“It will remain the view of the former parents that the pending closure of Fountains Earth School is not simply about known challenges around resourcing of rural schools and pupil numbers.

“We believe it has everything to do with the leadership, governance and decision making of the Upper Nidderdale Federation.

“Parents have a degree of choice and can tell when a school is failing its children. As a parent group we’ve been disappointed by how unwilling the school has been to pro-actively communicate with us and surprised by the total lack of accountability that can exist around how a school is governed.”

Some villagers also issued individual comments. Ashley Gatecliffe said it felt as if the school closure was a “deliberate act”. Former parent Leanne Jowett said things started to unravel after a previous consultation on closing the school ended in June 2022. She added:

“I truly believe the heart of the community has been ripped out because of this and questions need asking in relation to accountability, how this is able to happen yet again in North Yorkshire and who is ultimately responsible.”

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‘The whole thing stinks’

Another former parent, Fiona Ewbank, said three generations of her family had been educated at the school but she felt “forced” to move her child outside the federation, which also includes St Cuthbert’s Primary School in Pateley Bridge and Glasshouses Community Primary School.

Ms Ewbank added:

“The school had 11 pupils enrolled in June 2022 and increased to 15 by Sept 2022. Numbers were not declining, despite what is usually the story around rural school closures.”

Lofthouse

The school closure will have a significant impact on Lofthouse.

Former parent Rosie Costello, who runs a playgroup in the village, said:

“We have a thriving village playgroup in Lofthouse with children from both the local area as well as further away. This was a great pipeline for future pupil numbers, and we wanted to work pro-actively with the school to maximise on this but there didn’t seem to be the level of interest to do so that we would have hoped for.”

Stephen Ramsden, chair of Upper Nidderdale Parish Council said:

“In my opinion the parents have been pushed out and they are now forced to travel much greater distances because they’re left with no confidence in the leadership of this federation. The whole thing stinks.”

Cllr Andrew Murday, a Liberal Democrat who represents Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale on North Yorkshire Council, said:

“It’s a sad state of affairs. There has been a failure of communication between parents and the federation.”

‘Difficult decision’ to begin closure process

Asked about moves to instigate closure, Amanda Newbold, the council’s assistant director for education and skills, said:

“We very much recognise the problems of falling pupil numbers at small rural schools, which is an issue affecting a number of communities in North Yorkshire.

“Sadly, there are currently no children enrolled at Fountain’s Earth CE Primary School in Lofthouse in Nidderdale.

“After a challenging time for all, the school governors have made the difficult decision to begin the formal process of applying to the council for a consultation on proposed plans to close the school.

“The request will be formally considered in November. If a consultation is given the go-ahead, it would be undertaken later this year and include a public meeting.”

Local artists, craftspeople and photographers are opening their doors to the public this weekend to showcase work as part of NiddArt Trail.

The trail, run by community organisation Nidderdale Art Trail, aims to highlight both the artistic talent on offer throughout the district, as well as keep community spirit alive.

It originated as Nidd Art Fest, which ran from 1997 to 2008, and has been known as NiddArt Trail since 2009.

Venues in upper and lower Nidderdale, Pateley Bridge, Bewerley, Knaresborough and surrounding villages will house the works of both professional artists, such as Claire Baxter Gallery and JOT’s Gallery, as well as amateur groups such as Pateley Bridge Art Club, which will hold its summer exhibition in St Cuthbert’s School, and Lofthouse Art Group.

A number of community venues will also host featured works, including Summerbridge Methodist Church and Sawley Village Hall.

St Paul’s Art Group will have a variety of mediums on display, including photography and crafts, with some on sale to the public. The work will be held in St Paul’s United Reformed Church, Harrogate, on 26 and 27 August. Refreshments will also be available.

Poetry readings will also take place at Darley Methodist Church as part of the trail. Reverend Alastair Ferneley of Dacre and Alan Jordan, Lay Pastor in the Methodist Church, will be reciting their own poetry on Saturday, August 19, and Saturday, August 26.

Paintings, pottery and photographs curated by local artists will all be housed in St Andrew’s Church, in Blubberhouses, on 19 and 20 August, as well as 26 – 28 August too.

Treasurer Charles Mellor said:

“It’s very much a community event and is made from a mix of talent and community effort.

“There is quite a spectrum of activity this year.”

Some pieces will be available to buy from both the professional and amateur artists, however many choose to simply be involved in the trail.

“I think people just really enjoy being a part of it.

“Many of the groups and venues involved become very enthusiastic about the trail.”

The participating venues are free to attend and will be open at various times from Friday, August 18 to Monday, August 28.

The trail has been available to view online from August 1.

Find a full breakdown of the participating artists and venues, as well as their opening times, here.

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