Closed primary school near Boroughbridge reopens as nurseryClosed primary school near Boroughbridge could reopen as nursery

A school between Boroughbridge and Ripon that closed last year could reopen as a nursery.

Skelton Newby Hall Church of England Primary School in Skelton-on-Ure struggled with falling numbers of pupils and was eventually forced to close after having just one student enrolled. It has been vacant since.

Baldersby Park Nursery, formally Chrysalis Montessori Nursery, has now submitted plans to North Yorkshire Council to change the use of the building

The nursery is currently located next to Queen Mary’s School in Topcliffe, Thirsk, It has been established for over 20 years and currently has a ‘good’ Ofsted rating.

According to planning documents, Skelton Parish Council and Newby Hall Estate approached the nursery in the hope that it could utilise the school site.

A document submitted on behalf of the applicant said:

“Following discussions and a review of the viability of the proposed move it was decided that the school site offered an ideal location for a children’s nursery.

 

“Baldersby Park Nursery are currently experiencing a high demand for places and the proposed move would secure a long-term future for the nursery supported by a long-term agreement with the Newby Hall Estate.”

The school was founded in 1856 by Lady Mary Vyner, the former owner of Newby Hall, and maintained a close relationship with the estate.

If the planning application is successful, the nursery will begin providing early years learning at Skelton Newby Hall from September.

The nursery’s need to expand and the intention of Queen Mary’s School to expand into the nursery building signifies a good opportunity to move.

Headteacher and owner Victoria Pollitt said:

 “We are delighted to have been able to reach an agreement with the parish council to lease Skelton Newby Hall and we are looking forward to providing early years learning there from September 2024. The new building is only around ten minutes away from our current nursery and will enable us to increase the physical size of the nursery without increasing numbers. It will also mean we can extend learning with the immediate surroundings such as Newby Hall, which will be of even further benefit to the children on their early years learning journey. We have had a fantastic five years at our current location and would like to thank Queen Mary’s School for all their support.”

Guy Critchlow, chair of Skelton cum Newby Parish Council said:

“We are delighted to welcome Victoria and her team to Skelton on Ure, and to see this truly amazing site return to education use from September 2024. We are grateful for the support of Richard & Lucinda Compton at Newby Hall who are continuing the long family tradition of ensuring space is available in our village for a nursery. Every thriving community needs a good nursery, like the Baldersby Park Montessori Nursery, to support the growing number of young families choosing Skelton and the surrounding area as their home.”

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Harrogate village school to close this summer, councillors agree

A primary school between Ripon and Boroughbridge will close this summer due to a decline in pupil numbers, North Yorkshire Council has decided.

Skelton Newby Hall Primary School will shut for good after the council’s executive members approved the move yesterday (Tuesday, May 30).

The school has suffered from dwindling numbers of children for several years and in autumn 2022 had nine pupils on its roll.

By February 2023, just one pupil remained at the school, and all teaching was taking place at Sharow Church of England Primary School, which is federated with Skelton Newby Hall.

Ofsted inspectors last visited the school in March 2020, grading it as “requiring improvement”.

A consultation on the proposed closure was carried out by North Yorkshire Council to allow parents, teachers, governors and local people an opportunity to share their views. A further statutory representation period ended on April 27. Following yesterday’s decision, the school will close on August 31.

The area formerly served by Skelton Newby Hall will now fall within the catchment area of Kirby Hill Church of England Primary School, just north of Boroughbridge.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, said:

“North Yorkshire Council does everything possible to support our small schools. However, our priority must be the children’s education and that it remains fit for purpose to give them the best start to their lives.

“Unfortunately, falling pupil numbers at Skelton Newby Hall Primary School have been a concern for quite some time. Pupil numbers determine the school budget and we have a duty to ensure every child has the best possible opportunity to succeed.

“The school’s governing body, staff and parents have been active in their collective efforts to raise numbers at the school over recent years, but pupil numbers have continued to fall.”

Cllr Wilkinson added:

“To close the school has been an incredibly difficult decision to make, but we have to put the education of pupils first.”

North Yorkshire has about 50 schools and academies with fewer than 50 pupils. North Yorkshire Council said it would “continue to lobby the Government strongly for fairer funding for the county’s schools”.

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School near Boroughbridge with just one pupil set for closure

Senior councillors could approve the closure of Skelton Newby Hall Church of England Primary School at a meeting next week.

A report has been prepared for North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative executive that recommends the school is closed in August due to falling pupil numbers.

In February this year, just one pupil remained on roll at the school although they are educated at the nearby Sharow Church of England Primary School, which is federated with Skelton Newby Hall.

The school has suffered from dwindling numbers for several years and at the beginning of September 2021 there were only 15 pupils left, plus two children in its nursery, which is well below the capacity of 52 pupils.

According to the report, there were no first preference applications made to the school for September 2023 and no pupils were allocated to the school on the recent National Offer Day for primary schools.

With pupil numbers determining the school budget, the report says there “appears to be no reasonable prospect of recovery” for the school.

Founded in 1856 by Lady Mary Vyner, the former owner of Newby Hall, the school has maintained a close relationship with the estate.

The report said across the area there was potential for 188 additional pupils to join five nearby schools until 2027/28 and there was also potential to provide additional capacity at Boroughbridge Community Primary School.

It noted governors have introduced various initiatives to attract more children to the school, including nursery provision in September 2019. The move attracted some children although numbers have been small.

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The closure would extend the catchment area of Kirby Hill Church of England Primary School to include the area currently served by Skelton Newby Hall.

However, concerns were raised in a public consultation as the catchment area of Kirby Hill is in the Boroughbridge High catchment area whereas Skelton Newby Hall is in the Ripon Grammar School and Outwood Academy catchment area.

Skelton cum Newby Parish Council has submitted an action plan to save the school, developed by a group including several headteachers, to restore classes and also retain its position in the catchment for Ripon but this plan has been rejected in the report.

The consultation included reasons from people on why they think the school failed.

Some said becoming part of a federation had sealed its demise and others said it had not been given enough care by the church and the council. 

According to one person, a ‘requires improvement’ judgement from Ofsted in 2019 that led to an “exodus” of pupils from the school.

The meeting will take place next Tuesday at 10.30am in Northallerton and it will be streamed on the council’s YouTube page.

Parish council submits plan to save Harrogate village school from closure

A parish council has called on North Yorkshire Council to use recent government guidance to save a primary school in a Harrogate district village.

Skelton cum Newby Parish Council has submitted an action plan, developed by a group including several headteachers, to restore classes at Skelton Newby Hall Primary School, between Boroughbridge and Ripon, in response to the authority’s consultation on the closure of the school.

While the parish council is just the latest of numerous group to attempt to halt the closure of a rural primary school in the county, is understood to be the first to argue there is a lack of primary school capacity in the surrounding area.

The council has rejected numerous accusations in recent years over “distant decision-making”, particularly in regard to the closure of small, rural schools, which its leadership underlined last month was completely contrary to its ambitions.

Nevertheless, in a report to North Yorkshire Council’s executive last month, officers said the school’s governing body had “been active in their collective efforts to raise numbers at the school through many initiatives over recent years”, but pupil numbers had fallen to one.

The report stated although Skelton had been designated a service village in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, there was no new housing planned in the Skelton Newby Hall’s catchment area.

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Officers said across the local area a potential 188 additional pupils were expected to join across the five nearby schools until 2027/28 and there was potential to provide additional capacity at Boroughbridge Community Primary School.

Although the parish council said it had been left in the dark until proposals to close the school were under way, officers said the move had been “unanimously” instigated locally, by the school’s governors, and was supported by the falling roll and the need to provide quality and breadth of education.

The officers’ report stated the council also believes there is sufficient capacity in the area to meet both the current and future primary school capacity requirements.

However, in its response to the closure consultation, the parish council has highlighted statutory guidance issued by the Department of Education in January that all decision-makers were expected “to adopt a presumption against the closure of rural schools”.

The DfE spokesman added: 

“This does not mean that a rural school will never close, but that the case for closure should be strong and clearly in the best interests of educational provision in the area.”

In its response to the consultation, the parish council said the community does not believe that the proposal to close the school had met the DfE threshold for closure, claiming there is not sufficient pupil capacity in the area and as a standalone school it could be strong and viable.

The parish council document states: 

“We have identified there is already a shortage of capacity in the area with more demand to be met from the new housing developments which are still being built, as well as further developments with planning.”

The parish council said while the authority had pointed towards capacity at Boroughbridge Community Primary School the “reality is quite different” with that school being close to its 230 capacity.

It added: 

“We are confident that with the committed support from the local community and the new North Yorkshire Council, this school, with its ambition and leadership restored, can once again provide a valuable contribution to the education provision in the area.

“We can only achieve this by working in partnership with North Yorkshire Council. The new unitary council has a clear stated aim: ‘Local at its heart … We will work closely with town and parish councils … to ensure that local priorities drive locally led decision-making and local action.’”

Call to turn Boroughbridge school facing closure into forest school

Calls have been made to retain a village school near Boroughbridge that faces closure as a forest school.

Under plans put forward by North Yorkshire County Council, Skelton Newby Hall Church of England Primary School will shut in August 2023.

But, Cllr Guy Critchlow, chair of Skelton cum Newby Parish Council, told county councillors today the site was a “ready-made forest school” with a large amenity space and playground.

Forest schools teach pupils in an outdoor learning environment and focus on play and exploration for education.

A council report said numbers at the school had been “falling over the past few years” and there were concerns about the impact on pupils’ education.

As of this year, nine children and one nursery pupil were on the school roll. It has capacity for 52.

Senior county councillors voted today to publish notices of the school’s closure with a final decision to be taken on May 30.

At the meeting, Cllr Critchlow argued that the school could be viable as a forest school. He said:

“We deserve the opportunity to rebuild our school and demonstrate its viability.

“We cannot do this alone. We want to work with and not against the council.”

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Meanwhile, Cllr Nick Brown, a Conservative who represents the Skelton-on-Ure village on the county council, told councillors he was disappointed discussions had not taken place with the community and the parish council prior to the proposal being published in December 2022.

He added the process should be delayed in order to consider whether to use the site for a forest school.

He said:

“In light of the recent budget and the proposed increase in childcare provision, to enable much more employment opportunities surely a one-and-a-half acre school site would lend itself perfectly to nursery provision in a rural, safe environment.”

However, Cllr Annabelle Wilkinson, the executive councillor for education, said the site and its outdoor learning area alone had not been “sufficient enough” to attract parents.

She added:

“The school building and site is not owned by the county council. 

“The owners will take decisions about the future use of the school site and building after the closure proposal has been determined.”

The council has proposed that, should the school close, then the catchment area will be taken in by Kirby Hill Church of England Primary School.

Representations on the closure can still be made to the council by April 27.

Newby Hall’s Jubilee Avenue will be enduring celebration of the Queen’s reign

A new avenue of locally-sourced English oak trees has been planted by Newby Hall’s gardeners as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy project.

The UK-wide initiative is designed to provide a lasting and eco-friendly reminder  of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.

A blessing ceremony conducted by the Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd. John Dobson, was attended by the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Mrs Jo Ropner, and pupils from nearby Skelton Newby Hall CE Primary School.

The children helped to plant the last of the 34 trees that make up the avenue. They and future generations of pupils from the village school, will assist with maintenance of the oaks as they grow to maturity.

The new avenue of English oak will add to the sylvan splendour of Newby Hall

The avenue, south of the hall’s main gates and on a popular walking route for local residents, replaces lime trees that had reached the end of their life.

To be known as Jubilee Avenue, it will provide a backdrop for a bench being supplied by Skelton Cum Newby Parish Council.

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Grade I listed Newby Hall, which remains in private ownership as the family home of Mr and Mrs Richard Compton. is one of the UK’s finest Adam Houses.

It was first opened to the public in the 1950s and the 2022 season starts on 1 April.

Mr Compton said:

“We are delighted to play our part in enhancing our environment by planting this wonderful avenue of oaks which will not only benefit future generations but creates a legacy in celebration of Her Majesty’s 70 years of service and leadership of our great nation.”

Boulder installed at Skelton Primary School

A boulder has been installed at Skelton Newby Hall Primary School in an effort to help children’s physical development.

The boulder, which was paid for using the school’s PE and sport premium grant, was unveiled this week at an opening ceremony.

Cllr Stuart Martin, the Harrogate borough councillor for Ripon Moorside, joined pupils at the school to unveil the project.

The school said the idea behind the project was to give children the chance the climb, run and jump and help their physical development.

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A spokesperson for Skelton Newby Hall Primary School, which has an open day for prospective new pupils on November 13, said:

“After listening to the views of the children and undertaking research into children’s physical development, the boulder was installed.

“Much of the time we use our lower bodies and therefore we wanted something that would allow the children to use their upper bodies.  This also strengthens the muscular structure needed for handwriting.”