Councillors reject last-ditch bid to save Fountains Earth school

Councillors have rejected a bid to ‘call in’ the decision by the Conservative-run executive to close Fountains Earth primary school in Nidderdale.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive met last month in Northallerton to approve the closure following a consultation. It took effect at the end of March.

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

The school received a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted less than two years ago.

At a specially arranged meeting at County Hall, Cllr Andrew Murday (Liberal Democrat, Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale) asked that the decision to close the school be taken again, either by the executive or at a full meeting of the council.

Following Cllr Murday’s request, the children and families overview and scrutiny committee had the power to explore if the executive had all the information available to it when it made its decision.

Councillors heard from Stephen Ledger, a former parent at the school who said Fountains Earth had been the “heart of the community” until 2022.

He then described how “brilliant” permanent teachers left without explanation, which led to the school relying on agency staff. He said it left children “confused and unsettled” and confidence in the school from parents evaporated.

Cllr Stephen Ramsden, chair of Upper Nidderdale Parish Council, pleaded with councillors to help keep the school open for a September 2024 start. He said:

“With good skilled management this situation can be turned around”.

Cllr Murday again called for an investigation to take place first into the leadership of the Upper Nidderdale Federation, which ran the school, related to its academic and financial performance, as well as communication with parents.

He added:

“There is a problem throughout the country in funding rural schools. They are really important parts of the community.”

Stuart Carlton, North Yorkshire Council’s Corporate Director Children and Young People’s Service, read out a statement that addressed concerns raised.

He said the council did not have the power to investigate the governance of the federation.

Mr Carlton added:

“Due to the remote location of the school it struggled to retain staff. The federation considered the future of the school only after exhausting all avenues to sustain its future.  We realise the importance of schools in rural communities, despite this, we can’t keep schools open where there are no pupils on the roll.”

Councillors voted unanimously to reject the call-in request and agreed that the executive had received a thorough report and details from officers before making its decision.

Cllr Heather Phillips (Conservative, Seamer) said:

“This is the end of the matter and the school should be considered closed from the end of this meeting. It was a clear-cut decision made by the executive.”

Heather Peacock (Conservative, Upper Dales) added:

“None of us like to see a school closed but what happened at executive is they had all the information to make its decision.”

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Harrogate district school unable to find new teacher for five years

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.”

 

Angry parents say closure of Lofthouse school will ‘rip heart out of community’

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.”