The plans for Woodfield Community Primary School to merge with nearby Grove Road Community Primary School have been met with fierce backlash from some parents.

Woodfield was put into special measures by Ofsted in January 2020. Any school judged “inadequate” by Ofsted is required to become a sponsored academy but Woodfield failed to find an academy willing to take it on.

At the meeting today county councillors will discuss whether the merger should move to a consultation period from December 2. It has already been discussed by the governing bodies of each school.

The consultation stage would last until January 22, next year with a final decision taken by the executive board in April.

Woodfield Primary School has been under-subscribed for years, according to a county council report. It currently has 49 pupils and Grove Road has 292.

New format for the schools

The Woodfield site would initially operate as a nursery for children from both schools while Grove Road would cater for children from reception to year six.

Then from September 2023, all nursery children and reception pupils would be based at the current Woodfield site, which would eventually accommodate all key stage 1 pupils. All key stage 2 children would be based at the current Grove Road site.

The county council report says if the proposals went ahead, there would be 350 primary school places available across the two sites of the amalgamated Grove Road School.

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The report spoke of the future of staff at Woodfield school:

“The county council is the employer for staff at both Grove Road Community Primary School and Woodfield Community Primary School and the Governing Bodies will seek to protect employment as far as possible for staff currently employed at Woodfield.

“A separate HR consultation process for staff and their professional associations will commence in the spring term and the Governing Bodies will most likely propose an internal transfer of staff from Woodfield to Grove Road.”

Woodfield Community Primary School and nearby Grove Road Community Primary School look set to amalgamate next year.

Under plans to be discussed by councillors next week, Woodfield would be effectively swallowed up by the bigger Grove Road, which would operate as a split-site 280-pupil school.

The Woodfield site would initially operate as a nursery for children from both schools while Grove Road would cater for all children from reception to year six.

Then from September 2023, all nursery children and reception pupils would be based at the current Woodfield site, which would eventually accommodate all key stage 1 pupils. All key stage 2 children would be based at the current Grove Road site.

North Yorkshire County Council revealed plans last month to merge the two schools. A meeting on Tuesday next week will see councillors asked to approve putting the wheels in motion.

If approved, a six-week consultation will start on December 2 and a final decision taken on April 19.

The council says amalgamation is necessary because Woodfield has been unable to find an academy willing to take it on since it was rated inadequate by Ofsted in January last year.

But some parents have vowed to fight the move because they feel the school has made significant progress — a view supported by an Ofsted monitoring visit in June, which said ‘leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures’.

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Some parents with more than one child have also expressed concern about having to drop off and collect from both schools, which are 0.6 miles apart.

A report to councillors says:

“The intention is to have a walking bus, across the iron bridge to the back of the Woodfield playing field, that enables parents to drop their child at either school and then children who need to will be able to walk safely to the other site accompanied by school staff.

“We will look at the timings of the school day to ensure that parents who choose to drop off or collect children from both sites are able to do so.

“Grove Road school also have wrap around care provision that will continue to be available from 7:30am to 5:30pm. Other opportunities, including clubs, will be looked at closely across both sites.”

80 fewer primary school places

The report also says that if the proposals go ahead, there would be 350 primary school places available across the two sites compared with the current 280 at Grove Road and 150 at Woodfield — an overall reduction of 80 places.

However, Woodfield only currently has 49 pupils, compared with 92 in January 2019.

The report adds that forecasts suggested “there would appear to be sufficient primary places available in the local area” and cites as evidence declining birth rates in Harrogate district, from 1,425 in 2016/17 to 1,308 in 2018/19.

It says the financial position of schools is “dependent on both pupil numbers and the level of staffing”

Woodfield, it adds, has projected in-year budget deficits of £119,000 in the financial year 2021/22, £103,300 in 2022/23 and £128,400 in 2023/24, and a forecast cumulative budget deficit of £98,000 in 2021/22, £201,400 in 2022/23 and £329,900 in 2023/24.

Grove Road, by contrast, is predicted to make surpluses in the corresponding years.

The report says any deficit on the Woodfield school budget “would be absorbed by the county council”.

It adds:

“A separate HR consultation process for staff and their professional associations will commence in the spring term and the governing
bodies will most likely propose an internal transfer of staff from Woodfield to Grove Road, following Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) principles.”

A group of parents has vowed to fight plans to close Woodfield Community Primary School in Bilton.

North Yorkshire County Council said this week the school would ‘technically close’ in September under plans to merge it with Grove Road Community Primary School.

Woodfield has been unable to find an academy willing to take it on since it was rated inadequate by Ofsted in January last year.

A joint statement signed by the headteachers and chairs of governors at both schools hailed the move as “an exciting opportunity to enhance our educational offer”.

But several parents were shocked and angered by the news when they met the Stray Ferret yesterday.

They said Woodfield had made tremendous progress since it was rated inadequate — a view supported by an Ofsted monitoring visit in June, which said ‘leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures’.

Kerry Bartle and her son, Tyler

Kerry Bartle, who has had six children at the school over 23 years, said the proposed merger was a “devastating blow” to families that had stuck with the school and worked hard to improve it when others had left.

The number of pupils has roughly halved to 56 in recent years due to the poor Ofsted and a rapid turnover of headteachers. But Ms Bartle said it had improved significantly in the last 18 months, despite covid, and closure was being rushed into disturbingly quickly. She added:

“No child should be worried like ours are now as to what is going to happen to them next.

“My son is in year 4 and has mobility issues. He would struggle at the Grove site

“Woodfield is such an amazing community. We can’t fault the school as it is today.”

‘They will build on it’

Mike Fryer, a grandparent, thinks the council is using merger as a stepping stone towards closing the large Woodfield site and using it for housing.

“Within two years they will close it down and build on it. This has been on the cards since the start. They have made the school unviable, and since when should schools be all about money?”

There are also fears the Woodfield site will provide early years education and a nursery for Grove Road, forcing some families with more than one child to have to drop off and collect from both schools.

Louise Newport said she would look for another school altogether if this happened. She said:

“My son is autistic and his summer holiday will be horrendous if he has to move. Woodfield school has done so much for the children.

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Naomi Tomlinson, who has two children at Woodfield, also said she would look for another school, adding:

“Ask any kids and they will say it is a fantastic school. As far as we were aware it was doing well so this is a real shock.”

The parents also questioned whether such swift action would be taken to close a school in a better-off part of Harrogate.

The council’s response

The Stray Ferret put a series of questions to North Yorkshire County Council, including whether it could reassure parents that no children would have to move from either site.

We received the following response from Amanda Newbold, assistant director for education and skills, said:

“Woodfield Primary School became eligible for intervention by the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) having been judged inadequate by Ofsted at inspection in January 2020. Subsequently the school was issued with a Directive Academy Order but the RSC was unable to secure an academy trust to sponsor the school due to viability concerns.

“We have supported the school through the provision of successful temporary leadership since the inspection. The latest Ofsted monitoring report of Woodfield in July states that “leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures” and it is important to recognise the efforts of all those who have been involved in this improvement journey.

“However, the current arrangements can only be temporary and the absence of an academy sponsor means the school faces an uncertain future. Therefore, work began earlier this year to assess how education provision within the Woodfield community could be preserved.

“The current proposals have been developed by members of the school governing bodies and our officers. The two governing bodies carefully considered the proposals before half term, and both agreed to ask us to start a consultation.

“Families, staff, and other members of the local community will have opportunities to consider the detail of the proposals during the consultation period.

“The proposed amalgamation would be achieved through the technical closure of Woodfield School, and the enlargement of Grove Road CP School through future use of the Woodfield site.

“This would provide an exciting opportunity to enhance the facilities of Grove Road School, organising sustainable education across both sites aiming for the best possible provision for all pupils, and importantly ensuring that the Woodfield site continues to be used for education of the wider community.

“The governing bodies and our officers believe that these proposals would be the best way of achieving their joint aims of improving local education provision at this time.”