Schools governors recommend that three Dales primary schools should stay open, with pupils attending different schools depending on their age.
A public engagement process on the future of Bainbridge, Askrigg and West Burton primary schools begins this week with drop in sessions held on Monday.
It had been feared at least one of the schools could have to close because of falling pupil numbers and financial difficulties faced by the organisation which runs the schools, the BAWB Federation.
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However, a new funding formula announced recently by the Government means education chiefs believe it will be possible to keep all three schools open for now, with three small, rural schools set to benefit significantly from the new arrangement.
In a bid to ensure the schools remain sustainable, changes are planned to the structure with parents and other stakeholders being invited to discuss the future with governors and bosses from North Yorkshire County Council.
In a letter to parents, the federation says the new formula means that the pressure to consider school closures as a financial solution has been lifted for the time being.
The letter states that while closure of at least one school had been considered to save money, the loss of the lump-sum income stream and sparsity funding from closures means they would now actually be worse off if that was to happen.
The letter states: “We do hope you share our delight in this at this time, though we also must reiterate that this is underpinned by an acceptance and understanding that the current structure of our schools cannot be sustained, and there is need for change, the options for which are detailed in the information we are sharing today.”
Drop-in sessions will be held on Monday, February 26 from 10am to 12noon at the national park authority offices in Bainbridge; from 1.30pm to 3.30pm at Askrigg Primary School and from 5pm to 7.30pm at West Burton School.
Of the original 12 options proposed for the future of primary education in the villages, a short-list of five have been put forward.
These are:
Option 1
This was the initial proposal presented by the headteacher and governors in the summer
term 2016: combine West Burton’s KS2 children with the current arrangements at Askrigg so
that there would be:
- 2 classes at Bainbridge (the EYFS and KS1 children of Bainbridge and Askrigg)
- 2 classes at Askrigg (the Y3/4 and the Y5/6 children of Bainbridge, Askrigg and West
Burton) - 1 class at West Burton (the EYFS and KS1 children of West Burton)
5 classes in total
Option 3
Reduce the number of classes at Askrigg to 1, meaning that there would be a Y3-6 class at
both Askrigg and West Burton:
- 2 classes at Bainbridge (the EYFS and KS1 children of Bainbridge and Askrigg)
- 1 class at Askrigg (the Y3/4/5/6 children of Bainbridge and Askrigg)
- 2 classes at West Burton (EYFS/KS1 and Y3/4/5/6 children of West Burton only)
5 classes in total
Option 6
Combine and transport all of the federation’s children within the following structure:
- BAWB EYFS and KS1 at Bainbridge (in 2 classes)
- BAWB Y3/4 at West Burton
- BAWB Y5/6 at Askrigg
4 Classes in total
Option 7
Combine and transport all of the federation’s children within the following structure:
- BAWB EYFS at Bainbridge
- BAWB KS1 at West Burton
- BAWB Y3/4 and Y5/6 at Askrigg (in 2 classes)
4 Classes in total
Option 8
- 2 classes at Bainbridge (the EYFS and KS1 children of Bainbridge, Askrigg, and West Burton)
- 1 class at Askrigg (the Y3/4/5/6 children of Bainbridge and Askrigg)
- 1 class at West Burton (KS2 children of West Burton)
4 Classes in total
Of these, option 7 is being recommended as the best by the governing body.
They say it offers one of the better financial solutions, and has the following advantages over the other two viable
options (6 and 8):
- Greater equity between the children and communities of all three schools
- The children of complete key stages all on one site (unlike option 6 which teaches KS2 on two sites)
- No more than 2 year groups per class
- Optimum class sizes
- Appropriate buildings and facilities for the key stages detailed above
- Pupils remaining in shared cohorts for the duration of their primary schooling (unlike option 8 where they
would split at KS2).
These three option ( 6, 7 and 8) are considered viable as they reduce the number of classes across the three sites to four.
The federation will accept written feedback until March 9 before releasing its decision
Submissions can be made by email to admin@askrigg.n-yorks.sch.uk and should be marked ‘engagement contribution’.
You can read more on proposals for the three schools here.
