At a meeting of the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning, Surrey County Council, Councillor Clare Curran, Deputy Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning, approved the proposal to begin the process of closing St Mary's Church of England (C of E) Voluntary Controlled Infant School and agreed to allocate funding from the approved Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Capital Budget for projects at St John the Baptist School, Bramley Oak Academy and Carrington School. The meeting addressed falling pupil numbers in Surrey's primary schools and the need to ensure the council provides financially sustainable, high-quality education.

Closure of St Mary's C of E Infant School

Councillor Clare Curran approved the recommendation to proceed to statutory notices regarding the proposed closure of St Mary's C of E Voluntary Controlled Infant School in Shackleford, with the intention to transfer pupils to Puttenham C of E Infant School from September 2025.

The proposal comes in response to falling pupil numbers, with the school operating significantly below its capacity of 90 places. Councillor Matt Furniss, divisional councillor for Shalford, described the situation as quite a sad proposal but acknowledged that the school has been running at a deficit for a number of years. He noted that only a maximum of six pupils had put Shalford down as their first placement for the upcoming September.

A consultation was conducted, revealing that while some respondents felt pupils would be better off in a thriving school, many raised concerns about the impact on the community, increased travel times, and the loss of a good school.

Despite objections, the recommendation was approved, with Councillor Clare Curran noting:

No one wants to be responsible for closing any school anywhere. But the reality is that pupil numbers are falling in this county for all sorts of reasons and the impact of that on education.

Councillor Clare Curran also supported exploring repurposing the school building for some kind of educational facility.

SEND Capital Programme

Councillor Clare Curran approved recommendations regarding the use of funding from the approved SEND Capital Budget for projects at St John the Baptist School, Bramley Oak Academy, and Carrington School. The SEND Capital Budget has a total of £110.5 million available for 2025/26 to 2028/29.

St John the Baptist School

Funding was approved for a new mainstream Special Educational Needs (SEN) unit at St John the Baptist School. The new unit will provide a facility for 30 autistic pupils aged 11 to 16, comprising four classrooms, associated parking, a secure play area, and landscaping. The project aims to support the delivery of 2,404 permanent additional built places in Surrey between 2019/20 and 2027/28. The handover and completion of the project is planned for March 2026.

Bramley Oak Academy

Funding was approved for the expansion of Bramley Oak Academy in Bramley. The expansion will create permanent additional accommodation for 49 new places and re-provide pupil places for a further six pupils. The construction project includes two extensions, a purpose-built play area, biodiversity net gain landscaping, a transport drop-off area, and highways alterations to improve flow off the A281 Horsham Road. The handover and completion of the project is planned for March 2026. Bramley Oak Academy is a specialist school for primary-age children with social, emotional and mental health needs.

Carrington School

Funding was approved for the reallocation of funds to create 40 new places in the specialist resource provision at Carrington School and an additional 33 places at Woodfield Education Centre, also located at Carrington School. This combined project will create 73 additional places to provide permanent support for children with special additional needs in a mainstream setting. Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2025 and be completed in the summer of 2026.

Councillor Clare Curran praised the innovative, close collaboration, partnership between the two schools, noting that the project would be accessible by virtue of your partnership and beneficial to pupils and staff.