Decision

RESOLVED:

Having considered all of the supporting documentation, particularly the statutory notice set out at Appendix 1; the comments and objections raised by the 21 respondents at Appendix 2; the Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) at Appendix 3; and the report on the alternative options set out in Appendix 4, Cabinet approved the proposal to discontinue (close) St Dominic's Catholic Primary School on 31 August 2025.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The recommendation is made in order to determine the Council’s response to the 28 Day Statutory Notice issued on 6 February 2025 attached as Appendix 1. This recommendation has been put forward after Officers considered a number of alternative options set out in the attached Appendix 4.

The proposals above are recommended to Cabinet in light of the following viability issues facing St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School;

·  a declining pupil roll;

·  a lack of pupils now applying to the school;

·  evidence to show there is little prospect of a material increase in the numbers of pupils within the pupil place planning area in the medium to long term; and

·  the school’s unrecoverable budget deficit.

DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

Cabinet could decide not to proceed with the closure proposal for St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School. The Council would then have to decide on how the school’s budget deficit would be funded beyond the 2024/25 school year, given that the school is not financially viable and is very unlikely to see a sufficient increase in its pupil numbers for the situation to change in the foreseeable future.

Cabinet could decide to delay its decision on school closure, but this would mean that the School’s financial position would worsen, further impacting on the quality of education for its current pupils and leaving an even bigger budget deficit, should the school close later than the proposed date of 31 August 2025. Delaying the decision would not be in the best interest of children and families or education provision in the area because St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School’s worsening financial position would make it increasingly more challenging to provide pupils with a rounded education that meets their academic, social and emotional needs.

The Council considered a number of alternative options set out in Appendix 4.