Purpose

Twineham CE (Voluntary Controlled)
Primary School is a Church of England school located in the village
of Twineham, to the West of Burgess
Hill, and South-West of Haywards Heath. 
The school caters for children aged 4 – 11 with a capacity
for 105 pupils with up to 15 pupils in each year group.  The demand for places at the school has been
declining over time with 66 pupils on roll in the autumn term 2023,
48 pupils on roll in the autumn term of 2024, and 13 pupils on roll
in the spring term of 2026.  This
continued decline in numbers has led to concerns about the
viability of the school.
 
The
DfE guidance sets out the
stages of the process that should be undertaken when considering a
closure of a rural school.  In September
2025, the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning
approved the launch of a public consultation to seek views on the
proposal to close the school from 31st August
2026 (decision
CYPL07(25/26) refers).  After
considering the feedback from the consultation, the Cabinet Member
approved progression to the next stage of the DfE process, the
publication of formal statutory proposals to discontinue the school
(decision
CYPL20 (25/26) refers). The statutory proposals were published
for a five-week period from 22nd January to 26th February 2026 and
this provided the opportunity for all interested parties and the
public to submit any comments about the proposals for
discontinuance.
 
Details of representations received during the statutory
proposal period are set out in sections 4 and 5 of this
report.  Following consideration of the
representations received it is proposed to proceed with the
closure.

Decision

That the Cabinet Member for Children, Young
People and Learning, having considered the evidence in this report
and appendices, alongside all the representations and comments
received during both consultation stages, has approved the closure
of Twineham CE (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School from 31st
August 2026.