Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome: Decision approved

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: September 16, 2025

Purpose: On 6th May 2025, Cabinet agreed to consult on the potential closure of Calverton Primary School.   From 2nd June 2025, a pre-statutory consultation on the potential closure of Calverton primary school has been carried out in view of: •  the declining roll numbers with no immediate prospect of the school reaching pupil capacity levels that would enable it to be sustainable over the medium to long term; and •  the unrecoverable financial position, which is likely to have an adverse impact on the quality of education, wellbeing and welfare of pupils and staff.   The pre-statutory consultation closes on 14th July 2025. Following this, officers will provide a report on the consultation outcome. This report will ask Cabinet to consider outcome of the pre-statutory consultation on proposed closure and to decide whether or not to proceed to publication of a statutory notice and proposals for closure (stage 2) which can be commented on or objected to during the statutory representation period (stage 3).   To note that the decision (stage 4) on whether or not to proceed with a closure will be taken by the Cabinet at the end of the formal consultation (representation) period.

Content: For the reasons set out in this report and its appendices, Cabinet RESOLVED to Agree:   i)  To proceed with stages 2 and 3 of the statutory process regarding the potential closure of Calverton Primary School:   a)  Stage 2 will be the publication of the statutory notice and proposals which will set out details of the proposed school closure.   b)  Stage 3, which is the formal consultation (representation period) will start on the date of publication of the statutory proposal and must last for 4 weeks. During this period, any person or organisation can submit comments on the proposal, to be considered at the decision-making stage of the process.   ii)  To note that the decision (stage 4), on whether or not to proceed with a closure will be taken by the Cabinet at the end of the formal consultation (representation) period as set out in the statutory process referred to in the legal implications of this report.   iii)  To note that if a closure decision is agreed by Cabinet, Calverton Primary School will close on the 31 August 2026.   Alternatives considered     1.  As outlined in section 3 of the report, Local Authority officers continue the work with schools to ensure that they are financially viable.   2.   For Calverton Primary School, a range of options have already been explored such as:   •  reducing the school's published admission number; •  income generation opportunities; •  reducing staffing levels further; •  merging with another school; •  joining a multi-academy trust (MAT)   3.  Unfortunately, given pupil numbers are expected to fall further, none of these options will be successful or will help in recovering the accumulated deficit.   4.  It was proposed by those in support of the school remaining open, that it could be a school for pupils with SEND. However, this option is unfeasible because Calverton is a mainstream school, so would need to be closed first and pupils will still have to move to other schools following the statutory process as set out in the “School Organisation (Establishment and Discontinuance of Schools) Regulations 2013”. The only way of opening a SEND school is the LA applying to the Secretary of State to establish a new school under section 10 of EIA 2006. If approved, DfE will appoint a sponsor/trust for the special school.   5.  The DfE has already opened the Connaught Special School for autism in 2024 (currently in temporary accommodation) and another free special school for autism has been approved in principle, so it is unlikely in the near future that DfE would approve another special free school.   6.  Do nothing: This is not recommended as it would likely result in a growing budget deficit, estimated to grow by around £0.6m per annum, and the quality of education at the school would be at risk. This is not educationally or financially sustainable and does not provide best value when dealing with budget pressures. Without considering the potential closure proposal, any future write-off of this growing deficit would fall to the Council's general fund.