Ebrington School closure plans abandoned

Controversial plans to close Ebrington School have been dropped following a huge public backlash and the publication of a report criticising the proposal.

In January governors at St James’ and Ebrington C of E Primary School had proposed closing Ebrington School and relocating pupils to St James’ School in Chipping Camden.

Under the plan more classrooms would be built at St James’ to accommodate the extra pupils with governors arguing that both schools are part of one federation and should be amalgamated.

Governors said the move would address the fluctuation in intake numbers at the two sites, make it easier to meet the demands of the national curriculum and simplify assessment and benchmarking.

They also suggested there was uncertainty over the operational funding available for two school sites and raised concerns about maintenance problems at Ebrington School.

However this week a pre-consultation into the proposed closure was abandoned following the publication of an independent report commissioned by Cotswolds MP Geoffrey-Clifton Brown.

The report concluded that there was no financial justification for the closure of the school, whilst upholding concerns raised by the parents group over traffic.

The report also said the proposal had triggered a breakdown in relationships at school, governing body, resident and local group levels.

Mr Brown, has urged all parties involved to try and heal the damage that has been caused.

Claire Alexander, a member of the parents group at Ebrington Primary School, said: “I feel over the moon that our children will get to keep the wonderful education that they receive at Ebrington School.

“Communities live or die by their schools, we should be celebrating our 175 anniversary this year but instead we have had to fight against this plan. This report proves that there is no valid reason for closing Ebrington School.

“There are still governors who want to close the school so I think there is still work to do to safeguard its future.”

Ebrington parent, Caroline Warren, added: “The children, parents and community of Ebrington are relieved that the threat of school closure has been withdrawn by the Governors.

“Their announcement coincided with the publication of the Review commissioned by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP. We have two great schools, in Ebrington and St James, with wonderful teachers giving our children a great education and the Review has confirmed that there is no good reason to change this.

“The Review is damning of the schools’ management team and recognises the enormous damage done to our communities by this ill-thought out and evidence-less closure proposal. We look forward to hearing recommendations following the report so we can positively and pro-actively re-build our schools and links between our communities."

Responding to the contents of the independent report chair of governors Chris Jones said: "The Governing Body was not consulted about the terms of reference, the reviewer or provided with a copy of the report for our comments.

“We provided the only specific information requested, only to be told that it would not be included. Therefore, in our view the most basic principles of fairness, balance and natural justice have not been adhered to and the report shows very clear bias against the Governing Body. We need time to review the contents of the report before making any further comment."

Speaking about the dropping of the pre-consultation, Mr Jones explained that it had been right to seek the views of parents and stakeholders on a number of factors affecting the school but the governors had now concluded it is “not a propitious time to start the statutory process.”

He added: “Since the pre-consultation started, it has become clear that the world of primary education is changing rapidly, with the announcement in the Budget that all schools will become academies. Furthermore, it is clear from the consultation on the Schools National Funding Formula that there will be significant changes in schools funding. The Governing Body would like to assess the likely effect of both changes on St James’ and Ebrington Church of England Primary School before moving forward.”