Council may ‘call in’ decision to shut school

SENIOR Conservative councillors could be asked to reconsider the decision to close Fountains Earth primary school in Nidderdale.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive met last month in Northallerton to approve the closure following a consultation.

The school in Lofthouse, near Pateley Bridge, faced dwindling pupil numbers in recent years and had no pupils on its books.

The council’s executive member for education, Coun Annabel Wilkinson, said “nobody wants to close a small school” and it was “a very hard decision”.

The decision to close the school was controversial in Nidderdale, with some former parents and local Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Murday pleading with the authority to delay its decision.

At the time, they unsuccessfully argued that an investigation should take place into the leadership of Upper Nidderdale Federation which controls the school.

At a meeting today in Northallerton, councillors on the children and families overview and scrutiny committee will meet to discuss ‘calling in’ the decision to close the school. This would involve the committee referring the original decision back to either the executive or to a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council where all councillors would take a vote on the closure.

A report prepared for the today’s meeting gives three reasons for calling in the original decision. These are related to pupil numbers, educational standards and the financial situation at the school.

The report said: “If the issues that led the parents to withdraw their children from the school were to be resolved, then pupils would return. There is a strong belief amongst the parents and the local community that conditions in the school deteriorated in order to depopulate it.

“The school received a ‘good’ rating on inspection in June 2022. It was strange, therefore, that the governing body of the Upper Nidderdale Federation requested a month later that NYCC should consider closing the school.”

It added: “At the time of closure, the school had no permanent teaching staff.”

The meeting will take place at 2pm today at County Hall.