new welney sign The Welney Website

Proposed closure of William Marshall VC Primary School


page created 29th Apr 2015; last updated Monday, 13 July 2015
 school sign on wall
  • Site contents & index
  • page contents
  • Introduction
  • Governors Letter
  • Consultation Notice
  • Welney Parish Council letter
  • Parents Committee View
  • Marshall's Charity
  • Residents comments
  • Ofsted report 2013
  • Dates of Public Meetings
  • Links to related pages

Introduction

For several years people have wondered how much longer our local primary school would be able to remain open in view of the small number of pupils. The parish of Welney is not earmarked as a growth area unlike some nearby villages across the County border; indeed at present there are a number of vacant "social" houses in Chestnut Avenue which it is rumoured may be demolished, reducing the chance of increasing the number of potential pupils. It has been suggested that that is due to the policy of our Borough Council - Kings Lynn and West Norfolk.

Now, in the Spring of 2015, the various bodies connected with running the school have decided to formally seek views about its future. Below are documents and letters for and against closure. Readers are welcome to send me their comments and these will be posted here; but it is important that those comments should be made known to Norfolk County Council, who will make the ultimate decision, either online (links at bottom of consulation notice) or via meetings locally (see right).

I have attempted to make a comphehensive report by gathering together on this one page views of as many affected parties as possible. By contrast, you will not find a single reference (as at 5th May) to the closure on the Parish Council website, nor the official website of the school. And the Parish Council were apparently surprised at the announcement, despite the Chairman of the school governors being a Parish Councillor!

Governors letter
Acknowledgements:
Sources as noted.
Text & design: Peter Cox
© 2015 Welney Website.
If you wish to add, correct or disagree with anything, please e-mail and you comments will be added.


Public Meetings
23rd Apr, at Parish Hall
19th May, 6pm, at School
 

Consultation Notice

This is a slightly abridged version of an undated Norfolk County County document.
Consultation on a proposal to close William Marshall VC Primary School, Welney, undertaken with the agreement of both the school governors and the Diocese of Ely.

What is the proposal? That the school should close at the end of August 2015.

Why? The school takes pupils from the age of 4 to 11. The school has 6 places available in each year group, but is regularly undersubscribed. For the last 10 years, the number of pupils on roll has remained below 40, and has further declined in recent years:
Sept 2011 32  
Sept 2012 29  
Sept 2013 19  
Sept 2014 24  
Sept 2015 22 [anticipated figure] 6 leaving to go to high school; 4 new due to start)

Of the 24 pupils on roll in Sept 2014, 21 lived within the designated catchment area of the school. A further 7 children eligible to attend the school went to schools elsewhere.

Since January 2004, leadership of the school has been provided through a partnership with Upwell Community Primary School, whose headteacher spends one day a week at William Marshall. Such leadership arrangements are no longer sustainable, and governors at Upwell do not feel that they have the capacity to pursue a more permanent federation at this time.

Because of the declining roll and the lack of sustainabte leadership, the school is of concern for the Local Authority. Standards are unacceptably low, and governors have reluctantly acknowledged that they do not have the capacity to bring about the significant improvement needed to guarantee a good enough education for the children of Welney.

As a school that is very small and likely to remain so, it is very difficult to plan a viable future for the school. The new national funding policy for schools is moving towards a national per pupil rate. This limits the way in which funding is allocated to schools through the locally agreed formula. ln the past financial year, William Marshall School received just over £8,839 per pupil, compared with the Norfolk primary school average of £4,500, but this level of support may not be possible in the future. The continuing decline in pupil numbers and these changes to the way that schools are funded, are making it increasingly difficult to manage the budget, and it is likely that the school will be in deficit by the end of next year.

Where will the children go to school? The designated school for children who currently live in the William Marshall catchment area is likely to be Upwell Community Primary School. The headteacher of Upwell has been the partnership headteacher of William Marshall and therefore knows the children. Transport would be provided free of charge for all those pupils who live in the William Marshall catchment area.

What alternative provision will be availabte? Norfolk County Council is committed to ensuring that the needs of all children and young people with Special Educational, Needs (SEN) will be met. lf the closure of this school is approved, it will be essential to review the provision required for those pupils with a statement of SEN and, following consultation with individual parents, an alternative school where provision would be made available for their child will be named.

What would it mean for staff? We have an agreed way of working with staff when planning changes to school organisation, which has worked successfully in the past. Our human resources staff and local trade union officers would work with governors to make sure that staff were fully involved and consulted about proposed changes.

Who will be consulted? Under section 16 (1) of the Education and lnspections Act 2006, the Local Authority as proposer of the closure of a rural primary school must consult:
  • Parents of pupils at the school
  • The local district or parish council where the school'is situated
ln addition, this document will be provided to people and organisations that may have an interest in this proposal including:
  • The governing body of the school
  • Pupils at the school
  • All staff at the school
  • The governing bodies, teachers and other staff of any other school that might be affected
  • Diocesan Boards of Education
  • Parents of any pupils at other schools who may be affected by the proposal
  • Trade unions who represent staff at the school
  • Local County Councillors and MPs

Who will make the final decision and when would the change happen?
This consultation will end on Monday 25 May 2015. County Councillors will have an opportunity to comment on the proposal at the Children's Services Committee meeting on 12 May 2015. The Director of Children's Services will then decide whether or not to go ahead, with the publication of a statutory notice to close William Marshall VC Primary School.
Should the Director decide to proceed, people would then have four weeks to write to us either supporting or opposing the proposal. The final decision would then be made by the Director of Children's Services on behalf of Norfolk County Couhcil.

The earliest this change could take place would be 31 August 2015

How can I learn more about the proposal and have my say? Come and talk to us: There will be a meeting on Tuesday 19th May 2015, 6pm for parents/carers and other interested members of the community: 6.00pm at the school.

You can tell us your views at
 https://norfolk.citizenspace.com/childrens-services/william-marshall-school-welney or email schoolreview@norfolk.gov.uk We need all responses by Monday 25 May 2015.  lf you have any questions in the meantime, please contact 01603 223480.

 
 

Parents Committee views

save our school banner
Photo from a Lynn News report, 30th April 2015

A protest meeting organised by parents in the Parish Hall on 22nd April was attended by more than 40 people.

The closure proposal has been reported in several local papers. One parent, Brendan Morgan said:
“We will be fighting tooth and nail as we want to keep our school open. The school is the heart of the village. It is so important to the whole community."
The following statement was received on 5th May from Christie Webb on behalf of the Parents Group:
Save William Marshall Primary School

Norfolk County Council (NCC) has put in motion a plan to close William Marshall Primary School in Welney. They claim they are acting at the request of the Board of Governors and their intention is to benefit the children but this appears to be misleading.

The Dept of Education Guidance 2014 states:

There is a presumption against the closure of rural schools. When formulating a proposal, the proposer must carefully consider:

  • The likely effect of the closure of the school on the local community;
  • Educational standards at the school and the likely effect on standards at neighbouring schools;
  • The availability and likely cost to the LA, of transport to other schools;
  • Any increase in the use of motor vehicles which is likely to result from the closure of the school, and the likely effects of any such increase; and
  • Any alternatives to the closure of the school.

If the school is gone it’s forever. With the post office/shop gone and the school following, the heart of Welney will be ripped out. Families with children will not move here. House prices will be devalued as a 3 bed house appealing to families will be more desirable if there is a local school. We will become a soulless collection of homes where people do not meet each other, where the young move away and only the elderly remain.

NCC claim that the school roll is so low that the future is unsustainable. The school has taught children since 1848. The roll has been as high as 102 and as low as 26. This low point was in 1976 and the school is still here. Historically the roll has gone up and down and nothing indicates that is likely to change. Indeed we see a strong case that Upwell will become oversubscribed in the next few years.

They claim standards are unacceptably low. The last Ofsted report 2013 reported need for improvement. The Governors, the Head and the Staff put in place a series of focused plans that they all state (and is agreed by HMI report) that the level is improving.

They state that the Governors cannot guarantee standards will meet the level of good at the next Ofsted. No one can guarantee what the next Ofsted report will be. If they could we wouldn’t need an Ofsted inspection.

They claim they will save money as William Marshall is too expensive and they quote figures like £100,000 savings or £8,839 per pupil as against an average of £4,500. But they refuse to explain these figures. Small rural schools cost more but William Marshall is owned and financially supported by the Marshall Charity and the Diocese of Ely. So the Council does not have to pay for everything unlike its other schools.

They do not explain the cost of putting the children on a bus to Upwell and back every day, a cost they would be responsible for. They do not explain the increased traffic as parents unwilling to put a 4 year old on a bus to school drive to and from Upwell twice per day. Or the parent having to drive to collect their child who is taken ill or wishes to participate in the after school clubs which means they must miss the bus.

They do not explain why alternatives to closure like federation with Upwell are not being perused.

The council is currently running a policy of closing all schools with less than 200-250 pupils. This is dogma not education.


 
 

Welney Parish Council letter to NCC


The Clerk to Welney Parish Council, Mrs Pat Copeman, has kindly provided this website with a copy of the letter sent on behalf of the Parish Council to Norfolk County Council in response to the NCC consultation document:

30th April, 2015
Dear Sirs,
Proposal to close William Marshall VC Primary School, Welney

Your Statutory Consultation Paperwork with regard to the proposal to close William Marshall VC Primary School, has been received by the Welney Parish Council who held a special meeting last week. At that meeting it was proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed that the Parish Council are in full support of the campaign to keep the School Open and will do their utmost to help in any way possible to achieve this.

The initial reaction of the Parish Council was complete shock, especially as no one had ever confirmed to the Council that the school was in trouble. The Council would like to know why no information was forthcoming sooner, as it appears that you have been aware for several years that the school was having difficulties. Why was the village – residents, parents and carers – not informed earlier, at which time something could have been started towards helping the school and why was it left until this late stage, when your proposal is to close the School at the end of the Summer term?

We would also like to know if the reason for the intended closure is based on financial viability as inferred in paragraph 7 of the consultation document. If this is the case can this be explained fully as the Fair Funding for Norfolk Schools consultation document and accompanying technical papers both show funding being maintained at the 2014-15 rate for 2015-16

Also is the reason for intended closure based on standards that are unacceptably low as stated in paragraph 6 of the consultation document. If so can you confirm what criteria have been used to make this statement as the last published Ofsted report was in 2013 and while still having an “improvement required” rating is does confirm that improvements are occurring. Do you have more recent evidence to support the claim?

Was the school invited to take part in the Norfolk to Good and Great? If so did they take part and what were the outcomes? If they were not included in this initiative was there any criteria that they did not fulfil? If they were invited and declined the offer who made the decision?

Finally is the reason for closure due to the withdrawal of support from Upwell Community Primary School? The Parish Council would like you to confirm that Upwell has the capacity to take the Welney children for not just next year but for the foreseeable future especially in the light of the increased development of houses in Upwell alone which we have heard will be in the region of 200. Can you also confirm that class sizes will not exceed the safe numbers as we believe there is a maximum allowed under either Norfolk or National guidelines for infant children. We have been informed that Upwell class sizes are large already and as most people are aware, the infrastructure may not take the extra children from the proposed increased building. In the event that class sizes are exceeded can you confirm that a mobile classroom, at a cost in excess of £200,000 would be in place at the start of the new term?

The Parish Council would like to see costings that Norfolk County Council are using to bring about the closure of Weney School, and also how much Norfolk money is saved by moving Welney children elsewhere. Not simply the pupil number costs that are currently being shown to us.

The Parish Council are gravely concerned for the future of the village if the school is to close, but more especially the future of the children of the village who will face a 6-7 mile each way journey by bus to attend Upwell School. Our village school has always been part of the community life and has taken part in all the village activities over the years with much support from the community.

We look forward to your answers to the queries we have raised, and rest assured that the closure of our village school will not happen without a fight by everyone who lives in the village and surrounding area.

Yours faithfully, Clerk to Welney Parish Council.


 
 

Marshall's Charity


The Charity owns the school building and provides it free of charge to the education authority, Norfolk County Council. The Clerk to the Charity, Mrs Clarke-Jones has kindly obtained the following statement (dated 5th May 2015) for this website from the Chairman of the Charity's Trustees, Mr C.J. Gilbert:

Marshall's has no direct involvement with N.C.C concerning the educational side of the school. We have provided the school building for the village for approaching 150 years, our last revision of the tenancy was in the year 2000, we receive £1 rent if requested, they pay maintenance, insurance and running costs (water + electric) and have around 115 years of lease left providing it is used for educational purposes only.

Our constitution provides a separate Educational account from which we give financial support to the Welney school children when requested, this may be difficult to administer in future if the school closes.

The majority of our committee support the retention of the school if this is in the best interests of the children & has the parents support. Reasonable permitted finance could be available to your group to help achieve this aim.

Yours faithfully, C.J.Gilbert. Chairman of William Marshall Trustees.

The building is shown on the Charity accounts as a fixed asset with a valuation by the Trustee's of £500,000.

 
 

Comments by Residents



If you would like your views or comments included on this page, please email me, as link at bottom right.

  
 

Ofsted reports.


Several documents above make reference to the latest report, June 2013.

The link on the right will display that report in full (10 pages) in a new window or tab in PDF format.

  
Acknowledgements:
Sources as noted.
Text, design and layout: Peter Cox
© 2015 Welney Website


  • related pages on this site
  • History of the school
  • Marshalls Charity
  • related external pages
  • Official school website
  • Ofsted report June 2013
 
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