North Yorkshire Council confirms Nidderdale primary school with no pupils set to close for good this month

North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative-run executive met on Tuesday (March 19) in Northallerton to approve the closure following a consultation.

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

The council’s Executive Member for Education Annabel Wilkinson said “nobody wants to close a small school” and it was “a very hard decision”.

Fountains Earth is part of Upper Nidderdale Federation alongside St Cuthbert’s Church of England Primary School in Pateley Bridge and Glasshouses Community Primary School.

Earlier in the meeting, Councillor Andrew Murday (Liberal Democrat – Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale) pleaded with councillors to delay a decision as he called for an investigation to take place first into the leadership of the school’s federation related to its academic and financial performance as well as communication with parents.

He noted that the school received a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted in 2022 and if the issues were resolved, he believes parents would bring their children back.

Councillor Murday said: “There would be pupils if the dispute with the federation hadn’t happened.

"Families have put houses up for sale because the school’s not there.

"It’s a chicken and egg situation.

"Rural schools are important for communities and they gain something from being small and within the community.”

However, the council’s legal officer Barry Khan suggested it would be out of its remit to investigate governance at the federation.

The number of pupils at the school had declined from 20 in 2017 to 10 in 2022.

This led Executive Member for Finance Councillor Gareth Dadd to say keeping a school open with such few potential pupils “would be doing a disservice to those children”.

Councillor Greg White, Executive Member for Environment, said for rural schools to remain open, residents need to “breed and have children”.

Councillor Dadd said: “I feel very uncomfortable sending a child to a primary school with 8 pupils.

"I don’t think it can be beneficial to that child.

"It’s not just about education it’s about social interaction as well.”

Amanda Newbold, Assistant Director for Education and Skills at North Yorkshire Council, said this had been a factor when parents withdrew their children.

She said: “Four to 11-year-olds were being taught in one class.

"This was a challenge for the one member of staff who then moved on and the school struggled to recruit.

"They relied on agency staff or other teachers from the federation.

“When a child became the only one in their year group, the parents wanted to move them to schools with other children their own age to prepare for secondary school.”

The school will officially close on March 31 and its catchment area will become part of St Cuthbert’s Church of England Primary School in Pateley Bridge.