A CONSULTATION into the closure of Forest of Teesdale Primary School was launched this week.
The school, which has capacity for 35 pupils, has only one child on its roll and no new pupils started in reception in September last year.
The single pupil is currently being taught at St John’s Chapel Primary School.
Also, Durham County Council officers say there has been no expression of a first preference for a child to start in reception at the school this September.
A consultation report into the closure said: “There is no anticipated development in this part of the county that will have the effect of increasing these numbers. The current predictions indicate no growth up to 2026/27. Thereafter no pupils are anticipated to be on roll.
“Governors accept that pupil numbers are unlikely to increase over the next five years to any sufficiency in which curriculum and social development needs could be addressed in the school.”
The report further predicts that the school faces a poor future Ofsted outcome because of the limited curriculum it can offer. The report states: “Children can be more effectively educated in a larger, more viable establishment that can offer a broader curriculum.
“There are schools within a reasonable travelling distance judged ‘good’ by Ofsted that are capable of delivering such a curriculum. Consequently, the preferred option of council officers and the federated governing body is to close Forest of Teesdale Primary School on August 31, 2022, with the pupil currently on roll being enrolled and educated at an alternative school.”
The public consultation will continue until April 10, after which a public statutory notice will be published for four weeks between May and June.
In July, the county council’s cabinet will consider the response to the notice and make a final decision on whether to agree to the school’s closure.
In 2016, plans by Durham County Council to close Forest of Teesdale school were met with a furious backlash from residents in the upper dale.
They said closing the school would make the upper dale a less viable place to live and work and less likely to attract new families.
At the time, the school had 14 pupils who joined in the campaign to save their school.
More than 2,000 people signed a petition calling for the county council to rethink its proposals. After a two-month campaign, council leaders decided to keep Forest of Teesdale open, sharing a head teacher with Rookhope and St John’s Chapel schools.
People can have their say on the latest proposals by visiting durham.gov.uk/consultation.
