Calls to drop Chichester school closure plans made by scrutiny committee

With Rumboldswhyke Infants, in Chichester, and Clapham & Patching Primary, near Worthing, both deemed by the council to be educationally and financially non-viable, the plan is to close them by September.

But, during the council’s first public ‘virtual’ meeting on Tuesday (April 14), some members of the Children & Young People’s Services Scrutiny Committee disagreed.

The Covid-19 crisis certainly played its part in their thinking, with vice-chairman Kirsty Lord (Lib Dem) and Brenda Burgess (Con) both raising concerns about the stress being placed on parents and children.

During the discussion about Clapham & Patching, Ms Lord said: “We’re looking at triggering a process no parent wants to go through at any time, that they would worry about even in a benign situation.

“We’re trying to do this at a time of national crisis and we don’t know what those families are currently going through.”

She added: “I just don’t see how morally we can put children and their parents through this.

“I don’t understand how we can consider putting our staff, our West Sussex teachers – who are doing incredible things at the moment – through this.”

Mrs Burgess added: “I just think it’s the wrong time to be doing this. We have to look at it from the children’s point of view as much as anything else.

“If we’re really keen to put children first it’s something we really do have to think about.”

Concerns were also raised that the county council had not reached the government’s required threshold for closing a school – essentially that the case for closure should be strong and in the ‘best interests of educational provision in the area’.

Not everyone agreed.