Community of Brancaster gather in hopes of preventing closure of its primary school

A village primary school which is under threat of closing down found its canteen packed full of concerned parents and villagers.

It was revealed last week that Brancaster Church of England Primary Academy could be closing down by January as its trust says that there are not enough pupils to make it viable to run.

This means that the Brancaster site would close down and merge with Docking Church of England Primary Academy if the Department for Education (DfE) approves of the trust’s proposals.

The Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust (DNEAT) which runs the school held a consultation meeting on Thursday evening for parents and members of the public to have their say.

Parents, the parish council, the church, councillors and MP James Wild attended the meeting, the Noreth West Norfolk politician expressing concerns over DNEAT’s decision to close the school half way through the academic year.

Annette Robinson, chair of the school’s parents and friends association (PFA), is one of the parents fighting for the village school to remain open.

She believes that children living in and around Brancaster benefit from being located in the village.

Annette said: “Every school in this area is classed as being socially deprived because we are in a rural area.

“But we have a strong PFA which raises funds for children to access more extra ciricular activitives and go on trips.

“Our children can walk to the beach and marshes and can learn about local history. They can do that in Brancaster, but not in Docking. That is a valuable part of their curriculum.”

Ms Robinson said that DNEAT has based its decision to close the school on “national statistics” and the last three years of SATs results.

She argued that this is unfair due to results being impacted by the Covid pandemic and other individual factors.

Ms Robinson added: “There was not a single person in the room who agreed with what they are doing.”

Staff at the school have been offered relocation to roles at schools within DNEAT.

However, Ms Robinson highlighted that this wouldn’t be accessible for everyone.

“The cleaner has worked at the school for 34 years, she will be offered a new job. But she has no transport to get there,” Ms Robinson said.

Mr Wild went along to the meeting and said that the decision had been “sprung” on people and had caused a lot of distress.

He said that the three-week consultation period given by DNEAT was “far too short” and that closing the school in January would be “incredibly disruptive”.

Mr Wild said: “There is strong opposition to the closure of the school which is at the heart of the community.

“As was made clear at the meeting, this announcement has been sprung on people, causing distress and DNEAT needs to listen to parents and the local community and rethink its plans.”

The MP said that there needs to be more assessment of future pupil numbers, given the new community housing coming to Brancaster Staithe as well as developments in Docking.

Ms Robinson also highlighted that there are currently 30 children in a local baby and toddler group who could join the school in later years.

Oliver Burnwood, CEO of DNEAT, said: “DNEAT are champions of small schools in Norfolk and have a strong track record of making them successful.

“However, we do need a minimum number simply to make them work and at Brancaster, we have fallen below this number and all signs are that numbers will continue to decline as part of a decrease in Primary pupils that is being felt in many areas of Norfolk.

“It is extremely sad and the decision to merge is taken in the best interest of children and not at all lightly. We feel children at Brancaster will receive a better education at a more sustainable school such as Docking.”

Mr Wild said: “I strongly encourage people to respond formally to the consultation plans.

“If DNEAT decides to proceed with the proposal a business case will be submitted to the Department for Education who will decide whether to approve the plan.”

Parents have until November 3 to email DNEAT with their opinions on the closure.

They can do this by emailing info@dneat.org - quoting Brancaster as the subject.

Ms Robinson suggested the idea of holding a parish meeting with those who spoke up in the meeting - inlcuding Mr Wild - to help write professional feedback.