Pupils Must Find Different School As Last Teacher Leaves Chillerton And Rookley

Tuesday, 29 November 2022 17:21

By Oliver Dyer @olidyer

An Isle of Wight school is facing the prospect of having no qualified teachers on its books from next month, leaving parents with no choice but to find alternative education for their children.

Chillerton and Rookley Primary School, which nearly closed earlier this year due to dwindling pupil numbers, now only has ten students, across three year groups.

Governors said numbers had continued to decline this term while the school's only teacher is due to leave next month.

It means remaining pupils face coming back from the Christmas break with nobody to teach them.

This has led to an invention from the Isle of Wight Council, which has a legal obligation to ensure children receive a suitable education.

The local authority has written to parents saying it is working to find alternatives for students.

It has, however, stressed this was not a school closure and should the situation around pupil numbers and staffing change in the future, the decision would be reviewed.

Councillor Debbie Andre, Cabinet member for education, said:

"The school was hoping that the positive outcome of their recent Ofsted inspection, when it was judged to be a 'Good' school, would encourage more parents to send their children there.

"Despite good coverage in the media and a wider marketing campaign, sadly this has not happened; in fact numbers of pupils have further declined.

"The very small numbers mean sustaining a varied, thorough curriculum to each child is impossible, due to the lack of similar aged peers and the wide age range across the class. It also makes providing the necessary social and emotional experience for each child very challenging.

“I would like to give credit and my grateful thanks to headteacher, Mark Snow, his staff and the Board of Governors, who have acted with the utmost professionalism throughout and always put the wellbeing of the students under their care as the priority.

"To receive a 'Good' rating from Ofsted under such conditions is testament to their dedication to providing a high standard of education and this was endorsed by their leadership being praised in the Ofsted report.

"We certainly did not want to be in this position, but we have run out of options as things currently stand and it's with a very heavy heart that we have had to take this decision.

"It is important to note, however, that this action does not constitute a school closure and the council will review the decision should the situation change."

The council said it is possible for pupils to remain on the roll of Chillerton and Rookley Primary. In such cases, the federation will make sure suitable education is provided at its Godshill Primary site.

If parents choose to take up this offer, free home to school transport will be provided by the council.

Although Godshill Primary is currently fully staffed, there is no spare capacity to allow for a teacher to transfer to the Chillerton and Rookley site as that would leave a class at Godshill without a teacher.

For parents who wish to send their children to another school, the council's admissions team will guide them through the process.