Amalgamation plan for three junior schools draws ire from consulted families

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

Governors at three schools in St John’s Wood have said they will proceed with plans to merge despite a consultation finding 83 per cent of respondents were against the proposal.

The decision has received a frustrated response from several parents – some saying their views are simply being ignored.

The co-chairmen of governors at one of the schools wrote they understand the news ‘may not be welcomed by all’, though that they believe it offers the best way forward.

The proposal now goes to Westminster City council to decide whether to move ahead with a formal consultation.

Barrow Hill Junior School, Robinsfield Infant School and George Eliot Primary School announced plans last year to form a new St John’s Wood Primary School.

Under the proposal, the new school would initially be based between George Eliot and Barrow Hill before the lower school would move from George Eliot to new facilities on the Robinsfield site.

A letter to parents in December said the proposal was due to a falling number of primary school-aged children wanting to attend community schools across Inner London – a trend affected by pressures including a falling birth rate and the cost of housing.

The pupil rolls at each school were given at 82 per cent of capacity at Barrow Hill, in Bridgeman Street, 85 per cent at George Eliot, in Marlborough Hill and 75 per cent at Robinsfield, Ordnance Hill.

“Making this change now – before we might be forced to due to budget pressures – keeps the future in our community’s hands, allowing it to be shaped by our collective choices and preferences,” the letter read.

Parents have however queried the need to bring the schools together in a merger, raising concerns over what it would mean for their kids’ educations, whether Barrow Hill in particular is facing a deficit, and uncertainty regarding the data provided to validate the proposal.

A consultation ran until January 24 this year, the results of which have now been published.

According to the consultation report, 190 written responses were received across the three schools and answering a question on whether they agree with the proposed amalgamation, 83 per cent of people selected they either ‘tend to disagree’ or ‘disagree’, against 12 per cent responding positively.

Barrow Hill received the most engagement and opposition, with 95 per cent of its 110 responses against the proposal.

George Eliot meanwhile received 38 responses, 64 per cent of which were opposed to the merger, and Robinsfield 42, with 72 per cent against and 19 per cent in-favour.

In updates posted to the schools’ websites, governors wrote they have given support to the local council to proceed with the next stage of consultation.

One parent, who has a child at Barrow Hill, said: “Out of 190 people who responded only 15 people ‘agree’ (six of these 15 are staff), yet the governors are going ahead with this proposal. This was clearly a fake consultation.”

Another parent, with a child at Robinsfield, said the community feels ‘blindsided’ by the proposal, with the sense the consultation was done at a time that intentionally fell within the school holidays. “The community needs to be heard, not silenced,” they said.

Jeff Masters and Gabbie Joseph, co-chairs of governors at Barrow Hill, wrote in their update: “This was a very difficult decision, not least because of the many legitimate concerns parents and carers have raised. You will see in these documents there is little question that parents and carers who responded to the consultation are opposed to the proposal in its current form.

“However, having explored alternatives, we believe the proposal still offers the best available route to a sustainable future for our school. We understand this decision may not be welcomed by all.”

The council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for children and public protection, Cllr Aicha Less, will now decide whether to progress with a formal consultation – which would run for four weeks from April 22.

Picture: LDRS