Waltham Forest Council has proposed shuttering Edinburgh Primary School, which is operating at 17% capacity, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
Closing a struggling Walthamstow primary school will be subject to a “meaningful consultation,” leading Green councillors say.
Waltham Forest Council has proposed shuttering Edinburgh Primary School, which is operating at 17% capacity.
Just 109 pupils are currently enrolled, compared to 239 in 2023/24 and 521 in 2017/2018 – dwindling numbers that are reflected in schools across London.
If Edinburgh was to close, the site could be used to provide education for children with special education needs (SEND) – the number of which is steadily increasing – subject to a consultation.
At a cabinet meeting today (6th October), Councillor Daisy Richards, the cabinet member for children and young people, said the council needed to “respond to changing patterns of need”.
“No decision on the closure is being made today,” she added.
She said there will be a “meaningful consultation” that involves “listening carefully to people, families, staff and communities”.
During the meeting, top councillors agreed to launch the second phase of the Creating Stronger Schools programme, developed by the previous Labour administration.
Phase one is aimed at increasing SEND placements by 150 over the next four years and is currently underway, while the second stage will see the council “rethink” and “reshape” its education sector.
Though she “understood the growing need for SEND provision,” Labour group leader Kizzy Gardiner challenged the specifics of the proposals.
Barn Croft, Coppermill, St Patrick’s and Stoneydown schools all have capacity to absorb Edinburgh pupils if it does close and are within half a mile, the council says. Each has been rated good by Ofsted.
However, Cllr Gardiner said these distances were incorrect. She said that each school was further than half a mile away – approximately a 20-minute walk.
Cllr Richards said she would “ask for it to be reviewed” but was “confident it remains appropriate despite the technical issue you raised”.
Google Maps only lists Barn Croft as half a mile away by car.
St Patrick’s, however, is one mile away by car, Coppermill 1.3 miles away, and Stoneydown 1.1 miles away.
The cabinet member added there was “no timeline in stone” for the proposals.
Low pupil numbers means schools missing out on funding, which is meted out by the government based on enrolment.
Across the borough, Waltham Forest has capacity for 4,020 primary school pupils. The actual number of pupils on roll is 3,158 – 472 places below capacity – which results in an annual funding loss of around £2.54million.
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