Back in October 2022 I contacted the interim head of education at my local authority to raise my growing concern about our school’s sustainability due to the falling roll. This had been an issue going back to 2015, when two new free schools were opened, one almost on our doorstep.
Other factors - Brexit, a lack of affordable housing and immigration policy among them - had not helped. And then we had the pandemic, leading to many people re-evaluating their lives in London and moving away.
On top of all that, the fall in the birth rate in our cities is alarming.
Across the London borough of Hackney alone there are 600 too many Reception places, and it does not look like there are going to be any quick solutions.
In a phone call after I made contact with the head of education, I learned that the council was proposing to close the school the following July. That is the end of this academic year.
Falling birth rates and school closures
Although I had half been expecting it, it was still a huge blow, made worse by not being able to share the news with my community immediately.
There was the pragmatic side of me that knew that with the roll then 265 children, the school was unsustainable without yet another major restructure - this time involving teaching staff and probably even myself. But the actual reality of it closing felt like a death sentence.
When the council attended the parent engagement meeting, the feelings in the hall were overwhelming. I admit I cried as parent after parent spoke passionately about their love for the school, how it felt like a family.
When a former pupil stood up to speak and ended up breaking down, all I could do was hug him as he tried to explain what the sense of belonging had meant to him and now means to his younger sister.
Whereas another local school scheduled for merger got organised to protest and challenge, my parents, though angered, did not believe they would be listened to. They felt as though they were no longer the community that the council wanted.
They could not understand that a school that had served some of the poorest and most marginalised children since 1875 could just be closed.
Pupil transfers
Although the plan was still at the proposal stage, there was no proper explanation of how children would be allocated to other local schools. Parents were concerned that all the places would fill up and then they would have to travel further. All we could do was watch as child after child left. Our challenging, complex but incredible young people, whom we had nurtured, supported and believed in, were transferring to other local schools.
The process has been incredibly long, even while writing this the final decision is yet to be made. But as parents turned to me for advice, all I could do was try to do what was right for them and their children.
When children with an education, health and care plan were not able to transfer as easily as their siblings, I worked with the parents and the receiving school to accelerate the consultations.
Each morning, as I stand on the gate, I watch children who used to be our children walk past in their new school uniforms and try not to let them see how sad it makes me. Our roll since March has halved and there are still more on the waiting lists for local schools.
The impact on our staff and the children who are still here is huge and everyone is struggling to remain upbeat, continuing to give our remaining children the love, joy and academic skills they need.
It is hard to plan future events when we don’t know how many children we will have.
What needs to change
My wish for any future school closures is that the process is not so long and drawn out. From the first public announcement to the actual closure, it will be 17 months.
I would ask that there is a clearly stated plan for how children will be transferred, maybe something similar to the Reception and secondary school entry process that will reassure parents that their children will be allocated a preferred school. This might reduce the number of parents jumping before they are pushed.
I would ask that the decision makers understand the deep-rooted relationships formed in schools and ensure that staff have support, and care is taken over how information is communicated.
I would ask our politicians to look closely at free schools and academies and how they are protected from local authority decisions, and also take a long, hard look at the erosion of genuine social housing that means a community like mine feels unwanted.
And finally, I would ask that there is a plan in place to ensure that someone is watching out for these children. When our former pupils have problems in their new schools, especially when our Year 6s transfer to secondary, it is to us they come for support and advice.
The thought of no one being on the gate to greet them and listen to their worries come September reduces me to tears every time.
Jo Riley is headteacher at Randal Cremer Primary School. Information on the closure proposal can be found here.
