Parents and children are “devastated” as Southwark Council plan to consult on the closure of a “beloved” primary school in Walworth as a result of declining numbers of children.
The consultation on the closure of Townsend Primary School, near Salisbury Row Park, will begin on January 3 2022, with the school slated to be closed by September.
The reason for the proposal suggested by the council and the school is falling numbers of children across the borough – with a letter sent from Townsend to parents stating that its own area of Southwark has seen the highest fall of numbers.
Mum Katy Scriven says her 8 year-old daughter Jessica is “devastated” at the decision.
“It’s not just any old school,” said Katy to the News. “It’s a really loving, caring school. There are parents in tears.
“It’s already had such a detrimental effect on our children and our families, because the children know what is happening.
“I just don’t know yet where my daughter is going to go. After they’ve faced so much this last year, this is a lot for the kids. It just can’t happen.”
Katy is starting a petition to the council to do what she can to protest the closure of the school.
Shelby ReytenBach is also worried about the effect the closure will have on her child.
“My son is in year 5 and will be going into year 6 next September. This should be such an important year for him and his classmates.
“My son has flourished there and is a much more confident, intelligent, and caring human being because of the teachers and headmistress that have always treated every child as if they are their own.
“Townsend is a special school. We are all heartbroken and will do anything for them to please re-think and reconsider.”
Protestors are facing an uphill battle, as families and teachers already plan to leave before the school closes in September, further worsening the situation. This will make it even harder to justify a spending boost to save it.
According to 2021 census data, the school has 173 pupils, despite its maximum capacity of 262 – meaning in the last academic year, it was operating at only 66 per cent capacity.
Despite this, the school was rated “good” in overall effectiveness by a 2019 Ofsted inspection, an improvement from its “requires improvement” rating in the previous inspection.
It even achieved an “outstanding” in children’s personal development, behaviour and welfare.
However, the pupil numbers situation may only worsen for the school. Southwark Council’s Annual Public Health Report for 2019 found a steady decrease in the numbers of children born in the borough since 2010.
There were under 4,400 in 2017, down from over 5,100 in 2010. The fall in numbers was particularly significant in the north of the borough, including Townsend’s home of Walworth.
This causes problems for the school because losing pupils means losing funding, as government allocations are decided on a pupil-by-pupil basis.
The proposal to close the school echoes the closure of St John’s, another Walworth school which faced financial problems following a fall in pupil numbers. The school did not reopen in September of this year.
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While the regeneration scheme currently underway in Old Kent Road may help bring more families to the area in the future with affordable housing, there will not be a chance for St John’s – and now possibly Townsend – to see the benefits of this before being closed down.
Councillor Jasmine Ali, Southwark’s deputy leader and cabinet member for children, young people and education, said: “Deciding whether or not to close schools is not where any of us would choose to be.
“This is a proposal to consult on closure being taken forward by the school governors after some heartfelt and meticulous consideration of facts.
“At this stage it’s important to say that no decision has been made to close the school. This is a period of consultation and no decision will be taken until summer 2022.
“In the meantime, the main priority for us all is to support the parents, children and staff affected.”
Townsend Primary School has not yet responded to the News’ request for comment.
It an unwritten rule now that schools must be bursting at the seams or they will be closed . All about quantity and not quality . What a generation we are turning out and the price will be high in the future