Worthing infant school will remain independent but council still looking to cut primary school places

West Sussex County Council’s proposals to cut the number of primary school places by almost 1,000 were put out to public consultation last year. The plans included merging Springfield, Lyndhurst Infants and Chesswood Juniors into an all-through primary school using the Chesswood and Springfield sites.

Children at Springfield school appeared in a Love Actually style video objecting plans to amalgamate with two other schools in the area. You can watch the school’s full video online at https://vimeo.com/782579553

Tim Loughton, MP for East Worthing & Shoreham, added his voice to more than 1,000 people who signed a petition opposing the plans.

The council said the proposed plans to ‘improve the organisation’ of primary schools in Worthing and Durrington are now moving forward, following feedback from the local community.

"In total, 697 people took part online in an eight-week consultation on proposals put forward, with many more writing directly to the county council’s cabinet member for learning and skills,” a council spokesperson said.

“The overwhelming majority of those who responded supported the proposal to merge Chesswood Junior and Lyndhurst Infants into one ‘all-through’ primary school on the Chesswood site, leaving Springfield Infants unchanged as a standalone infant school.

“As a result, the county council is recommending this option for approval, as outlined in papers published [on Tuesday. February 21).”

The 'Save Springfield' campaign committee said it was ‘delighted at the news’. A spokesperson added: “We have always believed that as a consistently oversubscribed and prosperous school, Springfield should remain free to make leadership decisions with autonomy and keeping the best interests of Springfield children central to everything. To hear that the 'overwhelming majority' of respondents to the official consultation survey feel the same way is truly heartening. We are also really encouraged to see that 'the system' works and that public voice is being listened to by decision makers.”

The committee extended its ‘sincerest gratitude’ to everyone that took the time to have their say, supported the campaign so far and ‘helped our small school have a big voice’.

"The Springfield parents and staff naturally have strong feelings about this consultation but the wider support, including that of our local MPs and councillors, has been overwhelming and demonstrates that the Springfield community is larger and stronger than we ever realised,” the spokesperson said.

"We have high hopes that the final consultation outcome will also reflect public preference and look forward to a bright future for Springfield, including a continued strong relationship with the new Chesswood/Lyndhurst partnership.”

Mr Loughton agreed this was ‘very good news’. He said he was ‘pleased and relieved’ that the county council has ‘clearly listened to the very strong opposition’ to Springfield losing its independence.

The MP added: “I was delighted to work closely with the school, teachers, governors and parents to impress upon West Sussex that including Springfield in the merger of the three East Worthing schools did nothing to help achieve the elimination of surplus places as this consistently good school has been consistently oversubscribed and is highly valued as part of the local community.

"This was different for Chesswood and Lyndhurst who can benefit from the new arrangements and I look forward to seeing the benefits that are planned for their pupils. But as far as Springfield was concerned it was always a case of ‘If it ain’t bust don’t fix it’ and this shows how genuine this consultation wad and how important it is for local people to respond as they did in their hundreds I this case."

The council said that declining pupil numbers mean that around 1,500 primary school places are unfilled, which ‘makes it difficult’ for schools to plan for the future and make ‘best use of staffing and resources’.

‘At the request of school leaders in the borough’, the county council has been working with schools ‘for many months’ to address the issue.

Councillor Nigel Jupp, cabinet member for learning and skills, said: “Thank you to everyone who took part in the consultation. It’s an important democratic process that will help shape the future of primary education across Worthing and Durrington, so it’s encouraging that so many people took the time to contribute their views. We’ve listened carefully and taken on board the feedback.

“The county council has been acting on a request from schools across Worthing and Durrington to address the issue, working together with them for many months now to propose solutions.

“The extensive feedback has given us a much better understanding of the community’s position and how the county council can support schools to deliver a high-quality education that enables pupils to fulfil their potential.

“I’m pleased therefore that we have a way forward, with the recommendation to merge Chesswood Infants and Lyndhurst Junior into a new primary school, and for Springfield Infants to remain a standalone school.”

Next steps

The consultation responses and resulting recommendations will now be discussed at a meeting of the Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday, March 1, the council said.

Papers for the meeting have been published on West Sussex County Council’s website, where residents will also be able to watch the meeting live or at a later date.

The council said any recommendations from the meeting will be considered ahead of a decision, with a second phase of consultation to follow.

Decisions from consultation

The consultation, which ran from November 28 to January 20, also considered reducing pupil admission numbers at six schools in the borough.

A council spokesperson said: “The proportion of respondents supporting the reduction far outweighed those who did not. Therefore, the decision was taken to reduce the number by 623 places across the six schools:

- Durrington Infant School to reduce by 90 places

- Durrington Junior School to reduce by 120 places

- Field Place Infant School to reduce by 90 places

- Thomas A Becket Infant School to reduce by 90 places

- Thomas A Becket Junior School to reduce by 128 places

- Whytemead Primary School to reduce by 105 places

The council said reduced admissions will be introduced from September 2024 in the infant and primary schools and from 2027 in the junior schools as the reduced numbers feed through from the infant schools.

The council said reduced admissions will be introduced from September 2024 in the infant and primary schools and from 2027 in the junior schools as the reduced numbers feed through from the infant schools.

The council said reduced admissions will be introduced from September 2024 in the infant and primary schools and from 2027 in the junior schools as the reduced numbers feed through from the infant schools.

Have you read?: West Sussex road safety: Council requests new powers to deal with offenders