‘We want our school back’- Consultation over the future of Lofthouse Primary School met with emotional response

The consultation, held at Lofthouse Village Hall on Wednesday, November 29, aimed to listen to the views of parents, teachers, and residents, who felt the loss of the school would be ‘a disaster to the community.’

A resident who helped at the school said: “We are being forced on a 23 mile round-trip over the moors to our next school.

“We feel like we’ve been forced out of the federation.”

The previous headteacher for Lofthouse school spoke out, she said: “To find out all of a sudden the school was closing, really broke my heart.

“What has gone drastically wrong for parents to suddenly take children out?

“For it to close, is like a part of the community gone we’re never going to get back.

“Why weren’t people listened to before now?.”

NYC responded that no final decision has been made, and the purpose of the consultation was to meet the needs and concerns of the community.

A previous school governor and councillor said: “A great example of what we achieved was when we came first out of 147 schools in Ripon, Knaresborough, Harrogate, and Nidderdale.

“So even though it's little, it can do great things.

“When about 25% of parents didn’t send their children to this school, which suddenly became 100% - how come that wasn’t a red flag?

“Of those children who didn’t come, they also didn’t go into the federation - another red flag.

“The starting point should be that there's a problem that needs to be accounted for.”

The council understood there have been communication problems between the school and parents, and assured those present they are working to resolve all issues.

A parish councillor, who spoke for a lot of residents, highlighted issues which included the parents' support, the headteachers absence at the meeting, the schools previous success, questionable management, and unresolved issues. She said: “We want our school back.”

Coun. Andrew Murdy: “It’s a disaster for the community to lose this school.

“It’s important for the children to get a good education, closeby.

“It seems from June after a ‘good’ inspection, to only a few months later when it has no pupils, that something fairly dramatic happened.

“For whatever reason there was a breakdown of communication between parents and the school.

“It’s really important people understand what has gone wrong, so it doesn’t go wrong in the future of the federation.

Cllr Wilkinson for NYC, said: “This is an important consultation, and it is essential we take everybody’s views into account.

"I would urge members of the Upper Nidderdale community to share their views so that we can make an informed decision as to what steps to take next.”

The council’s executive members will consider the consultation feedback in January 2024.If the proposed closure is approved at the end of the required process, then Fountains Earth Primary School would close on March 31, 2024.