Colden School: Councillors to get grilling from concerned parents over Calderdale school closure threat
Parents from a Calderdale school threatened with closure will demand answers from cabinet councillors when they meet on Monday.
As first reported by the Courier on Wednesday, Colden Junior and Infant School, above Hebden Bridge, may have to shut because it does not have enough pupils.
There are currently just 35 children currently enrolled, and no pupils in its Reception class.
With 12 year six pupils leaving next summer, a report prepared for the meeting warns that the school may have 23 or fewer pupils by September 2027, with the possibility of two year groups of no pupils.
It recommends councillors approve starting a consultation to close the school “due to continued falling rolls leading to an unsustainable school”.
But parents have raised several concerns and will be putting them to cabinet members.
They say they want to know what alternatives have been explored and whether the council has properly considered the long-term implications for children, families and the wider community.
They also want more details about around £332,000 of “urgent condition works” the council says are needed to maintain the school building “so that it can remain safe and operational”.
They say they are particularly concerned that the council is considering closure “without first demonstrating that every possible alternative has been properly examined”.
One parent, Meg Whittaker Gault, said: “The school feels like an extension of home, and of family, and always has done.
“Colden is a place where children are known and cared for like no other.
"Every staff member knows every child, all the children play together, and the children are encouraged to be themselves in the most magical way."
The option councillors are being recommended to approve on Monday would see a consultation launched on closing the school at the end of this academic year.
"There is sufficient capacity within neighbouring schools to accommodate pupils currently attending Colden Junior and Infant School should closure proceed,” says the report.
"Closure would result in some initial disruption for pupils, families and staff and would remove a rural school from the community.
"Careful transition planning would be required to minimise the impact on children.”
There are currently 16 members of staff who would lose their jobs – four teachers and 12 support staff.