News, Norfolk
John Fairhall/A primary school is considering closing for one afternoon a week in order to cut costs.
Buxton Primary School in Norfolk is currently consulting on the proposals, which it said would avoid having to make any staff redundant.
“Because teachers will do their planning and preparation on a Friday afternoon… [pupils] will have more time with their teachers, getting that high quality education,” said head teacher Jules Stops.
Norfolk County Council has questioned whether the move complies with legislation, while the Department for Education (DfE) said it was putting additional funds into pupil premiums.
Andrew Turner/Outlining the proposals, Mrs Stops said: “On Monday to Thursday we will start the day at 08:10 and then finish at 15:05, and on Friday we will start at 08:10 and finish at 13:00.
“The reason we have done that is in order to look at our financial budgets and make sure they’re in line with what’s required of us as a school, but also to continue to offer our children the education they deserve.”
She said the school was following DfE guidance and all legislation.
“It is supporting our children with their education. They’re going to get more contact time with their teachers,” she said.
John Fairhall/Matt Halliday, whose two daughters attend the school, said his wife worked full- time but had Friday afternoons off to do “life admin”.
That means they would be required to pay £4 per hour for each child to access the after-school club on Fridays.
“For our family, it would be very much a case of looking at using grandparents and using support from other people… it could be family friends,” he said.
” We are lucky to have neighbours who can pick up the kids at that time.”
John Fairhall/Scott Lyons, Norfolk Branch secretary of the National Education Union, said while not ideal, the plan may be the least-worst option.
He said the alternative might be that the school shuts and parents had to drive their children out of the village to attend school.
“Sadly, schools are having to be creative about the ways education may look in the future, and the way pupil numbers are dropping off the cliff in the next four or five years I think a lot of primary schools are looking at this as a potential pilot for the future,” he said.
‘Meaningful learning’
Norfolk County Council said it was only made aware of the plan as the school broke up for the Easter holidays.
In a statement, it said: “We will be in contact with Buxton Primary School as soon schools return to discuss it in more detail.
“The legislation states that schools are required to have two sessions each day, with a break in between, and we are concerned that the length of the afternoon session is not adequate to deliver meaningful learning.
“We completely understand the financial challenges schools are facing and that this requires some difficult decisions.
“We want to work with Buxton to help ensure they can continue to deliver the best curriculum for their children.”
The DfE said it was putting an additional £6.2bn into school budgets and increasing support for those with additional support.
“We expect schools to consult parents and ensure their operating hours reflect the needs of their communities,” it said.
“The majority of schools already deliver a 32.5-hour week within their existing budgets and schools should be planning their budgets in line with this minimum expectation.”
