Closure of Lark Hill Nursery and Extending the Age Range at Lark Hill Primary School

Overview

Each time a nursery school Headteacher announces their intention to retire, consideration is given to whether the school should unite with a local school to become a single primary school. Following the announcement that the Headteacher at Lark Hill Nursery School is retiring at the end of the 2024/25 school year, Stockport Council is exploring the opportunities that this presents and that includes closing Lark Hill Nursery School and expanding the age range at Lark Hill Primary School to enable them to operate nursery provision at the school.

We believe that unifying the schools will be beneficial to the local community as it enables children and families to feel part of one school community.

The coming together of both schools will contribute the following to our shared vision of the children and young people of Edgeley:

• Single School Leadership Team and Governing Body with the strategic overview of the School’s 2-11 provision
• Consistency, continuity, and familiarity in
  • Ethos, and approach to learning
  • Pastoral care
  • Curriculum
  • SEND provision and support including early identification of needs
  • Same site
• Opportunities for existing staff to professionally develop across the Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2

The proposal is to close Lark Hill Nursery School from the end of the 2024/25 school year and to open a school run nursery from 1 September 2025 at Lark Hill Primary School and the school will carry over any existing children from the nursery provision.

Why your views matter

This initial consultation is the first of two consultations required to close the nursery school and make the permanent change to the school's age range. At this early stage, the Council is wishing to understand the support for this proposal as well as any unintended consequeneces of the proposal.

What happens next

The Council will make a decision in late October 2024 as to whether it wishes to proceed into a statutory change process. Should it decide to publish a proposal to close the nursery school and change the age range, it must consult again with any interested parties. A statutory consultation is likely to take place in the Autumn term of 2024.