Proposal to Close St Mary's RC Primary School (Roman Rd)

Closed 15 Jan 2023

Opened 12 Dec 2022

Contact

school.organisation@stockport.gov.uk

Feedback updated 2 Mar 2023

We asked

We asked for the views of those who live and work in Stockport on the Council’s proposal to close St Mary’s RC school.

You said

  • There were 241 responses. A third were parents or carers. Nearly half were 'other interested parties"
  • 88% disagreed that the council has no other option available other than close the school. 61% believe there are other options that the council should consider
  • 91% do not support the closure of the school
  • 63% do not support the admissions process should the council choose to close the school

We did

Given the strength of consultation feedback and the position taken by the Diocese of Salford and their Trustees of the Emmaus Trust further time is sought before a decision is made on the closure of the school.

A pause will allow time for the Trustees to fully consider the feedback from consultation and establish a final position as to whether the school should be converted into their Trust.

The decision is to pause considerations of discontinuance until June 2023 at which point, should it be necessary, a further officer decision will be taken regarding the progress of the discontinuance process.

Results updated 1 Mar 2023

Given the strength of consultation feedback and the position taken by the Diocese of Salford and their Trustees of the Emmaus Trust further time is sought before a decision is made on the closure of the school.

A pause will allow time for the Trustees to fully consider the feedback from consultation and establish a final position as to whether the school should be converted into their Trust.

The decision is to pause considerations of discontinuance until June 2023 at which point, should it be necessary, a further officer decision will be taken regarding the progress of the discontinuance process.

Overview

OFSTED made a judgement in January 2022 that the quality of education provision provided by the school was not good enough, OFSTED placed the school into 'Special Measures'. As a result, an academy order was issued to the school.

An Academy Order issued by the Secretary of State directs the school to close and open as a new school under a multi academy trust. If the school cannot convert and become a new school, it cannot continue operating as a Local Authority maintained school. The implication of the academy order is that the Council must cease maintaining the school.

The Diocese of Salford have the belief ‘that the long-term viability of the school does not sit within the Diocese’ Catholic academy trust’, this decision means the school will not be converted into their multi academy trust and means the school cannot comply with the academy order.

The Diocese have asked to work in partnership with the Council to determine the future of the school. As such the Council has started the statutory process which considers whether the school should close.

Further to the above, the locality surrounding the school, specifically Reddish, currently has an oversupply of school places. Should St Mary’s close, the loss of school places would not have an impact on the overall sufficiency of school places in the area.

This consultation considers:

  • Information and data available
  • The general principle of closing the school
  • How long closure should take
  • Admissions Process

For further details, please see the linked consultation document below, it is also available to download, link at the bottom of the page.

Your browser does not support inline PDF viewing. Please download the PDF.

The online survey, below, will guide you through the consultation questions.

Why your views matter

The Council is interested in hearing the views of anyone with a role or interest in Schools in the area surrounding St Mary’s RC Primary School in Heaton Norris or their local community, which may include:

  • Parent/Carers
  • Staff
  • Governing Bodies and academy trusts
  • Other local authorities
  • Schools, including free schools and academies
  • Other interested parties

What happens next

Once the consultation closes, a decision will be made by senior leaders at the council on whether or not to proceed with the next stages. Should this be the case, there will be a second stage of consultation to determine a final timeline of closure, an admissions process and other statutory processes. 

Please see pages 17-18 of the consultation document for more detail.

Areas

  • All Areas

Interests

  • Stockport Council Activities