AUTHORITIES ABANDON RURAL SCHOOLS

 

AUTHORITIES ABANDON RURAL SCHOOLS

Unpublished article for Landworker magazine of Unite the union

Increasing numbers of rural schools are threatened by demographic changes, inadequate funds and a lack of long-term planning. In North Yorkshire 34 rural primary schools have closed since 2018 and St Hilda’s in Ampleforth will be next. The impact locally is devasting for working class families.

Following the ending of a fertility boom, school pupil numbers are projected by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) to fall by 436,000 by 2028-29.

So, with school funding being allocated on a per-pupil basis this will seriously impact on already-strained school finances. The EPI calculates a drop of £1.1 billion nationally by 2029-30.

London local authorities have been affected by falling pupil numbers, meaning school closures have already begun there. E.g. Lambeth

But with their already-low pupil numbers, rural schools are especially vulnerable to declining pupil numbers and subsequent cuts in funding.

One of the hardest hit will be schools in Calderdale which featured in the Happy Valley TV series and includes many small rural villages. Funding will fall by 11.73% as a result of a 15.89% fall in pupil numbers between now and 2028-29. Schools will need to consider a raft of cost-cutting measures, including mergers and potential closures

As the biggest English county then many communities across North Yorkshire, 85% of which is considered rural, rely on agriculture as the primary employment source. These communities badly hit by school closures include Burnt Yates, Rathmell, Ingleby Arncliffe and Skelton. Dozens of schools with under 100 pupils remain threatened.

According to NEU (National Education Union) official Gary McVeigh-Kaye school closures “are devastating for families, especially those without a car.  The nearest school might be ten miles away. As the Tories have wrecked any integrated transport system across the countryside it can be a real time, effort and cost getting children to school. “

The impact on teachers and staff, many of whom work part time and live locally, is also “ruinous to people’s health and livelihoods.”  Where similar jobs exist elsewhere, they are based in the 32 Multi-Academy Trusts, which have poor records for supporting disadvantaged pupils, that according to McVeigh-Kaye, an English teacher for 25 years, want to “centralise education as much as possible.”

The NEU, aware that pupil numbers fluctuate, want no more rural schools closed. The union feel it is only when there is little hope of schools remaining open that authorities organise meetings to discuss events.

“Even if a school has sat at the heart of a rural community for 150 years It is more or less a fait accompli on such occasions”, claims McVeigh-Kaye. “We require longer term planning allied to additional funds for education, including for improved wages of all staff. Plus, we require a willingness by government to recognise that a good education, provided locally, is key to the future of pupils and the economy.”