Lack of pupils forces permanent nursery closure

A North Yorkshire primary school is set to permanently close its maintained nursery due to a lack of demand for places.

The governing board of Kettlesing Felliscliffe Community Primary School in Harrogate will remove nursery provision from 31 August, following a consultation with parents and carers.

The decision will see year groups running from reception to Year 6 for pupils aged four to 11 instead of the current nursery to Year 6 for children aged between three and 11 from September.

North Yorkshire Council's executive member for education, learning and skills, Annabel Wilkinson, said pupil numbers had "steadily declined" in recent years with no nursery-aged children currently enrolled.

She added: "This is not a sudden decision or something we take lightly."

According to figures, 17 children were attending the nursery in October 2020, which reduced to nine in October 2022.

The decision to temporarily suspend nursery provision had previously been made by the school federation's interim executive board following a consultation and took effect from September 2023.

Responses to a recent consultation supported the permanent closure of the nursery and no issues or concerns were raised by local families, the council said.

"Based on the feedback received, it seems the sensible thing to do is to permanently change the age range at the school," Ms Wilkinson said.

"Despite the closure of this nursery, families still have access to good early years places within their community for their children which includes flexibility of accessing the provision during the school holidays."

The school's executive headteacher, Victoria Kirkman said it was "business as usual" for pupils from reception to Year 6.

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