Amalgamation of Moss Park Infant and Junior Schools

Consultation

A period of consultation was announced on 17 June 2022 on the proposal to amalgamate Moss Park Infant and Junior Schools by closing Moss Park Infant School and expanding the age range at Moss Park Junior School from the current 7 to 11 years, to 3 to 11 years. View the consultation information.

We invited all interested parties to take part in shaping the proposal with an opportunity to submit comments and ideas for consideration. Information was sent to all parents and staff members and the proposal was announced on our digital channels. A meeting for staff and union representatives was held at each school on 28 and 29 June 2022. Meetings for parents and carers were held on 18 July, in person at the school and also online.

The headteachers of both schools were present at the face-to-face and online parent meetings and the junior headteacher led an informal meeting with the infant school staff, where she answered a range of questions that had already been submitted by staff and parents. The senior leadership teams of both schools have worked together with us to respond to questions and concerns raised in the consultation period.

We received 75 responses to the consultation:

  • 34 consultees stated they did not support the proposal – 14 parents and 20 staff members from the Infant School (13 did so anonymously). Of these, 1 consultee did not leave a comment.
  • 28 consultees stated they supported the proposal to amalgamate the two schools – the Junior School governing body, 4 governors, 15 parents and 8 staff members from the Junior School. Of these, 6 consultees did not leave a comment.
  • 13 consultees stated they were ‘not sure’ if they supported the proposal and submitted questions or comments – Infant School governing body, 1 governor, 5 parents and 7 staff members from the Infant School (5 did so anonymously).

We responded directly to every consultee, with the exception of responses that were submitted anonymously. View all comments and responses. 

We have carefully considered all the comments submitted with a particular focus on concerns raised around school budgets. The original proposed implementation date was January 2023. In light of these comments, a decision has been taken to proceed to the next stage of the process but with a revised implementation date of April 2023. This offers extended protections for the lump sum element within the school budget.

Full Proposal and Statutory Notice

The next stage of the process was publication of a statutory notice on 3 November 2022 which started a four week period of representation during which time stakeholders were invited to object to the proposal or make comments. See the full proposal for further details.

Outcome and Final Decision

The final decision made by the Executive Member for Children's Services was to proceed with amlagamation of the two schools with an implementation date of 1 April 2023.