ePetition details

We strongly contest the proposed closure of Highbury Quadrant Primary School (HQ) for the following reasons:

HQ is cornerstone of the local community, which once gone can never be returned. The impact of its closure would be absolutely devastating to the community, and there are a number of strong practical factors which, when taken into consideration, mean it must be allowed to remain open.

Highbury Quadrant is one of the most inclusive schools in the borough with a very high proportion of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and a high number of pupils who require the Education, Health and Care Plan (ECHP). There is a very high proportion of children with English as an additional language and a very high number of children attending the school receive pupil premium (PP) and Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP).

The availability of other suitable schools will be insufficient to deal with the needs of these children if they were to be displaced by the closure of HQ, particularly when the religious and cultural requirements of the pupils and their families are taken into consideration.

We have been told that falling pupil numbers is at the core of the argument for closing HQ, but we contend that using this as a reason for closure is unjustified and unacceptable, given that these numbers are subject to significant fluctuation, as has been proven in the past. Given the government’s policy of new housebuilding, numbers may well increase in the years and decades to come.

Another argument for closing HQ, we have been told, is the financial cost of running the school with its current smaller number of classes. We understand that the borough has worked with the school leaders to try and find partners who could use the space although at the current time none has been found. However, with pressure on services around the borough it would seem likely that given more time a partner in either children’s services, or care for the elderly for example could emerge.
It is also insulting to the community to close the school with no forward plan for the site.

The close proximity of the homes of a very large proportion of the pupils who attend HQ is one of the key reasons why families choose this school, as well as the fact that this allows some of the parents to maintain employment nearby, such as in childcare, something which they would not be able to do should the school close.

Also key to the argument for closing HQ is that fact that renovations are required to the buildings, but it would seem that money has been spent on other schools in other areas in the borough, money which could and should have been spent on HQ in view of the age of the building - no clear reason as to why this has not been the case has been given.

With respect to the building renovation costs being quoted, a figure of one million was initially given in the arguments for closure, but this has somehow risen and appears now, rather disingenuously, to include the amount that covers routine maintenance – money all schools would need to spend on upkeep in the same period.

Hugely relevant here – particularly given the information given about the pupils attending the school – it that £740 million has just, this last week, been announced by the government in extra funding for SEND pupils.

It stands to reason, given HQ has such a high proportion of SEND pupils, that a share of this funding could be used at the school, allowing it not only to remain open, but to thrive in the future.

“We will only consider school closure as a very last resort where it is in the best interest of children to do so.”

That quote comes directly from Islington’s own School Organisation Plan which is included in the ‘Islington Education Plan for 2022-2030 - and yet it is clearly not in the best interests of the students of Highbury Quadrant Primary School for the school to be closed.

The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson has also made it very clear recently that more emphasis needs to be placed on schools as communities, something that will benefit places as well as individuals.

For this reason, in addition to the other points made, Highbury Quadrant Primary School needs at least another year to allow it to maximise its potential, access the necessary funding now available, as well as also looking at ways the site could be utilised in such ways as shared space.

I re-emphasise that closing Highbury Quadrant Primary School would be devastating for the children, devastating for the families who rely on the school and devastating for the community, at a time when the possibilities for more funding in the future for such an essential educational resource are coming available.

This ePetition runs from 10/12/2024 to 21/01/2025.

2 people have signed this ePetition.