A primary school in Dagenham is set to close one of its sites after council leaders approved the move due to falling pupil numbers.
Roding Primary School currently has two sites – one in Hewett Road and another in Cannington Road, both in Becontree. But Barking and Dagenham Council leaders have agreed it should close its Hewett Road site.
Elizabeth Kangethe, responsible for education, said running two sites is “financially unsustainable” due to dropping numbers of pupils.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (9th), Cllr Kangethe said the cost of running two sites put the whole school at risk of closure.
Cllr Kengethe said: “Budgets, we all know, depend heavily on pupil role numbers.
“Without taking this action, closure of the school is a risk. Consolidating onto one single site is seen as essential to restoring the financial viability and supporting high quality education which is so much needed.”
Roding Primary School was originally based only in Hewett Road. It expanded on to its Cannington Road site in 2010 due to an increase in demand for school places. At its peak, it had six classes per year group across its two sites, with both at full capacity.
However, primary schools across London now face falling pupil numbers due to declining birth rates and families leaving the capital.
A Standard investigation earlier this year found more than 30 primaries in the capital faced shutting or merging before September.
With schools funding based on pupil numbers, the council says the reduction has led to “immense financial pressure arising from vacant classes”.
Cllr Kengethe said the school faced a budget deficit of £681,907 this year and that the money it has in its reserves is “minimal”.
She said this meant that “running two under-capacity sites is financially unsustainable”.
Cllr Kengethe said that the Cannington Road site had space for four classes per year group, and that this is “sufficient to accommodate all the pupils from the Hewett Road site”.
She also said the school would run “extended childcare services” to support those whose travel to and from school might take longer as a result of the move.
Cllr Kengethe said: “The school also plans to open breakfast and after school clubs at the Cannington Road site to support families with that change.”
She added that the council will develop plans to keep the vacant Hewett Road site for “educational use”.
Council leader Dominic Twomey said moving to one site would also improve pupils’ education.
He said: “As a council we all understand the financial pressures if nothing else. To have such a tiny reserve is just teetering on the impossible.
“The fact of the matter is that it does make sense on a whole number of levels.”
He added: “It will improve the educational support that many of those children will get.”
