Hill Top C of E Primary School

Consultation on the closure of Nursery at Hill Top C of E Primary School

We are carrying out a consultation on the closure of Nursery at Hll Top C of E Primary School, which will result in a change to the age range from 3 to 11, to 4 to 11.

Reasons for closure

Hill Top C of E Primary has an established nursery with places for up to 52 children.

Over recent years the number of children taking up a place in the nursery has reduced. Historically, at Hill Top and at other settings across the district, the number of children taking up a nursery place increase each term throughout the academic year – numbers on roll each term from 2022 to 2026 are shown in the table below. There are currently only 27 children attending which is only just over half of the available places.

We have therefore taken the decision to consult on the closure of the nursery at Hill Top C of E Primary School.

The planned change will come into effect from September 2026 meaning that all current nursery pupils will leave in July 2026.

Considerations

Most of the funding that schools receive is directly related to the number of pupils attending the school, including the nursery. Too many vacancies mean that schools will not receive the maximum possible revenue. Staff have already been employed by the school to accommodate up to 52 children in nursery; however, no funding is received for the unfilled places. This is causing financial pressure on the whole school and has resulted in a deficit budget for the 2025/26 financial year. Closure of the nursery would ensure the school funding received for the children on roll from reception to Year 6 can be spent on those pupils, not to make up any shortfall in nursery funding received.

Data to support the proposal

The number of children in the nursery since summer 2022 is shown in the table below, clearly showing the decline in numbers since the autumn 2024 term. The numbers provided are as of the school census dates each term (October, January, May).