Sheffield primary school wants to close nursery permanently

The 52-place nursery is part of Springfield Primary School in Cavendish Street, Broomhall and school governors decided to temporarily close it in September 2023. The proposal to make the closure permanent will be discussed next Tuesday (September 3) by Sheffield City Council’s children, education and families policy committee.

A report to the committee says: “A temporary closure is possible for two years only, before the nursery must reopen or close permanently. Following a review of the nursery and engagement with the school, a permanent closure is recommended.”

If approved next week, the decision must by law go through a period of consultation. This process will take four weeks and then it will be reviewed.

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The report says that, unlike at many schools, the number of reception year children in the Springfield catchment is increasing and stands at around 82. The school is also oversubscribed and unable to meet demand in seven-year groups.

Waiting lists in the year groups range from seven to 27 children.

Deficit

“However, the picture is vastly different for the early years nursery (3-4-year-old) provision at Springfield,” the report adds. “There has been a reduction in the number of children taking up a place at the provision over the last five years, despite the best efforts of the school to improve this.”

Demand for places has dropped since 2018-19, when there were 39 children enrolled at the highest point of the school year, to a maximum of only 16 in 2022-23.

This meant the nursery was running at a deficit of £50,000 a year. The minimum number of children needed to make the nursery financially viable would be 34.

The report says that the school “has an exceptionally high mobility rate, as many of the pupils are the children of overseas students or refugees and asylum seekers, and the number on roll changes frequently”.

There are 29 languages spoken by children and families at the school and 97% of children speak English as an additional language. “The school’s deprivation indicator puts it in the 20% most deprived in the country,” the report says.