School place planning consultation

Share your views

We need your voice and your views on our school place planning proposals!

We are launching a major consultation to address the high number of surplus school places in our primary schools. This is a unique opportunity for you to share your views on proposals aimed at raising educational standards across the Island.

Some of the proposals include the potential closure of primary schools:

1. Arreton CE
2. Oakfield CE
3. Brading CE
4. Cowes
5. Wroxall
6. Godshill 

Additionally, we are looking to expand specialist provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), repurposing schools identified for closure wherever possible.

Your input is crucial in shaping these decisions. 

Let’s work together to create a brighter future for our children. Have your say and help us make a difference!

Read the Isle of Wight school place planning proposals 2024 to 2030 booklet (PDF, 5MB) before submitting your views. Ideally this document should be read in conjunction with the Draft School Place Planning Strategy (PDF, 8MB)

School area meetings

School area meetings are being held for the school community to hear from Council officers and to ask questions. Due to limited capacity within school halls, parents will be prioritised. If further seating is available the wider community will be welcome to attend.

• Dates for these meetings are listed on our School place planning timeline

If you need the consultation information in another format or language please contact us by emailing: strategic.planning@iow.gov.uk

Why is this happening?

The council believes that for far too long the oversupply of places in primary schools has had a negative impact on the standard of education pupils receive on the Island. Preventing them from having the best opportunity for the highest quality teaching and learning within well-equipped schools.

While almost 1,900 classroom seats go unfilled in mainstream schools, there is conversely a growing demand for SEND provision across the Island with hundreds of new specialist places desperately needed.

The reality is there are too many primary schools on the Island for the number of primary-age children.

The number of births on the Island has now reached the lowest since 1941. The drop is having a significant impact on the Island where, by 2027, just 876 children are expected to start reception. This is a considerable fall from 1,404 in 2018.

As of October 2023, there were 1,898 unfilled school places across the Island. By September 2027, this number is forecast to rise to 3,056.

For every empty seat, schools receive £4,500 less in funding, affecting resources, opportunities and the quality of education children receive. The ongoing trend indicates that by March 2027, 22 primary schools may face budget deficits. Potentially amounting to a cumulative £7.4 million or more.

Surplus places mean schools struggle to maintain a broad and high-quality curriculum. Falling rolls also make planning and staffing decisions difficult, with schools potentially having to make year on year redundancies or having to restructure.

• Information about what is school place planning is provided on our School place planning web page

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions which will assist you with any questions you may have. These will be kept live and updated throughout the consultation to reflect common questions.

What happens next?

After the consultation, we will present a report to the Cabinet in December 2024. The report will include details of your responses and make recommendations about the next steps.

• Timeline of consultation and decision