Greenwich Council’s message to parents and teachers over ‘poor communication’ on school closure

Plans to close a primary school in Plumstead have been approved by Greenwich Council. The local authority apologised to a representative for the school after admitting its communication on the closure was not up to scratch.

Intentions to close Gallions Mount Primary School in Plumstead were announced in November last year as a result of falling pupil numbers. The topic was discussed further at a cabinet meeting for Greenwich Council on March 12.

Charles Burt, a teacher at the school, said at the meeting that communication from the council regarding the proposed closure had not been efficient. He said an offer from the nearby South Rise Primary School to take on the school’s Year 5 cohort had been complicated by the strained communication.

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Mr Burt said: “It’s been quite emotional for everyone involved, especially as we have seen friendship groups fracture. People who have been at the school since nursery are now going off to other places.”

He added: “I’ve gone from a class of 31 when we started the year to now 15, and I know that there are other children in that class who would have wanted to go as a group [to South Rise], but that time has passed.”

Florence Kroll, Director of Children’s Services at the council, said at the meeting that the school would be facing a £527,000 deficit at the end of the current academic year if it stayed open. She added that this figure would rise to £1.2 million by the end of the 2025/26 academic year.

Ms Kroll said: “The issue of communication, you’re absolutely right, it didn’t get off to the best of starts and I apologise for that personally. There’s some learning from the consultation and learning from that communication that we absolutely will take on board.”

The director said that council officers had put in place arrangements for the school’s Year 5 pupils to be able to move to South Rise. She added that earlier considerations to convert the Gallions Mount site into a special school were ongoing, but such a conversion would be costly and would have to be made with the council’s wider finances in mind.

Ms Kroll cited the falling birth rate in London as a reason for the school closing. The closure follows Holy Family Primary School in Kidbrooke shutting its doors last year. Labour Councillor Sandra Bauer said at the meeting this week that the Kidbrooke school’s closure was an ‘equally traumatic’ experience for parents when compared to the situation Gallions Mount parents had found themselves in.

Labour Councillor Adel Khaireh said at the meeting: “There are learnings to be had from here, which we have all taken on board.” He added: “[We are] making sure that if we ever go down this road, touch wood we won’t, that we have got everything in place and making sure that children are at the beginning.”

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