Parents protest Coverack Primary School early years plan

Coverack Primary School, which is part of the Southerly Point Co-operative Multi-Academy Trust - a collection of schools across Helston and The Lizard, and located at Coverack, has seen a significant drop in the number of pupils that attend the school and is currently in the process of consulting on whether to change to an early years/infants only school.

However, the school's proposal do not seem to have gone down well with parents of pupils who held a protest outside the school on June 9 to voice their opposition.

Protestors gathered outside the school for a peaceful protest.

Zoe Holmes, who is a parent at the school as well as co-chair of the PTFA, said: "The trust decided in May, with the year six cohort going out and a very small reception year coming in that they would launch a consultation, without much notice, to propose the complete closure of the key stage two provision, thereby displacing 17 of its pupils.

"That would turn it into an early years school.

Read Next:

• Penzance primary school helps lead ducks to water with donation of materials

"We felt as parents and as a community, very strongly, that this didn't give us enough time to investigate other solutions to keep the school going.

"The Trust said at the time that if this happens, the key stage one provision would stay in place and it wouldn't be a closure of the school, but we felt a closure would inevitably follow as that would only leave eight pupils and five of those have siblings that would be leaving.

"So we got together and we held a peaceful protest that involved the community, who are really passionately involved in keeping Coverack here.

"Since then we're really trying to work with the trust to form a proposal with the support of our MP, Derek Thomas, and the local parish council to find a way to keep it open for a further three years.

Parents are against the proposed changes and are looking for other alternatives.

Zoe felt that the proposals would also be incredibly disruptive to the mental wellbeing of pupils, particularly given the events of the past 18 months.

"At the age of seven, you've settled in to your school and then you would have to move and settle in to the next stage of your primary school before having to move again to your secondary school.

"It's a documented point that moving children in school years is difficult for them, and that's part of our real worry about moving these key stage two children currently as this would come into affect in September, after a horrendous period of lockdown and pandemic.

Read Next:

• Mullion Parish Council call for safe crossing to be installed after child hurt

"They've been catapulted in and out of school and they're craving a period of stability.

"It's a very difficult time to do this.

"A lot of parents though that was questionable as to who would want to do that.

"Parents are choosing the provision that is best for their children, so why can't that be here?

Donna Bryant, the Trust’s executive leader, said: "Increasingly, across the most rural communities in Cornwall, there are falling numbers of school age children.

Southerly Point Co-operative Multi-Academy Trust is consulting with parents on a proposal to change to Early Years and Infant only classes at Coverack Primary School.

"While the reason for the declining numbers vary, the impact on schools is enormous.

"Schools want to provide a quality education for children but funding for each school is dictated by the number of pupils attending.

"So when pupil numbers fall, the ability to provide such quality suffers."

Diocesan Director of Education, Katie Fitzsimmons, said: "By looking at this creative response, we can secure that highest quality education, while ensuring the school remains a presence in these villages with the potential to grow should the demographic picture improve in the future."