Cornish village raising £40k to keep second teacher at local school

It's after plans were confirmed for a one-teacher, one-class system

Author: Sophie SquiresPublished 5th Jul 2023
Last updated 5th Jul 2023

Parents and members of the local community in a small Cornish village are aiming to raise £40,000 in a matter of weeks, in the hopes of maintaining the current level of education at the local village school.

St Barnabas Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) confirmed plans to reduce the current two-classroom, two-teacher setup at Lerryn Church of England Primary School to a one-class arrangement.

The MAT, who run the school, have proposed plans to make "essential" savings of £309,000 from current overall budgets to "ensure the long-term future of all schools in the Trust".

Their CEO, Sean Powers, said: "Although these savings relate to only 3.1 per cent of our total annual budgets, we understand and sympathise with people’s concerns at this difficult time."

Come September, a single teacher will join Lerryn CofE and cover lessons for both key stage 1 and key stage 2 children (years 1-6), as well as reception and nursery students, with assistance from two HLTAs.

Following a meeting between members of the Trust, parents, village residents and members of the church on Tuesday 20 June, the community committed to trying to raise the funds needed to hire a second teacher.

A follow up meeting is taking place at Lerryn Memorial Hall today (Wednesday 5 July) to provide updates.

Katrine Musgrave, Chair of Lerryn School Association, said: "We have dedicated parents, a committed village community, and an LSA who in the last two school years has raised nearly £4000, that are willing to work together with the Trust to improve pupil numbers, help with financial roadblocks and retain the desired two class structure.

"We formed the Lerryn School Action Group to work collaboratively with the new Head and Trust with the sole focus of stabilising and improving the school."

The MAT say there is "no intention of closing any school".

Mr Powers adds: "These savings represent a long-term plan to ensure that all of our schools stay open for many years to come.

"It will also allow us to ensure our resources are focused upon the highest quality of education and to prevent our class sizes having to exceed national averages.

"It is our hope and expectation that this process can be completed with the agreement and support of everyone involved."

You can donate to the crowdfunder here.

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