Dear Parents,
I wrote to you recently to update you about Middleton Primary Academy. In this letter, I told you about arrangements for Middleton children from September and the fact that the future of the school was vulnerable, due to the very low number of children on roll (twenty-one from September 2024).
I said that we would update you as soon as any further decisions had been made in relation to the school’s future, which is the purpose of this letter.
On Friday 12 July, the DNEAT Trust Board took the decision to consult on merging Middleton Primary Academy with Gayton Primary Academy. The consultation will begin in September and will last for four weeks. In September, we will write to you setting out full reasons for the consultation and will offer you the chance to meet with representatives from the Trust. We will also give you details of how you can respond to the consultation.
What happens after the consultation?
DNEAT trustees will consider all views and decide whether to submit a full business case for the merger to the Department of Education (DfE).
If the trustees do proceed, the final decision on a merger will rest with the DfE, not with the Trust.
When will the consultation start?
We will write to you in early September with full details, including start and end dates.
Are there any other changes to arrangements for children in September?
No, these will continue as set out in my last letter. Children will travel by bus from Middleton to Gayton during the Autumn Term.
I understand how difficult this news will be for parents and for the wider Middleton community. Although we will set out a full case for the merger in September, we can confirm that the main reason is the reduction in pupil numbers, which has meant that we are finding it very difficult to run Middleton as a good school.
Yours sincerely,
Oliver Burwood and Tony Leigh
CEO, DNEAT and St Matthew’s Federation Chair of Governors