Somerset school to lose classroom as part of rebuild plans
Stawley Primary School lies in the small village of Stawley between Wellington and Wiveliscombe
One of Somerset’s best primary schools will lose one of its classrooms as part of council plans to rebuild the facility.
Stawley Primary School lies in the small village of Stawley between Wellington and Wiveliscombe, not far from the Devon-Somerset border.
Somerset Council approved plans in November 2024 to replace the existing temporary buildings with brand new classrooms, with consent being granted in August 2025 to the demolition of the existing structures.
But the new school will only have two classrooms rather than three – with the governors believing that this will lead to possible job losses and damage the well-being of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The council has responded that the school’s low pupils numbers meant that a third classroom would not be essential.
Ruthven Burdon-Cooper, chairman of the Wellington Area Rural Federation group of schools, raised the issue when the full council convened in Bridgwater on Thursday afternoon (September 26).
He said: “We have successfully operated in budget a three-class structure for the last decade.
“Despite having a high percentage of attending children registered with SEND (28.3 per cent), the school has consistently delivered results that place it in the top tier of primary schools in Somerset and within the top two per cent nationally.
“Despite this success, Somerset Council has in its re-build plans for the school decided to only fund two classrooms, despite provisional planning being granted for three.”
The school received high praise in its most recent Ofsted report in December 2024, with inspectors describing pupils as having “a strong sense of belonging” to the school, feeling “safe and happy” and with “exemplary” behaviour.
Mr Burdon-Cooper said the council’s education team had said there was “no strategic need” for a third classroom, since Department for Education (DfE) guidelines permitted up to 30 children being in each class.
He continued: “The council determined that 39 per cent of pupils (including those registered with SEND) were not eligible to be counted when calculating the capital funding for the rebuild.
“The council’s reports made no mention that the proposal was to reduce the number of classrooms, or that it would potentially impact on the employment of staff.
“It failed to mention the impact on protected groups present within the school, and claimed to have been completed in consultation with the headteacher, when no such consultation had taken place.
“We would like you to review the decision to re-build the school with two classrooms and fund the third classroom, so that the school can continue to maintain and build on the success the council has often applauded.”
Councillor Heather Shearer, portfolio holder for children, families and education, said that a predicted fall in pupil numbers over the remainder of the decade meant that a third classroom was no longer deemed to be necessary.
Ms Shearer (who represents the Mendip West division) said: “The school had a baseline of 54 pupil numbers in 2024, with a forecast of 57 in 2025 and 2026, reducing to 48 by 2029.
“On the basis of these numbers, a third classroom would not be necessary to meet demand.
“There is a therapy or withdrawal room shown on the plans submitted and included in our scheme; the school can choose to designate this space as a SEND resource if so required.
“This is in addition to the group or ‘break-out’ space in the central area of the new school extension, which is over and above what was required for the school population.
“Ultimately, the school can designate the use of this space to suit the requirements that it has now, while also providing flexibility with any changes which may occur in the future.”