Backlash from headteacher and parents over proposed primary school closure

They have accused the council of using flawed figures to justify closing Suffolks Primary School in Brick Lane, reports James Cracknell

Parents (from left) Katherine Gorman, Hollie Welch and Rachel Stutter outside Suffolks Primary School

An Enfield headteacher and a group of parents claim proposals to close their “wonderful” primary school are based on flawed figures – and the impact the closure would have on children with special needs is being ignored.

Suffolks Primary School in Brick Lane is one of three Enfield Council is proposing to close, with a public consultation on the move potentially launching next week – depending on the outcome of a vote by councillors on a scrutiny committee tonight (Tuesday 3^rd).

Headteacher Andrea Cassius pleaded with senior Conservative councillors last month to reconsider closing her school, addressing them directly at a council cabinet meeting. She later told the Dispatch: “The key justifications given for our inclusion [in the closure proposals], such as pupil numbers, our financial position, and parental preference, are based on inaccurate data.

“It is deeply concerning that a decision of this magnitude has not even been built on factual information, a point I formally raised at the cabinet meeting.”

While the headteacher does not deny that mainstream pupil numbers have declined and are far below capacity, with further declines forecast, she said the closure proposals overlook the school’s recent expansion of provision for special educational needs and disabilities (Send).

As recently as this summer, the council agreed to double provision for autistic children at Suffolks, from 20 to 40, with a further expansion of another 20 pupils earmarked for September 2027.

“Suffolks is not just a mainstream school, it is leading the way on what true inclusion is,” said Andrea. “Our integrated approach, combining mainstream education with specialist support, directly mirrors the vision set out in the education white paper and supports the council’s manifesto pledge to increase provision for children with Send.”

Last month the Dispatch met three parents of pupils at Suffolks, all of whom spoke passionately about the positive impact the school’s “unique” approach to special needs has had on their children.

Hollie Welch, whose son Indie has autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), said: “My son went to several other schools, but when I went into Suffolks they were so warm and friendly and supportive, and I thought straight away I want him to get into this school. He was so behind [in his education] but within six months he could read and write.

“He used to say ‘I am not good enough’ but now he knows it is just because he needs support.”

Hollie explained that the approach from Suffolks – allowing Send children to attend mainstream classes but recognising when they need to be given a break and taken to the autism unit – was hugely beneficial.

She added: “Our children are thriving – but so are the mainstream children. Before, they were ignored. We want this to be recognised as a specialist mainstream school with Send provision. It is such a unique school, it is a wonderful place.”

Another parent, Katherine Gorman, whose son Max has autism and global development delay, said that he had started taking part in school trips and sports that he would never have been able to before joining at Suffolks.

“He now eats at school, drinks at school, and uses the toilet,” said Katherine. “He wasn’t doing that before, but now he does all of those things.”

Rachel Stutter, whose daughter Ellie has not yet been formally diagnosed but likely has autism, said: “They will let her call me. Before she would never go on a trip, but then she went on it because she could call me. She had an injection in school because they let her call me. It is these small things they do that make such a difference.

“There are things in place for them that you don’t get elsewhere. Ellie has her own chair which the other kids don’t sit on because they know it helps with her anxiety. When you have got a school like Suffolks, you can make these arrangements.”

Bishop Stopford's School — Bishop Stopford’s School is one of three proposed for closure in Enfield

Regarding the council cabinet report which set out reasons for proposing Suffolks be closed, the three parents agreed it does not adequately explain what will happen to Send children currently at the school – because none of them have severe enough needs to justify transferring to a Send-only school, while Send provision at other mainstream primary schools is insufficient.

Katherine said: “There is nowhere else in Enfield with that many Send pupils in a mainstream setting.

“What [headteacher] Andrea has done is recognised; there is a market for this, where children need the best of both worlds, but most schools don’t have the staff to allow that to happen. Suffolks does.”

She added: “The information they have put out there in the report is about the mainstream, it is not about the Send, and where the children are going to go.

“So many children are being homeschooled now because there isn’t the provision. Suffolks gives that opportunity.”

The two other schools proposed for closure are Bishops Stopford’s, a Church of England secondary school which sits adjacent to Suffolks in Brick Lane, and Starks Field Primary School in Church Street, Edmonton.

The decision to consult on proposing all three schools for closure, however, has been ‘called in’ for further debate by councillors on the overview and scrutiny committee, at their meeting scheduled for tonight at Enfield Civic Centre, starting from 7pm.

The opposition Labour group’s call-in request claimed that the Conservative administration’s school closure report contains “material inaccuracies and inconsistencies” and “does not adequately explain why Bishop Stopford’s School, Suffolks Primary School and Starks Field Primary School were selected for potential closure or repurposing rather than other schools experiencing falling pupil numbers”.

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