Queensway Primary: Council 'should apologise' over school closure U-turn

Pupils, parents and staff had protested against the closure of the school

Councillors have been urged to apologise for their handling of a primary school which has been saved from closure.

The Conservative opposition leader on Leeds City Council said "mistakes" had caused unnecessary "anguish".

Queensway Primary, in Yeadon, had been earmarked to be shut due to low student numbers but will now remain open after a campaign to rescue it.

Council leaders said decisions about the school's fate had been "difficult".

Queensway had faced closure because of a falling birth rate in the area and an excess of places at nearby schools.

Teachers, parents and children fought to keep it open, with a council saying a consultation on its fate generated the "the highest level of responses ever".

The council's leadership on Wednesday withdrew plans to shut the school and said it had "listened to the strength of feeling" over the issue.

The move came a week after Labour councillors voted down motions from opposition members who had called for the process to be paused so concerns could be addressed.

'Anguish' caused

Andrew Carter, the council's Tory opposition leader, said the "screeching U-turn" was a "humiliation" for those in charge of the authority.

Speaking at a meeting of the council's executive board, he asked Labour leaders: "Will you apologise to the staff, parents and pupils of Queensway Primary School for not withdrawing the recommendations at council on Wednesday?

"It would have saved some level of anguish. It was perfectly obvious to most people that mistakes had been made."

Jonathan Pryor, the council's executive member for schools, defended the authority's handling of the issue and warned keeping the school open would mean further tough choices in the years to come.

He said: "I'm pleased we're withdrawing this paper. No-one comes into politics to close schools.

"But we shouldn't pretend this was a choice between an obvious, easy answer and something more difficult."

He also attacked the Conservative government's record on school funding, which he said had seen £1.7m stripped from Queensway since 2010.

Parents and staff have celebrated saving the school

Eleanor Thomson, a Labour councillor who had opposed plans to close the school, said she was "absolutely delighted" it had been saved.

"It shows to the children and parents how important their voices are," she added.

A recent Ofsted inspection rated Queensway as inadequate and the school has lost about 40 pupils since its closure was proposed.

But Ryk Downes, a Lib Dem councillor for Otley and Yeadon, said: "I think people can look at Queensway with confidence now.

"The staff are there, the potential is there and the community is there."