Parents tell of school closure 'sleepless nights'

Parents and carers have said they are "devastated" by plans to close a Leeds school, as they raised concerns over the impact on children with additional needs.

Queensway Primary School in Yeadon is set to shut at the end of the school year, after city councillors backed the move in a vote last week.

A consultation was opened in January over plans to shut the school, which has just 72 children on the roll from a capacity of 210.

Vicky Lancaster, whose daughter is autistic, said the "most vulnerable" children would be affected by the closure.

A protest by parents and teachers stopped Queensway Primary from closing in 2022.

Ms Lancaster has two children currently at the school and a third who has moved on to secondary school.

Her youngest daughter is autistic, she said, adding she was "devastated" at the prospect of the school closing.

Ms Lancaster said she was worried "she's not going to be able to settle in as well as her brother".

She said: "Is she going to go into a different setting where she's not going to cope and he's going to thrive, and I'm going to have to separate my children?"

"It's cost me sleepless nights because I don't know where the children are going to go," Ms Lancaster said.

"They said they've read every letter and it's heartfelt, but if you'd read every letter and really felt this in your heart, you would know this is the wrong thing to do."

Sibel Ansell said she was concerned about how another school would meet the needs of her son, who is also autistic.

Staff at Queensway Primary are specially trained in a different way of learning language, which her son uses, she said.

He was "originally placed in another school with his brother, and we quickly established it couldn't meet his needs, which is why we came to Queensway".

"We are proof that the mainstream schools [councillor] Helen Hayden is trying to send our children to cannot cater for the children this school can.

"We're really disappointed, really frustrated and just devastated at this result."

More than 90% of respondents to a consultation strongly opposed the closure, she said, making "the whole thing absolutely worthless".

Foster carer Nicholas Humphrey said his own children had gone to Queensway Primary, as well as a number of looked-after children.

One currently attending had additional needs and an education, health and care plan (EHCP), he said, and "there is no plan for where she's going to go in the community, who can accommodate her".

"This school has been a huge part of her family since she started school and it's been the one constant in her life... now they're asking us to put her into an unknown place, in an unknown period of time, where there isn't any provision existing," he said.

Mr Humphrey accused the council of "smoke and mirrors", over a forecast deficit of £1m at the school over three years.

"There's no way they can rehome all of the children in this school, 40 or more of them with special educational needs, for less than a million pounds in the next three years," he said.

Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council's executive member for children and families, said closing a school was "not a decision we take lightly".

She said the council understood the strength of feeling, and recognised the "tireless work of everyone involved" in improving the school's position.

"As a local authority, we have a responsibility to consider the viability of the school and as such, we are now seeking to progress to the next stage of consultation," she said.

"There will now be further opportunity for people to show their support or objection to the proposal during the new statutory notice period."

Hayden emphasised that the authority would "work closely with all affected families" and provide "comprehensive and bespoke support" for children with additional needs or EHCPs, "to ensure their needs continued to be met."

A final decision will be taken at the council's June executive board, and if approved, the school will close at the end of the summer term.