Last month, local MP Nus Ghani met with residents in Fletching Village Hall to discuss the East Sussex County Council consultation regarding the future of Fletching Primary School.
Fletching C E Primary School is a pro-active rural Church of England school, and the heart of the community which creates the environment for every child to flourish and to achieve their potential. It is a small school but with the capacity and enthusiasm to extend its borders and would be a devasting loss to the pupils, parents and the community.
However, as part of the Council’s statutory duties, the Council recently undertook a review of rural primary school provision in East Sussex. In partnership with the Diocese of Chichester the Children’s Services Department reviewed 62 rural schools across 12 areas. As a result, the Lead Member for Education and Inclusion, Special Educational Needs and Disability has given approval for a consultation to take place.
Nus said: 'Understandably, this news has come as a great shock to many of us and has left many constituents concerned and angry. Many of my constituents have been in touch and I have raised their concerns directly with both the District and County Council. However, whilst I share your concerns about the consultation, I also see this as an opportunity to put forward the strongest case for Fletching CE Primary. I would encourage everyone however to respond to the consultation directly via the East Sussex County Council website. If I reply on residents' behalf that is just one response, but if everyone replies individually then the depth and extent of feeling is more readily seen.'
Nus also commended the hard work being undertaken by the local action group who are gathering together strong evidence which can be used by everyone responding to the consultation.
Details about the consultation are at https://consultation.eastsussex.gov.uk/childrens-services/haveyoursay-proposal-to-close-fletchingcepschool/consultation/intro/. The deadline for responses is 11th October 2019.
