'Overwhelming support' for merging two East London schools as process takes step forward

An East London council is pressing ahead with the next stage of a plan which could see a school and nursery merge by September 2025. On Wednesday evening (January 29), Tower Hamlets Council agreed to publish a statutory notice detailing plans to merge Globe Primary School and Rachel Keeling Nursery School.

The combined school would still be known as Globe Primary School with Rachel keeling Nursery becoming the dedicated nursery site for the school. It would create an all-through nursery and primary school for children aged 3 to 11. According to a consultation report from last autumn, the west of the borough has seen an excess of school places due to falling pupil numbers and a demographic change.

The initial public consultation saw parents, staff and governors from both schools share their views on the plans. The plans received an overwhelming amount of support with all 88 responses from both schools in favour of the plans. During Wednesday night's cabinet meeting, Deputy Mayor Maium Talukdar said: "The first stage of the public consultation has been completed with no major objections, and [there is] strong support from both school and governing bodies. This step will allow the process to move into the next stage ensuring further consultation before a final decision is made."

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In a joint statement the two schools said the amalgamation aims to make better use of resources and staff across both educational settings. As of September 1, 2024, Rachel Keeling Nursery had just over half of its school places filled with 65 pupils out of a maximum capacity of 120.

As of September 1, 2024, Globe Primary had 33 pupils in the nursery class and 327 children from Reception to Year 6. The new school would have a nursery provision of up to 90 places meaning it could accommodate almost the same number of children who are spread across the two sites at the moment.

Under the plans, Rachel Keeling Nursery would officially close in August 2025 with the site and staff simply becoming part of the merged school. The schools jointly told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) earlier this week: "The proposal to merge Globe Primary and Rachel Keeling Nursery Schools aims to provide smoother transitions for children and make better use of resources and staff across both educational settings. Joining the two sites will also help to ensure high-quality education is maintained and make the nursery provision more financially sustainable."

The statutory notice will last for 28 days and will allow consultees to have their say in further detail - any legal objections against the proposal can also be raised during this time. Legal objections would need to be considered before Tower Hamlets Mayor, Lutfur Rahman, makes a final determination on the plans.

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