Parents and teachers fear children with special needs will suffer if plans to shut a north London school are allowed to go ahead.
Oldhill Community School is one of six primary schools facing merger or closure under plans drawn up in a new Hackney Council consultation.
Oldhill, which mainly serves children with special needs, may merge with Harrington Hill Primary School next September due to financial struggles and low pupil numbers.
The proposed changes could affect 236 students.
One mother revealed that her autistic son “had a meltdown because he was taken to school using a different route”, while other parents have raised concerns about the impact of larger changes on vulnerable children.
Jose Fernandez, a National Education Union (NEU) member and teacher who has worked at Oldhill for 11 years, says the school has more pupils than its potential merger partner and several others in the borough.
Mr Fernandez expressed reluctance about the schools merging. He said: “The money we receive from the council to support our school is never enough or on time and we're in deficit. Merging schools isn't going to solve problems we have.
“I mean the new school will also have to employ teachers who know how to help children with special needs while everyone here will be made redundant.”
“But the change mostly affects the children”, he continued. “Those who may have a meltdown if they have to leave the school from a different door. So imagine a new environment with new staff and a new building starting next September - where there wouldn’t be that same support. The timeframe for this closure is months. We worry it’s mostly the children that are going to suffer.”
The proposal follows a London Council report warning of 8,000 fewer school places needed in the capital over the next four years because of falling birth rates and families leaving London due to Brexit, the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.
Despite closing four schools this summer and reducing intake at others, Hackney Council admits that “many Hackney schools are still far from seeing healthy, sustainable pupil numbers.”
At a recent meeting, parents and teachers voiced concerns about how children will cope with the changes.
Former Oldhill teacher Jessica Twumasi, whose autistic son attends reception at the school, has been involved in discussions about the changes. However, she noted the council consultation has not received much exposure to help highlight concerns.
“I'll be part of the consultation process but it seems to be a formality and I don't know if the [council] will read what we're saying,” she said, adding that many people she knows are unaware of it.
“The majority of the parents, if not all, don't want this change. All the teachers here care about the students so this is making me really worried and anxious. It's really disheartening that this is happening, especially since there are now so many children with special needs and families are really struggling.”
She is nervous about her son’s future, adding: “I'm quite anxious because he was diagnosed with autism and when he started the nursery it had taken a long time for him to settle in even though he has now. This morning he had a meltdown because he was taken to school using a different route.
“So I can't imagine him moving from an environment in which he feels safe to elsewhere next year. Hearing this news has made me realise I can't even think of that possibility [of schools merging].”
The council consultation comes as a string of historic and much-loved London schools, including Archbishop Tenison’s secondary school in Oval, have already closed down or are slated to close due to falling pupil numbers. Others are planning to merge in a bid to survive.
Mayor of Hackney Caroline Woodley said: "We are really fortunate to have a wide network of good and outstanding schools in Hackney that provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Many of our schools have a high number of pupils with SEND, and one of our priorities in recent years has been to deliver more new SEND places in the borough.
"Children with SEND are at higher risk of being impacted by the reduced funding caused by the falling rolls, as schools under financial pressure may have to reduce spending for support services, such as teaching assistants.
"The council will work closely with SEND coordinators in the schools included in proposals so that they have the necessary information to support families and children during the consultation process. If the final decision is to implement proposals, SEND key workers will provide direct support to the families of children with Education, Health and Care Plans to identify another school that can meet their needs. Targeted support will also be provided to children with SEND, but without an Education, Health and Care Plan.
"We are committed to ensuring that there is no reduction in specialist SEND provision as a result of implementing these proposals, and that children who need this support can continue to access it."
