The trust which runs Fawley Infant School has claimed plans to restructure its leadership team will protect it from closure. 

It comes as parents have launched a petition to save the job of 'incredible' headteacher Zoe Doyle who, they say, has 'opened up the world' for her pupils.

Mrs Doyle, praised by Ofsted inspectors for her 'ambitious curriculum' earlier this year, will leave at the end of the year.

Daily Echo:

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In a statement to the Daily Echo, Inspire Learning Partnership chief executive Claire Lowe, said: “We want to reassure everyone that the school is not being closed and it is our ambition to maintain a school for the local community.

"Our means to manage this is through a restructuring of school leadership. Although the loss of a single Principal may be disappointing, we are taking this action to protect the school.

“We recently wrote to parents and carers to inform them of the Trust’s intention to appoint a single Executive Principal to lead both Blackfield Primary and Fawley Infant School from May 2024.  

“This is because pupil numbers have fallen to 41, below half this academic year, which means that, understandably, we cannot sustain a single Principal at Fawley.

“The school is funded based upon the number of pupils who are on roll and, to ensure that pupils continue to receive high quality education and support, we have prioritised keeping the resources that we have available to us, at the frontline, within the classroom.

“We are aware of the current petition to maintain the Principal at Fawley and associated Facebook group.

“To provide context, in 2007 Fawley became federated with Blackfield because the local authority was considering closing Fawley - low numbers had made the school unviable.

“The federation (including sharing of school leadership, administrative and teaching support), maintained a school for the local community.

“Federations are dissolved when schools join a Trust, so when Fawley and Blackfield formed Inspire Learning Partnership in 2014, the mutual support was maintained and continues to remain in place to this day.

“The Principal of Fawley, who will be with us until the end of this term, has made the decision to take voluntary redundancy and we wish her every success in her onward journey.

“We will be writing to parents and guardians again, once the recruitment process for the Executive Principal to lead both Blackfield Primary and Fawley Infant Schools has concluded.

“Any form of change can feel unsettling but we would like to assure every one of our best interests for the pupils, parents and staff at Fawley always.

“Fawley is a wonderful school, which provides excellent, nurturing care and education for its pupils and, with the support of everyone, this will not change.

“We are pleased to see the strength of feeling expressed for this unique school, which serves as testament to all those who are involved in making it such a success.”