A historic village school is facing a crisis – there simply aren’t enough children on roll. Just ONE child started reception at Okeford Fitzpaine CE Primary School this month, and the school has only 21 children in total attending this year.

The school, which was built in 1873, sits in the heart of the Blackmore Vale.
It is described as a lovely place to learn, with particular strengths in SEND provision, in part due to the teacher/child ratio.

But numbers are dire – and staff fear it could be closed if more youngsters don’t come forward. The school’s 21 children range in age from 4 to 11. Most live in the village, some come in from the surrounding area, many are from farming families. Numbers over the last few years have dwindled until this year only one child is starting in reception year.

One staff member said: “The children at the school are in the enviable position of having small class sizes of fewer than 10 children. As a result, the children are well known by staff and individual needs are catered for, those with additional needs have a high level of support in the class to achieve the same outcomes as their peers. Old fashioned values such as love, respect and courage are modelled by staff and pupils alike, which leads to a positive learning environment. The small staff base has many years’ experience between them, and a nurture approach is taken to coach the pupils to achieve the best possible outcomes.”

Unless numbers increase soon, the school faces a bleak future. Major improvements to the building, outside and in have been undertaken in the last year, including a new outdoor area and a new partnership with Sunbeams wrap around care offering quality childcare out of school hours. A community vegetable garden is being built so the children can grow veg and work with the villagers.

Headteacher Annie Dowling is working hard to promote the school and inform potential parents of the benefits of attending a small school with small class sizes. There are open mornings planned this Saturday, September 18 from 10am-12pm, on Tuesday, September 21 from 10am-11.30am and on Thursday, September 23 from 10am- 11.30am for an informal walk around and to meet staff and children.

A free mother and toddler group will also run in St Andrew’s Church as a joint venture by school staff with Sunbeams Day-care. Messy Mice has been running on Thursday Mornings from September 16 and will be free to parents with children under 5.

Just turn up at the open days or go to okeford.dorset.sch.uk.

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