Islington schoolchildren unveil new playground amid threat of closure

Physical mock-up of pupils designs for playground area. Photograph: Josef Steen. Free to use by partners of the Local Democracy Reporting Service

Children whose primary school may no longer exist in September have come together to celebrate the opening of a street garden they helped to design.

Last Friday, pupils from St Jude and St Paul’s gathered inside a Mildmay park with cake, balloons and ribbons to mark its restoration and make use of the playground.

Following a consultation which began in 2022, St Jude’s Street Garden has been refurbished with new trees, footpaths, swings and slides, drawing on diagrams put together by the schoolchildren.

“I’m really happy with how it turned out – and now lots more children play there!” said Brandon, a Year 6 pupil.

His classmate Evana said she felt “really proud” that her school had been picked to help with the design.

The project was undertaken by architecture firm Breeze Landscape, but its completion has been overshadowed by proposals to shut the nearby school.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Reverend James Hill from nearby St Jude and St Paul’s Church said he was given reason to believe the Town Hall did not want to publicise the finished street garden because it would draw attention to the issue.

But Cllr Angelo Weekes, the borough’s community safety lead, said this suggestion was “unfortunate”.

“The decision not to have a grand opening was done in the interest of the community. With the consultation ongoing, it could be insensitive. We also still need to complete some pieces of work,” he told the LDRS.

The Town Hall last year put forward plans to close St Jude and St Paul’s, alongside Highbury Quadrant primary, due to falling pupil numbers or ‘rolls’ and the impact of these on both schools’ financial “viability”.

But the proposals triggered significant pushback from parents, teachers and pupils – who have since staged several demonstrations and walk-outs.

Andri Andreou, whose two children attend St Jude’s, told the LDRS she felt the council’s plans had not taken into account the wishes of parents like her who want to send their children to Church of England (CofE) schools.

“They talk a lot about parental choice but I really don’t feel I have one,” she said.

Ms Andreou pointed out that Islington has a lower proportion of CofE schools than the national average, and that parents  “do not have another viable church option”.

Roughly a quarter (25 per cent) of England’s primary schools are linked to the established Christian church, but this is below 20 per cent in Islington.

Ms Andreou also criticised a council report from 13 February which stated that the school did not exist “primarily” to be in partnership with the church.

“[St Jude’s] is the only CofE school within a 50-minute walking distance of the area,” she said.

The new street garden in the sunshine. Photograph: Cllr Angelo Weekes / X

Members of the adjacent church have also protested to the council over the closure’s impact.

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Jude and St Paul’s last week wrote to Islington’s interim director of education, Paul Senior, urging the council to instead merge the two schools it plans to shut.

In the letter, Rev Hill and his colleagues argued that the council’s plans had not properly accounted for the school’s large cohort of pupils who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), are in receipt of free school meals and are from deprived backgrounds.

They suggested that the school could serve as a “specialist resource base” for SEND, arguing that this was in keeping with ideas laid out in the council’s own strategy.

Twenty-eight per cent of St Jude and St Paul’s pupils are classed as having special needs, compared to the borough’s 17.1 per cent average.

The clergymen described the school as a “cornerstone of [the] neighbourhood, integral to the spiritual, social and historical fabric of Mildmay”, and insisted that its partnership with the church was “inherent” to its foundation.

The PCC and parents also pointed to the school roll having “held up”, with very few children leaving since the Town Hall announced its plans.

“Imagine the commitment that shows – despite being proposed for closure, people are still willing to send their children there in hope,” Ms Andreou said.

Cllr Michelline Safi-Ngongo, executive member for children, young people and families, acknowledged it was a “difficult time for families” and said the council was considering their feedback.

“Our priority is to ensure that every child in Islington, regardless of their background, has access to a high-quality education in a sustainable, well-resourced school,” she said.

“No decision has been made yet but if the decision is made to close the schools, we want to reassure them that we will provide dedicated support to help parents and carers find the right school for their children.”

She emphasised that of all the borough’s primary schools, St Jude’s had the lowest number of pupils and that its current vacancy rate was 46 per cent.

“The long-term trend of declining pupil numbers makes it increasingly difficult for these schools to be viable and requires that we address surplus school places across the borough.

“Nearby schools have sufficient places to accommodate all pupils without increasing class sizes to unsustainable levels.

“We have received several proposals suggesting alternative approaches to closing the schools. These will be evaluated and considered.”