Statutory Proposal to close Shaugh Prior Primary School

Devon County Council has published a Statutory Proposal to close Shaugh Prior Primary School from 31 August 2026.

A four week representation period has commenced to which comments and/or objections are invited. The closing date for representations to be made is 2 April 2026.

A Brief Notice has been published, 5 March 2026, in the Western Morning News. A Full Proposal has also been published and is detailed below or available via ‘Consultation method’ below, alongside the Brief Notice, Impact Assessment and archived documents from the consultation.

Statutory Proposal to close Shaugh Prior Primary School

1.0       Contact details

Proposer:

Devon County Council

Topsham Road

Exeter

Devon

EX2 4QG

Proposal relating to the discontinuance of:

Shaugh Prior Primary School: Community maintained school

Shaugh Prior

Plymouth

Devon

PL7 5HA

2.0       Implementation

It is proposed to close Shaugh Prior Primary School from 31 August 2026.

3.0       Reason for Closure

Shaugh Prior Primary (Community) School is a small, rural school for children aged 4–11 maintained by Devon County Council and part of the Exe Valley and Moorsway Federation. It has been under-subscribed for several years, and currently only has 2 pupils on roll, who since September 2025 have been educated off-site at Cornwood Primary School within the federation. This arrangement was made to ensure access to a broad and effective curriculum and for the children to interact with peers of their age.

Following an Ofsted inspection in December 2024, the school was judged inadequate. The Department for Education (DfE) subsequently issued an Academy Order. This meant that Shaugh Prior Primary must become an academy school as it was eligible for intervention. However, the DfE later concluded that the school may be unviable in terms of financial stability, standard of education and pupil numbers and confirmed that this created a challenging situation to find a suitable academy sponsor for a school where indicators are that it is unviable.  The DfE has recently confirmed that the Minister has agreed to revoke the Academy Order for Shaugh Prior Primary School.

A review of area health authority data which provides the number of 0-4 year olds living in the school’s catchment area shows very low numbers of pre-school aged children. Parental preference for admission to the school has been low in recent years. 

There is limited housing development in the village and the wider catchment area and no planned development within the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan to 2034.

4.0       Pupil numbers and admissions

The school provides mainstream education for boys and girls aged 4-11.  There are currently two children on roll of Shaugh Prior Primary of compulsory school age who, since September 2025, have been educated off-site at Cornwood Primary School within the federation.  

There have been no preferences made for admission to Reception class in September 2026.

Table 1.0 below shows the number of children aged 0-4 living in the catchment area for Shaugh Prior Primary School. These are the numbers of in-area children Devon would plan to ensure there are sufficient places. Source: NHS Health Authority Data – Autumn 2025. All future cohorts are below the school’s Published Admission Number (PAN).

Table 1.0

Reception Cohort	Number of Children	Published Admission Number (PAN)
2026/27	0	10
2027/28	7	10
2028/29	3	10
2029/30	7	10

5.0       Displaced pupils

Should Shaugh Prior Primary School close on 31 August 2026, parents and carers would be able to express a preference for a place at an alternative school. Devon County Council will manage this process and ensure there are local places for all families. Parents and carers would be asked to complete an in-year admissions application form and to name up to three schools they would prefer their child/ren to attend.  Devon County Council will try to meet parent and carers’ preferences wherever possible but cannot guarantee to do so as it would depend upon vacancies at that time.

All schools must support children with additional needs in mainstream, ensuring they receive high quality, adaptive and early support.

A consultation will take place with neighbouring schools and schools within the Local Learning Community on any new designated school/s for the area in the event that it is agreed to close Shaugh Prior Primary School. Any views on proposed new designated areas, expressed during this representation period, will also be considered.  

The map below shows the location of local schools and their catchment areas.

Map 1.0 showing the location of schools and their catchment areas surrounding Shaugh Prior Primary School

There are surplus primary school places in the surrounding area to accommodate all displaced pupils.  The nearest primary schools to Shaugh Prior are Bickleigh Down C of E Primary School (Ofsted Good) is 2.3 miles as the crow flies, Meavy C of E Primary School (Ofsted Good) is 2.5 miles as the crow flies.  Cornwood is 4.9 miles away (Ofsted Requires Improvements). 

Table 2.0 below shows the number of children aged 0-4 living in each school’s catchment area in the local area (NHS Area Health Authority data, September 2025) and their Published Admission Number (PAN).

Table 2.0

School	Reception Cohort in 26/27	Reception Cohort in 27/28	Reception Cohort in 28/29	Reception Cohort in 29/30	PAN
Shaugh Prior	0	7	3	7	10
Bickleigh Down	30	43	43	31	60
Meavy	4	10	8	6	15
Cornwood	15	13	12	12	15
Lady Modiford’s	12	3	6	10	15
Horrabridge	18	14	16	8	30
St Andrew’s C of E	18	15	10	19	30

Source: NHS Area Health Authority data, September 2025

Table 3.0 below shows the total number on roll (Autumn 2025 School Census) for the nearby schools with their capacity based on their Published Admission Number (PAN) and number of surplus places.

Table 3.0

School	Total Number on Roll, Year Reception to Year 6	Published Admission Number (PAN)	Capacity based on PAN	Surplus/Deficit Places
Bickleigh Down Primary	416	60	420	4
Meavy Primary	90	15	105	15
Cornwood C of E Primary	88	15	105	17
Lady Modiford’s C of E Primary	1	15	105	104
Horrabridge Primary	178	30	210	32
St Andrew’s C of E Primary	160	30	210	50
Sparkwell All Saints Primary	94	15	105	11
Total	1027	180	1260	233
Source: School Census Autumn 2025

There are no plans to increase the capacity of any schools as a consequence of the proposed discontinuance of Shaugh Prior Primary School.

6.0       Impact on the Community

A small rural school plays an important role in the community, especially as it is in a rural setting. The impact on the community of a school closure cannot be underestimated but this has to be balanced against the educational and financial sustainability of the school and federation.  

In the wider community, the school has historically served as a focal point for the village of Shaugh Prior since 1899. The community do not use the school for any community interests. Shaugh Prior has a village hall. During the consultation, some residents and parish councillors expressed an interest in retaining the school building and land for community purposes should it be agreed to close the school.

Please see the published Impact Assessment for further information via: Future of Shaugh Prior Primary School – Have your say

7.0       Rural Primary School

Shaugh Prior Primary is designated as a Rural School (Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city).  There is a presumption against the closure of rural schools. This does not mean a rural school will never close, but the case for closure should be strong and in the best interests of educational provision in the area. Devon County Council supports the principle of local schools for local children for community reasons and has a presumption against school closure unless on educational grounds. Devon County Council considers schools should only close if they are unable to provide a sustainable and high quality educational offer to its community, recognising that schools play an important part in their wider community. There are a number of factors to be taken into consideration when closing a rural school which Devon County Council and the federation have considered before bringing forward these proposals. Devon County Council’s Cabinet, when making the final decision, will have also have regard to these considerations.

For the reasons set out above the Local Authority believe the case for closure is strong and in the best educational interests of the children.  There are sufficient school places locally across the schools as outlined and there is low predicted demand for Shaugh Prior Primary.

Where children are entitled to free home to school transport, this will be provided by Devon County Council. The cost to the Local Authority will depend upon the outcome of the consultation on any new designated school/s for the area.

8.0       Balance of denominational provision

Not applicable. Shaugh Prior Primary is a Community School.

9.0       Travel

All children are entitled to free home to school transport if they attend the nearest school to their home address and they:

• are of statutory school age
• live more than two miles away by the shortest walking route (for primary)
• live under two miles away but all walking routes are considered unavailable

Children in Devon are also be entitled to free school transport to the school designated to serve their home address – provided it is still further than the statutory walking distance (see above).

The nearest primary schools to Shaugh Prior are Bickleigh Down C of E Primary School (Ofsted Good) is 2.3 miles as the crow flies, Meavy C of E Primary School (Ofsted Good) is 2.5 miles as the crow flies.  Cornwood is 4.9 miles away (Ofsted Requires Improvements). 

A consultation will take place with neighbouring schools and schools within the Local Learning Community on any proposed new designated school/s for the area and also taking into account views expressed during this representation period. This will inform the transport entitlement.

There has been increased vehicular usage as families made a preference for alternative schools. Some children would have walked to Shaugh Prior Primary School.

10        Consultation

The consultation period was held between 6 January to 20 February 2026. The consultation document and Impact Assessment is available via: Future of Shaugh Prior Primary School – Have your say. Documentation was widely circulated, in line with statutory guidance and best practice.

A consultation information session was held at The Moorland Hotel, Wotter, on 29 January 2026.   Approximately 15 residents and Parish Councillors attended the drop-in session. Residents and Parish Councillors expressed sadness over the possible closure of the school and many were concerned about the impact on the village and the community. There were some questions regarding the decline in pupil numbers, the impact of the Ofsted inspection, the Academy Order and the future pre-school cohorts and the purpose of the consultation. There were a number of questions regarding the next steps, the timelines and the statutory process. Predominately the questions and concerns raised were about the ownership of the school building and land, and concerns over the loss of the building in the event the school were to close. The community would like to see the building and land used for community purposes and expressed strong feelings that the building should not fall into disuse or be used for housing development. Residents and Parish Councillors had a number of ideas for the use of the school building to ensure it could continue to serve the community in a new and meaningful way. A report on the Information Session is available via: Future of Shaugh Prior Primary School – Have your say

Nine responses were received to the consultation from residents, Shaugh Prior Parish Councillors and from Cornwood Parish Council.  One further response was received from Shaugh Prior Parish Council after the consultation had ended.

7 responses were regarding the future of the school site in the event that the school were to close;

1 objection;

1 in support from Cornwood Parish Council who supported the proposal for closure as being in the best interests of local primary school provision after considering the demographics and future projections.

The response received, outside of the consultation, from Shaugh Prior Parish Council, objected to the proposal.

Residents and Shaugh Prior Parish Councillors have written to the consultation to confirm their strong feelings that the building and land should be used for community purposes with a wide range of proposals for the building being put forward if the proposal to close the school is approved.

11        Responding to formal representation period

The formal representation period runs from 5 March to 2 April 2026. You can object to or comment on the proposal and all responses should be sent to:

By email to: schoolconsultations@devon.gov.uk

Or by post to:

Shona Meek, School Place Planning Service, Room 248, Devon County Council, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 4QG

by the closing date of 2 April 2026.

All responses will be shared with decision-makers and the Federation’s senior leadership team and governors. Individual replies will not be issued.

Please see DCC’s Privacy Notice: https://www.devon.gov.uk/privacy/privacy-notices/privacy-notice-for-representations-to-school-organisation-statutory-consultations/