Angry parents are protesting at ‘swingeing cuts and ‘harmful restructuring’ at their children’s village school.

A group of 50 parents accuse multi-academy trust, the Learning Academy Partnership (South West) that runs St Andrew’s C of E Academy in Buckland Monachorum of planning to ‘force damaging changes’ on the school.

The parents complain they were not consulted to give the opportunity of proposing alternative cost-saving options but were merely presented with a fait accompli to cut teaching time and mix age groups in restructured classes.

They demand the changes are put on hold for 2025/26 to allow other options to be considered with the involvement of the parents.

Staff and parents received notification, shortly before the end of the school year, of an ‘unwarranted 25% reduction in teaching staff time, 40% cut in teaching support time;’ and ‘disruptive class restructuring, despite a healthy student population’ at the otherwise thriving and popular school.

Parents say the changes will also adversely affect staff, expecting them to teach mixed key-stage curriculum – treating the school as a ‘test bed’, but without adequate support.

One father, of two children aged seven and nine at the school, said: “We’re a growing group of 50 parents who want to raise the alarm about a sudden and disruptive change to our children's education due to be imposed this September without meaningful consultation or transparency.”

St Andrew’s C of E Primary was run under the local authority until the beginning of the current school year, when it became an academy. On Monday, June 9, parents were told the school will restructure into six classes (from seven) and mixed-age teaching will be introduced across three key year groups: Year 1/2, Year 2/3, and Year 3/4. There will be a 25% reduction in teaching staff time and a 40% cut in teaching support.

The parents say year-on-year pupil numbers are up not down. They claim the moves will fracture friendship groups, disrupt learning continuity and undermine the wellbeing of the children by splitting classes with little time to prepare within very different age profiles, reducing coherence and continuity in their learning. This will cause an ‘acute risk’ to Year 2 during a key assessment year.

Because staff were not given enough notice, they will effectively be ‘trapped’ in new potentially unsuitable new roles with not enough time or support to accommodate the changes. This will include ‘being forced’ to teach two different key stage curriculums to the same class, claim parents.

The parent group spokesman said: “St. Andrew’s School is special and has a distinctive character. It is these qualities that have driven recruitment, with many parents outside of its catchment bypassing a more local school.

“One factor for many parents is the single-form entry of seven unique classes, an asset that is now under threat. We are determined that it remains a beacon of excellence for many years to come.”

A spokesperson from the school said: “The staffing structure is being adjusted to reflect pupil numbers and the budget that the school receives. We understand that some parents are concerned about the move to mixed-age classes.”