Governing Board of Reeth and Gunnerside Schools Federation and North Yorkshire Council Statutory Notice and Statutory Proposals
Proposals to restructure the federation into separate infant and junior schools – with Reeth Community Primary School becoming an infant school (with an age range of three to seven) and Gunnerside Methodist (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School becoming a junior school (with an age range of seven to 11)
Part one
Notice is given in accordance with section 19(1) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 that North Yorkshire Council intends to change the age range of Reeth Community Primary School, Healaugh Road, Reeth, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL11 6SP from three to 11 years to three to seven years from 1 September 2026. The current admission number for the school is eight and the proposed admission number will be 15.
Part two
Notice is given in accordance with section 19(3) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 that the governing board intends to change the age range of Gunnerside Methodist (Voluntary Aided) Primary School, Gunnerside, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL11 6LE from four to 11 years to seven to 11 years from 1 September 2026. The current admission number for the school is seven and the proposed admission number will be 15.
The proposal also includes revised school catchment area arrangements that would apply.
Copies of the complete proposal can be obtained by contacting us here.
Within four weeks from the date of publication of this proposal, any person may object to or make comments on the proposal by contacting us here by 5pm on 6 February 2026.
Signed: Chair of Governors, Reeth and Gunnerside Schools Federation and B.Khan, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services), North Yorkshire Council.
Publication Date: 12 January 2026
The proposals contained in parts one and two of this notice are related.
Statutory proposals
Proposals to restructure the federation into separate infant and junior schools – with Reeth Community Primary School becoming an infant school (with an age range of three to seven) and Gunnerside Methodist (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School becoming a junior school (with an age range of seven to 11)
Part one
Change of age range of Reeth Community Primary School from three to 11 years to three to seven years
and
Part two
Change of age range of Gunnerside Methodist Primary School from four to 11 years to seven to 11
School and local authority details
Proposals published by North Yorkshire Council, County Hall, Northallerton, DL7 8AE to change the age range of Reeth Community Primary School, Healaugh Road, Reeth, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL11 6SP from three to 11 years to three to seven years from 1 September 2026.
Proposals published by the Governing Board of Reeth and Gunnerside Schools Federation to change the age range of Gunnerside Methodist (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School, Gunnerside, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL11 6LE from four to 11 years to seven to 11 years from 1 September 2026.
Description of alteration and evidence of demand
It is proposed to change the age range of Reeth Community Primary School from three to 11 years to three to seven years from 1 September 2026 and to change the age range of Gunnerside Methodist Primary School from four to 11 years to seven to 11 years from 1 September 2026.
The current admission number for Reeth Community Primary School is eight and the proposed admission number will be 15. The current admission number for Gunnerside Methodist Primary School is seven and the proposed admission number will be 15.
Objectives
During summer 2024, the council received legal advice that the model that had been established by the federation was not compliant with the provisions of the Education Act 1996 and the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 which govern the arrangements for school admissions and registration. The advice, which was partly informed by information provided by the Department for Education (DfE), noted that pupils are required to receive their education at the school at which they are registered.
This advice means that the current organisational arrangements within the federation are not compliant with the regulations and that the federated governing board needs to implement a change so that the arrangements become compliant.
The council advised the federated governing board of possible solutions / restructure options, set out below, which the federated governing board has carefully considered.
Following its consideration of the options, the federated governing board has submitted proposals for the establishment of separate infant and junior schools and believes that this option will enable them to best meet the needs of the community and to continue to provide a high standard of education to pupils.
The effect on other educational institutions within the area.
There is not expected to be any effect on other educational institutions, apart from those covered by these proposals.
Project costs and indication of how these will be met, including how long term value for money will be achieved
Capital Position
Capital investment is not included within the proposal.
Revenue Position
School budgets are funded largely by pupil numbers so the proposal would not lead to an increase in revenue funding. The school organisation proposal of infant and junior schools provides the same level of funding across the federation as that currently received by the separate schools with the lump sum funding retained for each school. In an amalgamation of two schools, one school’s lump sum would cease and whilst an amalgamated school across two sites may receive split site funding, this would be a reduced funding amount compared to the lump sum funding for the two schools.
Federated governing boards can request to amalgamate their individual school budgets; these arrangements could continue under the infant and junior school proposals.
Based on the proposal taking effect from September 2026, and other things being equal, the federated governing board has determined the optimum funding position, based on best estimates of revenue funding for each financial year for the individual schools within the federation. Irrespective of this school organisation proposal, the federation governing boards are continuously required to oversee financial management, and this includes considering efficiency actions where improvements are identified as being necessary in the school financial forecast.
Implementation plan
The proposals contained in parts one and two are related.
Under the proposal, both the infant and junior schools would serve the catchment areas which are currently separately served by each primary school. For this reason, the catchment areas would be merged, with each extended to include the other. The shared catchment areas are shown on the map accompanying this document. These arrangements would be implemented from September 2026 only in the event of the infant / junior restructure.
Consultation to date
The decision to consult on the proposal was taken by the Executive Member for Education, Learning and Skills on the 11 September 2025. The consultation period ran from 22 September 2025 to 7 November 2025.
A copy of the consultation paper, a note of the public meeting, and consultation responses are included within the report to the Executive of 16 December 2025.
Statement explaining the procedure for responses
Within four weeks from the date of publication of this proposal, any person may object to or make comments on the proposal by contacting us here by 5pm on 6 February 2026.
Publication Date: 12 January 2026