Queensway Primary School Yeadon: Leeds City Council drops plans to press ahead with closure notice on school

Queensway Primary School, in Yeadon, has been the subject of an ongoing battle as campaigners fought plans to shut the site. The council claimed the move was necessary because of falling birthrates and financial challenges - but parents argued the closure would have a considerable impact on pupils with special educational needs (SEND).

Earlier this year, the authority held a three-week consultation on the closure plans and had been expected to proceed with the next formal stage of the process. But in a statement to the YEP, the council confirmed it would not be issuing a statutory notice.

A spokesperson said: “The council can confirm it has informed Irwin Mitchell that it will not issue a statutory notice in reliance on the January-February consultation and the decision of Executive Board from 12 March 2025. We will communicate next steps, including directly communicating with stakeholders, shortly.”

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Parents of pupils at the school - where more than half of children have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) - had instructed specialist education lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to review the legality of the council’s decision-making process.

They raised particular concerns about the potential loss of vital support for SEND pupils and claimed the local authority had failed to properly consider the impact of closure on vulnerable children. Campaigners also argued the consultation process was inadequate, describing the three-week period as “not a proportionate amount of time to properly involve all stakeholders”.

In a previous statement, Abigail Hands, an Education Solicitor at Irwin Mitchell representing one of the parents, said: “Proposals to close schools are always a sensitive subject, which can have a huge impact on the communities they serve and the pupils directly impacted.

“These concerns are particularly acute when the school provides a vital lifeline to pupils with specialist needs. The school is a safe space and ensures the children can participate fully in mainstream education.

“Parents have a number of serious concerns about how the council has arrived at this proposal and have asked us to investigate further. We have written to the council and will now be taking steps to analyse the decision-making process to determine if all the correct steps have been followed and the implications considered.

“The parents have questions they want to see answered and it’s vital decisions are made lawfully and prioritise the best interests of the children involved. There are significant concerns as to whether Leeds City Council has failed to properly consider its legal responsibilities.”

Leeds City Council originally proposed closing the school in 2022, a decision they reversed after backlash.