Supporting research
Check the findings, source documents and questions behind the proposal. Each record keeps its publisher, dates and review scope; forecasts, recorded facts and analysis are distinguished.
Kew findings · Updated 8 October 2026
Costs: a school deficit does not establish the saving from closure. Budget source.
Alternatives: current guidance provides routes worth assessing; willing partners and funding still need establishing. Check the guidance and limits.
Children: if closure proceeds, current pupils whose parents want one are offered a Darell place; delivery details remain unresolved. Practical family questions.
A funded, viable alternative still needs establishing. Read the full findings.
Check the details
Original records: 61 sources; 57 reviewed, 2 index-only and 2 not retrieved. The site’s own research report on other schools is separate. Each record shows when access was checked.
61 records
1 site research report
Site research · Synthesis · 22 September 2026
Our synthesis of 12 selected school reprieves and four closure comparisons, with charts and links to the underlying sources. It is not an official record or a representative dataset of campaign success.
Kew Riverside Primary School; supplied by Achieving for Children · School budget
The FINAL summary records governing-body approval on 20 May 2026. Its 2026/27–2028/29 columns are labelled Indicative: annual gaps calculated from income and expenditure are £212,417.38, £215,177.46 and £261,792.24; published closing balances are £19,267.70, −£195,909.75 and −£457,702.00. The summary is received; detailed assumptions, ledger and current monitoring remain outstanding. These forecasts are not current cash or net closure savings.
Page 1: revenue table and FINAL approval block, dated 20 May 2026; supplied in the 7 October response. Signature removed from this public copy.
Access checked: 2026-10-08. Retrieved and reviewed for this summary; not validation of all its claims. Review scope.
Department for Education · Official dataset
The borough-level Primary row reports 14,964 actual pupils, versus 15,185 in the one-year SCAP25 forecast and 15,468 in the three-year SCAP23 forecast: overestimates of 221 (1.48%) and 504 (3.37%). This does not measure Kew-area or individual-school accuracy and does not show forecasts always overpredict.
Richmond upon Thames, Primary, old_la_code 318; actual 2025/26 and SCAP25/SCAP23 forecast columns.
Access checked: 2026-10-08. Retrieved and reviewed for this summary; not validation of all its claims. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Directory
Meeting listed for 12 November 2026. As checked on 21 September, the agenda had not been published. The leaflet plans a November committee stage, but this calendar entry alone does not verify a Kew-specific item or a decision.
Future meeting page, checked 21 September 2026; not minutes or evidence that any decision has occurred.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Committee record
The council records Kew Riverside Primary School's revenue balance at £231,685.09 on 31 March 2026, down £75,103.70 from a year earlier. Capital balances are separate. This dated actual does not show cash available today; the separately received final budget summary contains indicative later forecasts.
Appendix A associated with the 25 June 2026 Schools Forum, page 1, Kew Riverside Primary School row; revenue and capital columns. Document publication date not stated.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Retrieved and reviewed for this summary; not validation of all its claims. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Committee record
The June committee report records a 2031/32 Kew planning-area forecast of 514 pupils and distinguishes temporary admission capacity, admission capacity and net capacity. It says the Kew PFI expires in 2032. These are June figures and definitions, not the later leaflet forecast or closure savings.
11 June 2026 committee report, PDF pages 3–4 (forecast and capacity table), paragraph 3.23 (PFI). Kew planning area is not Kew Riverside Primary School alone.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Committee record
The decisions record gives a general delegation for taking school-organisation proposals to pre-statutory consultation after assessment and discussions, in consultation with the committee chair. It is not a Kew-specific closure decision or proof of any instruction restricting visits.
Council decision details page, School Organisation, resolution (b), 11 June 2026. The former decisions PDF link no longer resolves; this official page gives the decision text.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Official dataset
The 2025 vintage forecasts 651 pupils in Reception–Year 6 and 88 in Reception for the Kew planning area in 2025/26. The matched January 2026 school census gives 654 and 97. This one-year, area-level check is not a forecast for Kew Riverside Primary School alone or a long-term accuracy verdict.
Dataset published 19 March 2026; planning_area_code 3180007, Primary, 202526, Primary total and Reception. Compared with January 2026 census for URNs 133343, 102884 and 102921, excluding nursery.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Committee record
Borough-wide assessment approved on 14 May 2026. It promises further school-specific pupil and staff assessment; it does not settle the funded effects of the Kew proposal. No Kew-specific assessment was found in the public pack reviewed.
PDF pages 1–2: scope and approval; page 15: school-specific actions. Approved 14 May 2026; linked to the 11 June committee papers.
Access checked: 2026-10-05. Retrieved and reviewed for this summary; not validation of all its claims. Review scope.
Department for Education · Guidance
Guidance describes an existing-school amalgamation route that can close one school while changing a surviving school, including its age range or site. Additional-site and reserved SEND proposals have separate requirements. This route is legally available in principle, not shown deliverable for Kew.
August 2025 edition; PDF pages 11–12 on additional sites and page 23 on amalgamations. Current linked edition checked 23 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Guidance
Guidance in force from 1 September 2026 describes local-authority proposals for a replacement maintained school under the changed law; earlier proposals have transitional rules. It does not make a particular Kew replacement necessary, affordable or approved.
GOV.UK page updated 3 September 2026; linked September 2026 guidance, PDF pages 9 and 31–32 for decision-maker and replacement-school route.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Official dataset
Reported school income for financial years ending March 2022–2026. These are rounded historical actuals, not 2026/27 budget income or guaranteed revenue for additional pupils.
FBIT public income-history response; school 133343, Actuals, rows year 2022–2026. Year denotes the March financial-year end. Publication date not stated.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Official dataset
Reported school expenditure for financial years ending March 2022–2026, including a 2025/26 PFI charge of £69,640. The school charge is not the council-wide contract liability or an avoidable saving on closure.
FBIT public expenditure-history response; school 133343, Actuals, rows year 2022–2026 and PFI expenditure field. Publication date not stated.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Official dataset
Reported school revenue balances for financial years ending March 2022–2026. The March 2026 figure is rounded in this service; the council balance appendix separately gives £231,685.09. A revenue reserve is not the same as an annual result.
FBIT public balance-history response; school 133343, Actuals, rows year 2022–2026. Publication date not stated.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Consultation
Council overview of two pre-statutory proposals, both intended for 1 September 2027. One would close Kew Riverside Primary School. The other would combine Hampton Wick Infant and Nursery with St John the Baptist Junior into a 210-place primary school with nursery. Neither proposal is a final decision.
Page updated 21 September 2026. The Hampton Wick proposal involves closing one legal school and extending the age range of the other. It is not a precedent that proves the same arrangement is viable at Kew.
Access checked: 2026-09-22. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Official dataset
Official school-level underlying data for the January 2026 census. The comparison uses Richmond state-funded primary schools. It adds up Reception to Year 6 from the full-time and part-time male and female fields, leaving out nursery. Kew Riverside Primary School totals 84 pupils in those year groups.
Release first published 4 June 2026 and updated 14 July 2026. Supporting files: School level underlying data 2026. Filter new_la_code=E09000027 and phase_type_grouping=State-funded primary; join schools by URN. January 2026 is a measured snapshot, not September 2026 and not the council leaflet’s 2026/27 forecast.
Access checked: 2026-09-22. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Official dataset
Official Capacity – school dataset, including capacity and pupils on roll for individual schools. The 2024/25 snapshot records Kew Riverside Primary School at 90 pupils against 210 places. Rows for comparable Richmond primary schools allow a dated occupancy comparison. Recorded capacity does not show how many places are free in each year group.
Dataset published 19 March 2026. Capacity snapshot: 1 May 2025; pupil rolls: May 2025 census. Fields school_urn, school_name, school_places and pupils_on_roll_count; filter new_la_code=E09000027 and education_phase=Primary. Earlier snapshots use time_period 202122 to 202425. Do not combine this denominator with a later census without labelling the different dates.
Access checked: 2026-09-22. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Consultation
Consultation proposal for one 210-place primary school plus retained nursery, initially using both buildings and later one site when pupil numbers permit. Current pupils would have guaranteed places. School designation, which legal school closes and the eventual site remain matters for the decision process. This is not an approved merger.
Pre-statutory consultation leaflet, September/October 2026; publication date not stated. Printed pages 3 and 6–9 (PDF pages 4 and 7–10) explain capacity, the legal mechanism and unresolved choices. They also give the conditional implementation date of 1 September 2027. Comparing proposals does not prove that amalgamation or shared leadership would be viable at Kew Riverside Primary School.
Access checked: 2026-09-22. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Consultation
The council describes a pre-statutory consultation on closure that would take effect on 1 September 2027. It sets out its financial and pupil-number reasons, a guaranteed Darell place for current pupils and transition support. Links to the leaflet, FAQ and response form. This is a proposal, not a final decision.
Page updated 21 September 2026. The 87-pupil figure is dated 2025/26 in the accompanying leaflet; the 2026/27 figure there is a forecast of 84.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Ofsted · Inspection
Strong standard in early years, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing; Expected standard in achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance. Attendance and behaviour Needs attention: persistent absence is the concern, while behaviour is praised. Safeguarding Standards met. Next steps include attendance and consistent teaching approaches. These are category judgements, not a single overall grade.
16-page report for URN 133343. 8 July 2026 is the inspection date; publication date not inferred. School-hosted copy linked from its Ofsted page. Judgements: PDF pages 1–5; next steps and pupil leadership/younger readers: page 6; attainment: pages 9–10. Central index still lists 2021 latest on 22 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-22. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Kew Riverside Primary School · Newsletter
The school's account reports six of seven inspection categories at expected standard or above and safeguarding met. It distinguishes attendance concerns from positive behaviour. The full July 2026 report has now been reviewed separately in record inspection-2026; this newsletter remains a distinct school account.
Document dated Friday 18 September 2026; homepage listing used a different date.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Committee record
Published agenda and decisions reviewed for the decision trail. No Kew-specific closure resolution was located in this meeting record. A work-programme item is not attributed as a vote to close Kew Riverside Primary School.
Meeting of 10 September 2026; agenda and decisions page checked 21 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Directory
The official landing page for maintained-school organisation guidance. Check here for replacement editions and accompanying documents.
Publication page updated 3 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Guidance
Current guidance, in force from 1 September 2026, covers consultation, alternatives, formal proposals, representations and decisions. Its decision factors include future capacity, pupil and equality impacts, travel and funding. The sections we reviewed do not say that a consultation triggers a ban on visits. Any actual local instruction remains unverified.
May 2026 edition, 30 pages; effective 1 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Participation
For eligible borough residents and workers, the page describes speaking and written-question arrangements. Speaking registration closes at noon on the preceding working day; written questions close at noon two working days before. Check the relevant meeting and current rules before relying on a deadline.
Updated 17 June 2026; speaking slots and question limits apply.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Official webpage
Explains the council's role in school premises, including monitoring the private finance initiative and maintaining capacity information. It does not disclose the net financial consequences of a Kew Riverside Primary School closure.
Page updated 12 May 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Planning report
Provides the borough application series and occupancy figures used here. Its illustrative figure of 342 primary pupils from housing covers the combined eastern borough over five to ten years, not Kew Riverside Primary School alone. Kew Retail Park was paused and left out. Housing permissions are not occupied family homes.
Item 6, 18 pages; October 2025 data, presented 13 November 2025.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Meeting
The minutes discuss closure as a last resort while acknowledging that falling demand requires serious consideration of options. This borough-wide discussion is not a recorded decision to close Kew Riverside Primary School.
Education and Children's Services Committee, 13 November 2025.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Schools Forum · Meeting
Agenda, reports and minutes covering falling primary demand and planned admission-number reductions. Useful for tracking how borough policy developed before the current closure discussion.
3 July 2025 meeting, school place planning item.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Planning report
This earlier 2025 report gives borough-wide capacity and application data. It records 84.5% occupancy against permanent capacity and 92.6% against temporarily reduced capacity. Use the November update for the later 2025 snapshot.
Item 5, 16 pages; data position May 2025.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Meeting
Meeting records include work-programme discussion of admission-number changes for 2026/27. The position recorded at this meeting is historical and cannot establish the council's later closure plans.
Education and Children's Services Committee, 12 June 2025.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Schools Forum · Meeting
The forum agreed to establish a Falling Rolls Fund for 2024/25, with the amount and criteria to follow. A proposed £551,530 transfer of earlier growth-fund underspend was discussed. This is not evidence of a grant awarded to Kew Riverside Primary School.
26 September 2024 meeting; school place planning and funding items.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Planning report
A borough-level planning report accompanying the September 2024 forum discussion. It provides the background to falling rolls and the pressure on smaller schools.
Item 8; 14-page report. Borough context, not a school closure decision.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Planning report
The Kew section expected longer-term demand from housing to fill available capacity. It discussed a continued temporary reduction at Darell. It also noted that the private finance initiative could complicate expansion at Kew Riverside Primary School. Housing figures and forecasts are assumptions from 2023, not current permissions or actual pupil numbers.
March 2023 strategy; printed page 37, planning area 7. Read assumptions against subsequent updates.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Ofsted · Inspection
The report says the school continued to be Good and records 145 pupils on roll. That pupil count belongs to the 2021 inspection; it is not a verified September 2026 roll.
Inspection 25 November 2021; published 19 January 2022. School details on page 5.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Ofsted · Inspection
Historical inspection report recording a Good judgement. Educational quality is a separate question from future demand and financial viability.
Inspection 10 January 2017; published 21 February 2017.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Ofsted · Inspection
Historical inspection report recording a Good judgement. Useful for tracing the school's inspection history.
Inspection 4 July 2012; published 7 September 2012.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Ofsted · Inspection
The official Ofsted index lists an interim assessment. Its individual report has not been reviewed for this collection.
Assessment 7 January 2011; published 17 May 2011. Follow the dated entry in the index.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. “Reviewed” describes collection coverage, not independent validation of every claim in the document.
Ofsted · Inspection
The official Ofsted index lists a curriculum development visit. Its individual report has not been reviewed for this collection.
Visit 19 January 2009; published 31 March 2009. Follow the dated entry in the index.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. “Reviewed” describes collection coverage, not independent validation of every claim in the document.
Ofsted · Inspection
Historical inspection report recording an Outstanding judgement. Read alongside later inspections rather than treating an old rating as the school's present assessment.
Inspection 6 December 2007; published 8 January 2008.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Ofsted · Inspection
The first inspection records the school's opening in September 2002 on a temporary site and the move to a new building in autumn 2003. This is a historical baseline, not a current judgement.
Inspection 13 October 2003; published 20 May 2004.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Kew Riverside Primary School · Official webpage
The school describes provision for ages 4–11 and capacity for 210 pupils. Capacity is not the same as current enrolment. The site is also a route to school updates and policies.
Live webpage checked 21 September 2026; publication date not stated.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Kew Riverside Primary School · Official webpage
Describes a 30-year private finance initiative (PFI) partnership begun in 2002 covering six borough primary schools, with school contributions through the local authority. It does not establish which payments would end after closure or the cost of changing the agreement.
Live school explanation; full contract and variation terms not obtained.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Kew Riverside Primary School · Official webpage
The school links to the DfE financial benchmarking service. Its historical actuals have now been retrieved separately; this school page is not an approved current budget or forecast.
School financial information webpage, checked 21 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Directory
The DfE service now provides Kew Riverside Primary School's reported five-year income, expenditure and revenue-balance actuals through its history pages. Those actuals do not supply the school's approved 2026/27 budget or the council's multi-year closure forecast.
School 133343 overview and historical data; underlying income, expenditure and balance series have separate records below. Financial years end in March; published values are rounded.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Ofsted · Directory
Official report index for unique reference number 133343. On 22 September 2026 it still listed the 2021 inspection as its latest full report. The full 8 July 2026 report is available on the school website and reviewed separately in record inspection-2026.
Checked 22 September 2026; a changing central index can lag the school-hosted report. Its absence here does not mean the newer report is unpublished.
Access checked: 2026-09-22. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Kew Riverside Primary School · Directory
A route to dated school newsletters. Individual newsletters beyond those separately listed here have not all been reviewed. Third-party documents may include personal information; this hub does not reproduce pupils' photographs or names.
Index checked 21 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Directory
Official directory of Richmond’s Education and Children’s Services Committee. On 21 September 2026 it lists Councillor Julia Cambridge as chair and Councillor Michael Wilson as vice-chair. Membership does not establish an individual’s position or vote on Kew Riverside Primary School.
Live committee directory; committee ID 800.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Directory
The calendar listed a meeting on 12 November 2026 at 7pm when checked. That listing alone does not confirm that Kew Riverside Primary School will be on the agenda.
Meeting index checked 21 September 2026; recheck dates and agenda before attending.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Directory
The forum is a route to school-funding consultation and reports. Its role should not be confused with the authority taking a closure decision.
Live forum directory; committee ID 619.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Participation
Explains online and paper petitions and eligibility to sign. A qualifying petition with at least 500 signatures can reach the relevant committee; it does not create a veto over closure.
Read the linked petition scheme and current submission requirements.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Richmond Council · Participation
Detailed rules for handling petitions, including thresholds and the council's possible responses. Use this to check admissibility before collecting signatures.
Council scheme checked 21 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
Department for Education · Directory
The official establishment record was located, but access returned an error during collection. No current roll, status or governance claim here is based on its unread contents.
Unique reference number 133343; direct retrieval unsuccessful.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. “Reviewed” describes collection coverage, not independent validation of every claim in the document.
Achieving for Children · Consultation
An additional official organisation-information route. The contents could not be retrieved during collection. Check the publisher directly for the live proposal and consultation documents.
Retrieval unsuccessful on 21 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. “Reviewed” describes collection coverage, not independent validation of every claim in the document.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Consultation
The Kew-specific proposal gives financial and pupil-number forecasts, an explanation of alternatives, a conditional timetable and ways to respond. It says a replacement amalgamation must be a free school. That categorical rationale is superseded by the September 2026 new-school rules; a current route-specific appraisal is needed. The leaflet’s March 2027 reserve-exhaustion claim conflicts with the later Kew FAQ Q5 forecast. Legal availability alone does not prove that a route is feasible at Kew. The council-linked response form gives 16 October 2026 as the deadline.
8 PDF pages. PDF pages 3–6: finance, forecasting, pupil series and alternatives; page 7: timetable; page 8: event and response routes. Publication date not stated; first retrieved 21 September and rechecked 23 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Retrieved and reviewed for this summary; not validation of all its claims. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Consultation
General council FAQ on school organisation, forecasts, alternatives and transition. Its Q18 says applications and admissions may continue during consultation. It does not show that open days or tours are available at Kew now. General answers are not promises specific to Kew.
14 PDF pages; Q18 on PDF page 8 (printed page 7) addresses applications and admissions. Publication date not stated; checked 23 September 2026.
Access checked: 2026-09-23. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Consultation
Council-linked response form states that responses must be submitted by 16 October 2026. It asks respondent capacity, view and reasons, with optional alternatives and comments. As checked, it does not ask for a name or postcode. No response was submitted during verification.
Opening description supplies deadline without a closing time. Respondent form linked from the council page; checked 21 September 2026. The initial council /edit link redirects to a readable form; this is its public respondent URL.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Policy
Committee remit includes school place planning and admissions. Membership provision: 11 councillors, two voting diocesan members and a non-voting parent governor representative. The chair is designated Lead Member for Children’s Services. Check actual attendance, substitutions and entitlement for each meeting.
3 PDF pages; membership and functions on PDF page 1; reserved matters and delegations on page 3. No document date stated; current remit linked from the committee directory.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Directory
Official profile identifies Councillor Julia Cambridge as chair of the Education and Children’s Services Committee. Only this relevant public role is summarised; inclusion does not establish a view on Kew Riverside Primary School.
Position and committee appointments matched to the committee directory on 21 September 2026. No personal contact information or image is reproduced.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Directory
Official profile identifies Councillor Michael Wilson as vice-chair of the Education and Children’s Services Committee. Only this relevant public role is summarised; inclusion does not establish a view on Kew Riverside Primary School.
Position and committee appointments matched to the committee directory on 21 September 2026. No personal contact information or image is reproduced.
Access checked: 2026-09-21. Reviewed for this summary; not every claim independently checked. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Consultation
Q5 publishes annual budget gaps and projected balances, including £19,268 remaining at March 2027. Q6’s exhaustion wording conflicts. Q4’s categorical free-school rationale needs a current-law appraisal. Q9–10 do not supply net closure savings or the governing site/PFI instruments.
PDF page 4, Q5–6: indicative budget; pages 3–4, Q4: amalgamation; page 7, Q9–10: funding and site. Publication date not stated; checked 5 October 2026.
Access checked: 2026-10-05. Retrieved and reviewed for this summary; not validation of all its claims. Review scope.
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames · Committee record
Note 41 reports £42.937 million remaining payments across six primary schools at 31 March 2025, excluding future inflation and performance adjustments. This portfolio total is not Kew’s allocation, an avoidable closure saving or evidence of a land motive.
Note 41, printed pages 79–82 (PDF pages 80–83). Audited 20 February 2026. £5.266m capital + £1.987m interest + £35.684m services = £42.937m.
Access checked: 2026-10-05. Retrieved and reviewed for this summary; not validation of all its claims. Review scope.
Kew findings · Updated 8 October 2026
The findings below identify what the records establish and what the council still needs to explain. Closure remains proposed.
Explore further: Demand · Closure costs · Lessons from other schools
The January 2026 census counts 84 pupils at Kew, excluding nursery; the leaflet uses 87 and the Kew FAQ also uses 85. These need a dated year-group admissions/leavers bridge, rather than one being silently selected as today’s count.
For the Kew planning area in 2027/28, the 2025 SCAP forecast is 598; the leaflet projects 638. The difference is 40 pupils between forecast versions, not an observed forecast error. One matched historical check was close overall (651 forecast, 654 counted) but low for Reception (88 versus 97). That does not establish long-term accuracy.
Request the current cohort matrix, forecast versions and housing-use/delivery assumptions. Proposed homes do not automatically mean pupils at Kew. Check the matched census and forecast sources · DfE planning-area forecast data · Leaflet page 5.
The £69,640 school PFI charge in 2025/26 is not the council’s whole liability or an automatically removable cost. The audited £42.937 million remaining-payment figure covers six primary schools at March 2025, before future adjustments.
A net comparison needs Kew’s governing contracts and site rights, avoidable versus continuing costs, receiving-school funding, workforce, SEND, travel and transition costs. Continuing PFI costs can occur under both options; they do not prove zero savings. Freehold labels do not establish unrestricted disposal rights. The reviewed evidence does not establish a PFI or land motive for closure.
School charge and financial scope · Audited accounts, Note 41 · FAQ Q9–10 · Exact remaining cost questions.
What we can learn · Selected London cases
3schools had closure proposals rejected
Two adjudications in 2025, covering three schools affected by Lambeth’s proposals.
1school continued as an academy
Pooles Park in Islington took a different route, with a change of governance.
These are selected examples, not a London-wide total or a success rate. This collection does not yet include a verified Richmond example.
The wider research covers 12 selected English schools where proposals stopped or provision continued, alongside four closure comparisons. See the wider lessons and their limits →
Try a broader search, clear all filters, or find an answer.
The numbers, with context
Supporting research for readers who want to check the figures. These records do not, by themselves, decide whether Kew should close.
Kew Riverside Primary School · whole-school pupil numbers
The council’s published record and forecast, kept separate.
Source: Council consultation leaflet, PDF page 5 (printed page 4). Forecasts are marked in italics in the source. Rechecked 21 September 2026.
| School year | Pupils | Type of figure |
|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 145 | Reported roll |
| 2022/23 | 116 | Reported roll |
| 2023/24 | 106 | Reported roll |
| 2024/25 | 89 | Reported roll |
| 2025/26 | 87 | Reported roll |
| 2026/27 | 84 | Council forecast |
| 2027/28 | 80 | Council forecast |
| 2028/29 | 73 | Council forecast |
| 2029/30 | 74 | Council forecast |
| 2030/31 | 75 | Council forecast |
| 2031/32 | 77 | Council forecast |
The vertical scale starts at zero. The dashed section starts after the last reported point. We plot the counts in the leaflet’s table and do not mix them with inspection or borough figures from other dates. A pupil forecast is not a closure timetable or a financial break-even target.
Test the forecast against the latest roll, admissions and housing assumptions. Then link pupil numbers to a costed plan for keeping the school open.
This is our suggested next step, not a claim that an alternative is already viable.
These borough-wide figures give context. They cannot show whether closing this particular school is the best option.
Richmond upon Thames · 2015–2025
Resident applications submitted on time, not offers, admissions or the total school population. Source: School place planning annual update: October 2025 data. Percentage change calculated from the endpoints.
| Entry year | Applications |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,486 |
| 2016 | 2,491 |
| 2017 | 2,361 |
| 2018 | 2,155 |
| 2019 | 2,241 |
| 2020 | 2,228 |
| 2021 | 2,064 |
| 2022 | 1,998 |
| 2023 | 1,910 |
| 2024 | 1,866 |
| 2025 | 1,795 |
Why definitions matter
October 2025 borough primary snapshot.
Both bars use a 0–100% scale. The smaller the capacity figure you divide by, the higher the occupancy rate. School place planning annual update: October 2025 data.
The 2023 Kew strategy expected longer-term housing demand. The November 2025 update left out the paused Kew Retail Park scheme. A useful challenge should reconcile delivery dates and assumptions. It should not count every proposed home as a school place that will soon be needed.
School Place Planning Strategy: the Kew area · School place planning annual update: October 2025 data
Dates and next steps
See upcoming dates and decision stages in Proposal & dates →
What this means for school choices
The first inspection records the 2002 opening and move to a new building in 2003.
See the recordPublished reports include Outstanding in 2007, Good in 2012 and 2017, and continued Good in 2021.
See the recordThe strategy anticipates longer-term housing demand and discusses local capacity.
See the recordThe Schools Forum agrees a falling rolls fund, with details to follow.
See the recordUpdated borough reports record falling applications and spare primary places.
See the recordCategory judgements recognise strengths in early years, inclusion and wellbeing. Attendance needs attention; next steps also include consistent teaching approaches.
Read the full inspectionNew closure guidance takes effect. A school newsletter gives its own account of the July inspection; the full report is now in this collection.
See the recordArchived list. This is the campaign’s early list of questions for the council, written in September 2026. It is kept as a record: statuses show the position on 8 October 2026 and are not updated here. Records received are listed under Answered / evidence obtained, below, and in the source library.
Our campaign’s questions
This parent-led site asks for a fair assessment of keeping Kew open. These are our priorities for scrutiny, not an agreed school or PTA question list.
We want the council to compare the full costs, assess realistic alternatives and set out funded arrangements for children.
Known: The March 2026 revenue reserve and five years of reported balances are available. The final budget summary supplied on 7 October provides indicative annual income, spending and balances. Its assumptions, ledger and current monitoring remain outstanding. The leaflet acknowledges class and staffing changes. But the evidence we reviewed does not show what pupil number would secure the school’s future.
The school publishes capacity for 210 alongside mixed-age teaching. The council’s January 2026 model lists 210 permanent and 140 temporary admission-based places, both dated September 2025. A 105-pupil model—15 in each of seven cohorts—is an illustrative scenario, not a verified current capacity or financial target.
Still unanswered: How do these capacity measures relate to today’s classes, staffing and pupils by year group? What pupil, staffing and cost assumptions explain the annual income and spending in the received summary? How many extra pupils, in which years, by which funding census dates, and with what interim support would make the smaller school sustainable? Would a credible balanced-budget plan change the recommendation, or would wider place-planning reasons still decide it?
Read the financial explanation · What a recovery plan needs
Requested 23 September 2026: the school’s approved budget, monitoring and aggregate pupil records, and the council’s annual forecast and assumptions through 2028/29. Update 8 October: the approved summary is received and checked; supporting detail remains outstanding.
Known: The leaflet offers current Kew pupils a Darell place if closure goes ahead and their parents want one. The council FAQ promises to keep siblings together. The borough equality assessment says school-specific work should follow.
Still unanswered: How would teaching, staffed classes, friendships and trusted support compare with a realistic plan to stay at Kew? What would support look like for children with special educational needs or disabilities, including those without an Education, Health and Care Plan? How would sibling arrangements, offers, deadlines, safe journeys, wraparound care and funded transition support work? How will staff and support be maintained during the uncertainty, and could any further reorganisation mean another move?
The council promises curriculum continuity, emotional support and tailored SEND transition. Ask for the year groups that would transfer, staffed classes, specialist support, travel and childcare arrangements, with dates and committed funding. The current Year 6 leaves primary education in summer 2027.
The public material we reviewed does not include a Kew-specific assessment. That does not prove none exists or that Darell cannot provide suitable support. Keep each child’s details in private school or council channels. Find practical family guidance.
Requested 23 September 2026: the Kew-specific equality assessment and an existing receiving-provision plan covering aggregate classes, staffing, specialist places, transport and costs.
Known: The leaflet explains the council’s reasons for proposing closure. Sustainability and selection material has now been received and is being reviewed. The reasons still need testing against comparable evidence and alternatives.
Still unanswered: What criteria, assessment and any scores or weights led to selecting Kew, and were they applied consistently? How were educational quality, inclusion, buildings, demand and financial recovery considered? What pupil transfers does the receiving-school budget assume, and does the plan remain viable if fewer families choose it?
Compare the same dates and measures: annual results, reserves and future forecasts are different things. A larger deficit elsewhere would not by itself establish inconsistent treatment. See the other Richmond proposal · Check the educational evidence.
Known: The school’s 2025/26 PFI charge is reported. PFI is the long-term building finance and maintenance arrangement. A school charge is not the net saving from closure.
Still unanswered: Which costs would stop, continue or arise under closure versus keeping teaching at Kew? Include building payments, any contract variation or termination costs, redundancy, transport and receiving-school adaptations. What future site use is assumed, what happens at the contract’s end, and what would closure mean for any nursery or other existing users?
An exit fee is a question to investigate, not an established cost. Continuing PFI payments would not by themselves prove that closure saves nothing. Read the cost comparison.
Requested 23 September 2026: the council’s existing closure-versus-continuation cost comparison, Kew PFI governing-body agreement, and relevant closure, site-use and payment provisions.
Known: The leaflet gives reasons for rejecting alternatives. Its categorical free-school rationale is superseded by September 2026 guidance. A current appraisal must distinguish the existing-school route and the current replacement-school guidance.
Still unanswered: What would a smaller school, shared leadership, federation or amalgamation cost? Could suitable early-years or community use of spare rooms contribute net income? What permissions, willing partners, staffing and start-up funding would each option need? Has a funded recovery period with clear milestones been assessed, and why was each option rejected?
A legal route or a spare room does not prove there is a workable, funded alternative. Explore the possible routes.
Requested 23 September 2026: the council’s existing options appraisal and Kew decision records, with an explanation of routes that could retain teaching at Kew.
Known: The council FAQ says applications and admissions can continue during this pre-statutory consultation. Enquiries, visits, applications and actual enrolments are different stages; neither a place nor the school’s future is guaranteed.
Still unanswered: What admissions, promotion, collaboration and financial support has the council offered, when, and with what results? What resources and time would a school-coordinated recruitment effort receive now? Which current applications are likely to become starts, in which year groups, and how do they compare with departures? How will the proposal’s effect on confidence and applications be assessed?
Any plan must work within admissions rules and respect families’ choices. Check pupil-demand assumptions · Ask the school about visits and places.
Known: Matched Kew-area and separate Richmond-borough forecast checks are available; the June report and later leaflet use different 2031/32 area estimates. Planned homes do not automatically become pupils at Kew.
Still unanswered: Which versions, current pupil counts and assumptions underpin the forecasts? How accurate have school and area forecasts been over matching periods? For developments such as Stag Brewery and the former Homebase site, what delivery status, occupation dates, pupil yields and school-level effects are assumed? How would different outcomes affect Kew and the receiving schools’ places by year group?
Housing demand matters beyond the PFI contract’s end date too. Read the forecast check and its limits.
Requested 23 September 2026: current and June Kew-area forecast versions, assumptions and accuracy checks, plus dated aggregate pupil counts from the school.
Known: Requests began on 23 September. Responses and supporting records have now arrived. The final budget summary has been checked; other material covering sustainability, selection, admissions and receiving-school projections is under review. Receipt does not mean every question is answered.
Still unanswered: Who will publish written answers, supporting records and the meeting record, and by when? How will unresolved questions and parents’ evidence be represented to decision-makers? If material new evidence arrives late, what time and opportunity will families have to consider it and respond?
A request does not automatically extend the consultation. Ways to respond · check the current timetable.
These are this site’s priorities, not an agreed school or PTA question list. Updated 8 October 2026. Request dates record dispatch, not disclosure or agreement. Receipt notes identify what has subsequently arrived. The dated notes describe earlier requests; they do not mean every new question below has already been submitted.
The school’s FINAL summary records approval on 20 May 2026 and was supplied in the 7 October response. Its future-year columns remain indicative. Read the source record and one-page public copy or read the figures in HTML. The ledger, assumptions and current monitoring are still outstanding.
Resolved: the full, 16-page report for the 8 July inspection is now reviewed. Read the school-hosted report and its findings, including attendance and teaching improvements.
The initial proposal, leaflet, FAQ and response form are reviewed. Any later statutory notice, actual agenda and committee decisions must still be checked as the process goes on. Papers for a future stage are not the same as existing evidence that has not been shared.
Earlier committee appendices, relevant public governor records and published answers to information requests may explain how the proposal developed. Follow the decision record · Read the earlier public history.
About this collection
This is Yann Stoneman’s initiative as a Kew Riverside Primary School parent to help keep the school open. The evidence is here to help people check the proposal and the alternatives. The school and council do not run this site. Read my position, responsibilities and family story.
“Reviewed” means the document was retrieved and read for its stated summary; it does not mean every claim was independently validated. Source-specific qualifications and access-check dates remain on each record.
Yann Stoneman is responsible for updates and corrections. Research gave priority to the school, Richmond Council, Achieving for Children, Ofsted and the Department for Education. The library was updated on 8 October 2026. Each source shows its own access-check date. The background history goes back to the school’s opening, as recorded in the first inspection report. The source library clearly labels links we have not read. Searching these routes cannot prove that every relevant public record has been found.
A source's account is attributed to its publisher. Forecasts retain their dates and are distinguished from observed data. The option ranking and suggested evidence requests are editorial analysis. They do not assert that an alternative has been approved, funded or proven feasible.
This is a dated research snapshot, not a live news feed. Read the update history. Check official notices before acting. A correction should name the specific claim, the public source URL and document date, and explain the change. The downloadable source index gives each record a stable ID for this. Request a private correction or suggest an improvement.
This site publishes short summaries and links to the original public records. It does not reproduce pupil photographs, private correspondence or individual family information. Umami page counts and detailed usage (sections viewed, active time and key links opened) run without cookies, and you can keep page counts only or turn both off. Neither collects submissions, typed words or screen recordings. Review your analytics choice. There is no advertising tracking. The feedback form and reviewed suggestions board and community letters use separate submission and moderation services; see the privacy and moderation notice. Charts have text explanations and data tables. Publishers retain rights in their original documents.