PARENTS are being consulted on plans to share a headteacher between two Abingdon primary schools.

The governors of St Nicolas Primary School and Culham Parochial Primary School are asking parents to give their views on plans to join forces from September 1 this year.

Although the schools would retain their own identities, they would share a governing body and Dick Furniss, the current headteacher of St Nicolas.

The move is being proposed because Culham Parochial Primary has been unable to appoint a headteacher for more than a year.

Mr Furniss said he wanted as many parents as possible to take part in the consultation process.

He said: “Some parents have said, ‘What a positive idea’, but others are concerned about the proposal “The federation is not something we planned on and came as an invitation, which is a compliment to this school.

“The benefits for Culham are clearly greater than for St Nicolas because this is a bigger school and we have a wider skills set.

“However, there will be opportunities for our pupils if there are staff at Culham with different skills.

“The majority of staff are in favour and see opportunities for the children and for both institutions.

“I don’t want to water down what we offer here and the school priorities will remain, with little impact in terms of the day-to-day operation.”

Mr Furniss did not know how much time he would spend at the Culham school but estimated that it could be up to half a day a week.

Under the proposal, Culham Parochial Primary will have a full-time head of teaching and learning who will run the school day-to-day.

One unnamed parent of children at St Nicolas Primary School said: “I can sympathise with anyone who has children at a school which is potentially under threat of not being viable.

“But, however good a headteacher is, his focus on what is a very large thriving school in town is going to be diluted by any degree of attention to a satellite school.

“I don’t believe the federation plan is a credible solution for meeting the needs of Culham Primary without putting at risk the situation at St Nicolas.”

No-one from Culham Parochial Primary was available for comment.

There are 430 pupils at St Nicolas Primary and 46 pupils at Culham Primary.

The plan was put forward after Culham governors asked the local authority to help find a suitable church school to form a federation.

Richard Dix and Clare Elford, chairmen of governors at St Nicolas and Culham respectively, said no decision had been made.

A statement read: “We have put a lot of thought into how the federation would work and into explaining this to parents in our consultation.

Parents are invited to attend consultation meetings at Culham Parochial Primary in High Street, Culham, on Monday at 3.30pm and 7pm, and at St Nicolas School in Boxhill Walk on Thursday next week at 3.30pm and 7pm.

Parents’ responses must reach governors by March 28.

The other two federations in Oxfordshire are Banbury School with Dashwood Community School, Banbury, and Tetsworth Primary School with John Hampden Primary School, near Thame.

affrench@oxfordmail.co.uk