EDUCATION leaders in Dursley are considering academy status for the town’s only primary school.

Parents whose children attend Dursley Primary School have already attended an initial meeting about the proposal and a letter has also been sent out.

The move towards academy status, which would take the school out of the control of Gloucestershire County Council, has been made after the school was given notice to improve by Ofsted last November.

Last year the Department for Education (DfE) announced that under-performing primary schools would become sponsored academies to raise standards.

Roger Bushell, chairman of the Interim Executive Board (IEB), which was appointed by the local authority to replace the school’s former board of governors after the Ofsted inspection, said the school was now in a good position to explore academy status.

He said: "When a school receives a notice to improve there is a strong expectation that it should convert to an academy with the support of a sponsor. However, we were determined that nothing should distract us from ensuring that the school made rapid and significant improvement."

It is being proposed that Dursley Primary School, which is a Church of England school, would become an academy sponsored by Diocese of Gloucester.

Mr Bushell added: "We believe that the diocese understands the needs of our community and, as a church school, we share a common set of values. We are also confident that the diocese will be able to offer the ongoing support and guidance that we need to continue to improve."

Paul Daniels, head teacher at Dursley Primary, said the move to sponsored academy status would create more opportunities and pupils and parents were likely to notice little difference.

He said: "I can’t guarantee but we are in a strong position, and confident we will come out of the Ofsted notice in November, so the need for change won’t be there."

The Diocese of Gloucester is currently in discussions with the DfE about becoming a sponsor and when this is approved the church body can then submit a formal expression of interest.

Helena Arnold, director for children and young people in the diocese, said: "We are now exploring with the Interim Executive Board (IEB) how, through academy sponsorship, we can continue to build on the significant success that the school has recently enjoyed. These are the first steps in the journey towards academy sponsorship."

The IEB said there would be thorough consultation with staff, parents and the wider community about the proposal before any final decisions were made.