FAQs

The number of pupils applying to Roding Primary Hewett Road has significantly decreased in recent years. This is due to the falling birth rates affecting the general demand for primary school places in the Dagenham area and a reduction in the number of families expressing a preference for the school at the Hewett Road site.  

The amount of money a school has is directly linked to its number of pupils. The more pupils a school has, the more funding it receives. With fewer pupils choosing this school, it is less likely that the school will be financially viable to keep running.  

Unfilled school places have an immediate cost for schools through a reduction in their budgets affecting the overall viability of a school.   

The falling birth rates across Dagenham mean that the current reduction in demand for school places will settle to lower numbers than previously experienced in the past. If no action is taken, the surplus places will place will create an ever-increasing deficit to the school’s budget while they are operating over two school sites.

Roding Primary School is a mainstream school and is run and managed by the Local Authority together with the school.  

The proposal is for Roding Primary Hewett Road to close at the end of the Summer Term 2026 (July 2026). A formal decision will be made in December 2025. 

All Pupils who would be in Years 1 to 6 in September 2026 would automatically transfer to the Roding Cannington Road site as there is enough room to accommodate all the pupils in a single site.  

If a family or carer does not want their child to attend the Roding Primary School at Cannington Road, regardless of where they live, they can apply for a transfer to another school. Further details can be found at the school admissions web page at   School admissions | London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

For families applying for a reception place starting in September 2026 and are considering choosing Roding Primary School Hewett Road as an option. If the decision to close is made, then applications for Hewett Road will be automatically transferred to the Roding Primary Cannington Road site. These families or carers will also be contacted directly by the school admissions team to offer the opportunity to change their preferences.  This change of preferences will be open until the reception closing date 15 January 2026. 

There are sufficient places available in other primary schools within a reasonable distance of Roding Primary Hewett Road.  As of September 2025 the Synergy System shows the number of pupils on roll and vacancies at schools based on the school’s capacity for each of the Roding Primary schools’ sites are as follows:

Table 1 - Number of Pupils on Roll and number of vacancies at Roding Primary School 

Table 2 - Number of vacancies available at nearby schools to Roding Hewett Road as at September 2025 from Synergy System.

Note 1.   The above schools, where marked (1), have had their Planned Admission Numbers reduced following the fall in numbers of pupils coming into Reception Year.

The Council constantly reviews school places to ensure there are enough school places for every child in the borough.  Our latest assessment shows that there are enough places at Roding Primary Cannington Road to accommodate all the pupils currently at Hewitt Road. In addition, there are places available at nearby schools as shown in Table 2 above.   Given this position, it will be possible to place all the pupils in Roding Primary Cannington Road or other schools that are reasonably distanced from Roding Primary Hewett Road should parents wish to choose an alternative school.   

If a parent or carer chooses to send their child to another school and not Roding Primary at Cannington Road, we will try to accommodate parental preference wherever possible, although we cannot guarantee that it will be possible to offer everyone a place at an alternative preference school.  Pupils will be allocated places in community schools in line with the school’s published admission arrangements.  For example, the community school criteria give priority to:    

• Looked After Pupils   
• Siblings   
• Home/school distance.  

Other schools, especially faith schools, will have different criteria so it is important that parents understand how places at these schools will be offered.  

Further information can be found at the school admissions home page School admissions | London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

The Borough of Barking & Dagenham will hold sessions at Roding Primary Hewett Road, if required, to help families in understanding the admissions process and answer any questions about the process. 

It is envisaged the Hewett Road school site will be used for pupils with Special Educational Needs.  The Local Authority are currently reviewing options around this

Parents/carers will be helped to apply for a uniform grant for pupils transferring to alternative schools.  Each case will be considered on an individual basis.  

Falling pupil numbers have a huge impact on school budgets that are needed to pay staff, maintain and repair their buildings, buy all the modern equipment and resources that the schools need, or organise activities for pupils.  By reorganising the school onto one site, the school will benefit from cost savings of running 2 separate school sites.

Smaller classes may sound like a good idea, but the opposite is true. This is because many costs are driven by the number of classes in a school, whereas funding levels are driven by the number of pupils.  

15 parents or carers nominated it as their first preference in the admissions process for Reception school places for September 2025.  

The London Borough of Barking & Dagenham is responsible for a very wide range of legal duties to promote high educational standards locally, ensure fair access to schools, and protect the interests of the most vulnerable pupils. The Council has a unique responsibility to make sure there are enough school places available to local pupils and young people, however not all schools are managed by the local authority.  

Some schools, like faith schools, are managed by religious trusts or foundations, and others – like an academy – are managed by an academy trust. These trusts or foundations are responsible for the day-to-day management and standards of the school.  

Parents and carers at any Barking & Dagenham school are entitled to apply for ‘in-year’ admission to an alternative school at any time.

 However, we will be contacting parents/carers once a formal decision has been made in December so that the transfer of all pupils can be carried out through a managed process to: 

• Ensure that all families are treated equally. 
• Keep the school operational - to avoid disruption to education provision at the school and ensure the curriculum can be effectively delivered. 
• Allow time for the receiving schools to prepare. 
• Ensure that the relevant support follows those pupils at the school with additional needs. 
• Provide stability to the school staff and offer career opportunities. 

Following consultation, a final decision report will be presented to the Council’s cabinet. This is currently planned for 9^th December 2025.