CONCERNS have been raised that saving a rural Isle of Wight primary school could be at the cost of every child's education on the Island.

The Isle of Wight Council announced this week that Chillerton and Rookley Primary School will now remain open as a sustainable, financial model for delivery of high-quality education in smaller, rural schools.

Speaking at the corporate scrutiny committee last night (Tuesday), Cllr Debbie Andre, cabinet member for children's education, said she regretted the time it has taken to come to the decision but the cabinet needed to be sure they had looked at every possibility.

She said: "This is about children, their education and getting it right. We were not prepared to rush into a decision."

Isle of Wight County Press:

Cllr Joe Robertson questioned whether Cllr Andre accepted the indecision led to pupil numbers at Chillerton and Rookley falling from 34 to 15.

Cllr Andre said she accepted uncertainty around the future of a school would inevitably affect parents' choice but it was imperative they took the necessary time to make the right decision.

She was confident the model existed for smaller rural schools and was working up options.

Cllr Chris Quirk, a member of the scrutiny committee, said he was sceptical the cabinet could maintain the number of schools without cutting the budget per pupil across the board.

His concerns were echoed by other members of the committee, who felt keeping the school open could be to the detriment of every child's education on the Island as funding would be cut and spread ore thinly.

Cllr Andre however, assured the committee they were looking at this as a whole Island approach.

Cllr Richard Quigley, chair, said following debate, while it was good news for quite a few families and children, there was not necessarily good news coming further down the line so they needed to be mindful of how they approach this.