Southwark NEU is calling on Southwark Council to ensure Charlotte Sharman Primary School remains a non-faith school that serves the diverse community of Elephant and Castle.

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The Governing Bodies have proposed an amalgamation between Charlotte Sharman School (a foundation school) and St Judes Primary School (a Church of England school).

Currently, Charlotte Sharman has 184 children on roll (78% of its full capacity) and St Judes has only 81 (which means they are only 39% full). It is clear from the numbers that the local community are choosing to send their children to a non-faith school. Charlotte Sharman is the only non-faith school in our ward and the area needs a school which serves its diverse population; over 50% of the children in our school are Muslim and a further 17% have no faith. 

Since the announcement of the amalgamation, a significant number of families in our school community have already said they will move their children to other schools if the new school becomes Church of England. 

It seems the name of the 'new school' is still up for discussion. However, as it stands the proposal is to open a 'new' Church of England school on the Charlotte Sharman site. This is a non-negotiable for the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education.

This is not an equal merger but more like a takeover by the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education. 

Staff at Charlotte Sharman want it to remain an inclusive, community school (as we are now) without any emphasis on any particular religious belief.

We have a committed long serving workforce who have taught generations of local families, the majority of whom are very concerned about these proposals. 

We understand the need to secure the future of the school, but we do not want to lose our whole identity in the process or be taken over by a smaller faith school.