Sustainable Education in Torpoint Consultation

There is a Formal Representation Period until 18 May 2026 to comment on proposals to safeguard the future of education provision in Torpoint. This follows the pre-publication consultation that took place earlier this year.

Pre-publication Consultation

During the period Friday, 09 January to Friday, 06 February 2026, Cornwall Council sought your ideas, feedback and views on a range of proposals it put forward, which aimed to address issues around the sufficient, suitable and sustainable education provision within Torpoint and its immediate locality.

This period was known as the ‘Pre-publication Consultation’ and it formed part of a wider, formal consultation process, which looks like this (taking into account our updated key dates and milestones):

The purpose of the pre-publication consultation was to:

• Highlight what the issues were and why they had arisen
• Set out a range of initial proposals that had been formed on the basis of early discussions and upon which the Council was seeking your feedback
• Provide you with information around how you can find out more about those proposals, ask questions and put forward your own views and ideas
• Outline the statutory processes that need to be followed in order to decide on any proposals aimed at addressing the issues, and to implement them

Outcomes from the Pre-Publication Consultation

During the pre-publication period we encouraged you to share your views on the formative proposals that were put forward. In summary, these were:

Proposal 1: Do nothing

Proposal 2: Amalgamate Torpoint Nursery and Infant School (TNIS) and Carbeile Junior School on a single site

Proposal 3: Relocate TNIS onto the Carbeile Junior School site, but retain the two school’s separate identities

Proposal 4: Close both TNIS and Carbeile Junior School and open a new free school (an academy) on the Carbeile Junior School Site.

We asked for your feedback on these initial proposals by either completing our online survey and/or by attending one of two stakeholder meetings held at Carbeile Junior School. Over 110 participants responded to our online survey. Whilst the majority of support was broadly split between Proposal 2 and Proposal 3; the quantity and quality of the narrative responses was particularly helpful in adding detail to the responses and helping us understand what matters most to survey participants and what they wanted us to consider going forward.

In addition, we were delighted with the turnout at both stakeholder meetings which were led by Officers of Cornwall Council with representatives of both schools’ senior leadership teams and their governing bodies also present. Those who attended were able to hear more about the initial proposals put forward, hear answers to frequently asked questions and share questions and ideas of their own. We have taken stakeholder feedback into account when finalising proposals to take forward.

Consultation on Full Proposals - Formal Representation Period

Following this consideration of feedback, other scoping works and due diligence activity; Cornwall Council have on Monday, 20 April 2026, published the full proposal which can be found in the Full Statutory Proposal document available to download and view to the right.

The four-week period between Monday, 20 April and Monday 18 May 2026 is known as the ‘Representation Period’.

During this time Cornwall Council is once again seeking to consult with stakeholders (including, in this case, parents and carers of both school-aged and non-statutory school age children, local residents and its employees) around the full proposals it has now put forward.

During the Representation Period, any person or organisation can submit comments on the proposal, to the local authority, to be taken into account by itself, as the decision maker.

How can I submit comments?

There are, again, two ways to enable your voice to be heard:

• Complete our Survey below

Designed to enable you to feedback your comments and questions relating to the full statutory proposal Cornwall Council has now put forward to address issues around the sufficient, suitable and sustainable education provision within Torpoint and its immediate locality.

• Stakeholder Meetings

In addition, two meetings have been arranged where you will have an opportunity to hear more about the full statutory proposal put forward, hear answers to frequently asked questions, and share questions and ideas of your own.

These meetings will be led by Officers of Cornwall Council and representatives of both schools’ senior leadership teams and their governing bodies will also be present. Meetings will be held on Thursday, 30 April 2026 as follows:

• 09:30am - Torpoint Nursery and Infant School (TNIS)
• 15:30pm - Carbeile Junior School
• 18:00pm - Carbeile Junior School

In addition, Officers of Cornwall Council will be available for informal conversations on the gate of each school at either morning drop off, or afternoon pick up, in advance of the meetings held at those schools above.

Cornwall Council commits to considering ALL the views submitted during the representation period, including all support for, objections to, and comments on the proposal.

What happens next?

Following the Representation Period and the consideration of the views and feedback submitted therein, Cornwall Council envisages being in a position to make its final decision on Friday, 22 May 2026.