The three key lessons over future of rural schools – The Yorkshire Post says

As such, it is right that the council is looking to create federations of schools to help, for example, share teachers and also financial costs – such efficiencies are crucial in an area where there are 60 schools with less than 50 pupils attending lessons.

It is also important that NYCC works with local planning authorities to encourage the building of affordable homes in those areas where there is a school that could, potentially, be at risk of closure in the future – this is where a more proactive approach can pay off.

And it is vital, as Richmond MP Rishi Sunak prepares to deliver his first Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer, that Treasury spending rules recognise that it costs more to deliver key services, like education, in rural areas.

As an MP, Mr Sunak has not been afraid to speak out in the past on behalf of his constituents. Now, as guardian of the nation’s purse strings, he has a unique opportunity to ensure that well-run councils, like Tory-controlled NYCC, have the resources that they need to serve rural areas.

As such, the steps being taken by NYCC to safeguard rural schools should be welcomed. They’re a positive statement of intent. But they will only buy the authority time – and little else – unless planning authorities, and also the Government, reciprocate these commitments.