Enfield Council has paused the launch of a public consultation on closing three primary schools, after parents, teachers and headteachers challenged the figures behind the proposals.

The six-week consultation on the future of Bishop Stopford's School, Starks Field Primary School and Suffolks Primary School had been due to begin on Monday 9 November. When the day passed without it opening, the council confirmed the process was on hold so the schools could submit "further information", including updated evidence on pupil numbers.

What the council said

Chris Dey, the council's cabinet member for children's services, said the pause would let each school provide any further information it believed the council should consider, and that cabinet would then review it before deciding whether to proceed.

Hollie Welch, a parent at Suffolks Primary, welcomed the pause as a "positive step" and urged council leader Alessandro Georgiou to consider the school's own viability plan, built around its inclusive model for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

How the row reached Westminster

The dispute reached Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 11 November, when Enfield North MP Feryal Clark invited Andy Burnham to visit Suffolks Primary. The prime minister said he would "love" to visit the school as a "beacon of best practice" when his diary allowed.

The proposals come from the council's Conservative minority administration, which took control in May 2026 after 16 years of Labour rule. Officers projected all three schools would fall below 50 per cent capacity within three years, although all three hold 'good' ratings from Ofsted.

Headteachers have disputed the data. Suffolks headteacher Andrea Cassius called the justifications for her school's inclusion "based on inaccurate data", while the other two headteachers also challenged the pupil roll figures. North London News reported the council's confirmation of the pause.