Council accused of ‘shadow-banning’ parents from choosing school

Parents wishing to send their children to St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School in Saltney have allegedly been ‘shadow-banned’ – despite councillors having not confirmed its closure.

St Anthony’s is one of four schools in Flintshire earmarked for closure as part of a £55 million super-school scheme by the Flintshire County Council and the Diocese of Wrexham.

A decision is due on the outcome of a consultation to close the school in February. If the authority chooses to close the school, it will be shut down in September this year – but that decision has yet to be made and the school could still remain open.

According to the notice submitted by Liberal Democrat group members Cllr David Coggins Cogan and Cllr Andrew Parkhurst however, parents wishing to select St Anthony’s as an option for children starting primary school in September have found it was not an available option.

“No statutory decision has yet been taken to close St Anthony’s,” said the motion. “Parents have reported serious difficulties when attempting to express a preference for St Anthony’s in recent admissions rounds, including that the school has been removed from, or not made available within, the council’s online school admissions portal.

“Some parents who have attempted to apply by email have been told that St Anthony’s is responsible for its own admissions and that applications should not be made via the council.”

According to Flintshire County Council’s own primary schools admissions criteria for 2026/27, applications for St Anthony’s are made via the authority’s online portal as with other schools. An additional information form requesting faith-based information is then supplied via the school.

The motion claims that parents have been ‘shadow-banned’ – a term typically used in social media when someone feels their use of a platform is being secretly restricted.

Councillors fear that preventing parents from choosing St Anthony’s before its future is decided will leave the school without a September 2026 intake. That would make it no longer viable regardless of the super-school decision.

“Parents in Saltney must be able to exercise a genuine, informed choice to apply for St Anthony’s for as long as it remains a maintained school and until any lawful closure decision has been taken” said the motion.

“Any advice or system design that deters or prevents parents from applying to St Anthony’s, or suggests that closure is already a foregone conclusion, is misleading and undermines both the integrity of the statutory process and confidence in the council’s admissions arrangements.”

The proposal asks council to instruct the Chief Officer for Education and Youth to carry out an urgent investigation into the handling of St Anthony’s admissions and require that St Anthony’s remains visible and selectable on the council’s online admissions system for all relevant entry years for as long as it is an open maintained school, and until any lawful closure decision has been implemented.

“We also ask council to request Cabinet Member for Education Cllr Mared Eastwood write to any families who have contacted council about applying to St Anthony’s during the current admissions round,” it said.

“She should clarify the factual position that no closure decision has yet been taken and apologise where parents were given incorrect or misleading information.

“Finally we ask that that the findings of the officer’s investigation, together with any proposed remedial changes to admissions training or guidance, be reported to the Education, Youth, and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the earliest opportunity.”

Flintshire councillors will debate the motion on Tuesday, January 27.