COUNTY education chiefs have warned school closures may have to be considered as part of a drive to take out 6,000 places across Kent’s 473 primary schools by 2008.

A wide-ranging strategy for primary education published by the county council this week reveals the number of spare places across Kent will have to be cut from about 12,000 to 6,000 within three years if KCC is to cope with the dramatic impact of a falling birth rate on classroom numbers and comply with guidelines on surplus capacity.

This year, around 2,000 places in Kent primaries were unfilled and the downward trend is set to continue, with more than 18,000 spare places by 2010 if nothing is done.

The strategy, drawn up with the help of 20 primary headteachers, places a question mark against schools with fewer than 100 pupils. There are currently 60 in Kent in this category.

The report states schools should not be allowed to drop to below 100 pupils and where they do, they should only stay open where they can sustain four classes and allow headteachers enough time out of the classroom to deal with administration.

In support, the strategy points to evidence that classroom standards in schools with fewer than 100 pupils are not be as good and cites statistics showing that in Kent, a small primary school is more than four times more likely to be in special measures than a larger one.

While stressing that small village schools in rural areas will "not be closed unless there are very good reasons demonstrated for closure" the strategy warns that where individual school numbers are "falling significantly," one of the the county council’s options will be "total closure and possibly sale of site."

A second option that could safeguard schools could involve using classroom space for community use or nursery education.

In addition, even if KCC says it cannot justify keeping a small school open, neighbouring schools in the same "cluster" could be given the option of finding the money themselves to keep it.

Cllr Leyland Ridings (Con), KCC cabinet member for schools, said: "This draft strategy is about how, over the next ten to 15 years, we ensure that every child in Kent gets the best access to the best facilities and the greatest opportunity to learn and succeed in the modern world."

To read the full strategy, go to www.kent.gov.uk. A public consultation will go on until December 30.