The arrival of a new head teacher at a village primary school has resulted in dozens of pupils leaving, it has been claimed.

Marianne Terry’s spell at Sutton Valence Primary School has been met with criticism from parents who have taken issue with what they see as a lack of open decision making and bizarre policies.

One parent says she is trying to move her children but is unable to do so as all the establishments in the area are full of former Sutton Valence pupils.

Since arriving at the school, which is currently rated as requiring improvement, in April Miss Terry, who previously ran Rotherfield Primary School in East Sussex, has closed the car park for health and safety reasons and got rid of a number of teachers.

Parents have been told to park further down A274 North Street next to the village hall.

However, they claim children are now more at risk due to the volume of traffic on the key route through the village.

A number of parents have cited the fact one year five class has gone from 28 to 15 pupils as indicative of the general mood at the school.

In response to parking issues, the school said: “As a result of a few near misses with cars and children we have had a risk assessment completed on our school access point to make this safer for children.

"The majority of parents of the school use the village car park and have done so for many years, we are not proposing any changes to this. We are proposing to change the driveway which is currently used as a drop off point some parents use, as it is clogging up the A274 and is not safe.

"As part of the risk assessment we are looking at setting up a walking bus to ease congestion and use the lollypop man crossing as part of developing this busy part of the day. We have invited the parish council to be part of this and see if it is feasible.”

Sutton Valence Parish Council clerk Janet Burnett said: “We have heard from several parents about a letter which has gone out telling them that the gates are shutting and they should park in the village hall car park.

“The council met on Monday evening to discuss the move. There is no way the car park can accommodate that number of vehicles. The suggestion of a walking bus running from the car park is also unworkable as the council’s insurance does not cover it.

“We have informed the head teacher of the school and Kent County Council’s education department about our concerns and await their response.”

In response to further policies implemented since Miss Terry's arrival a KCC spokesperson said: “We are aiming for all schools in Kent to be rated as good or outstanding. Currently the new headteacher at Sutton Valence is leading the school through a period of significant change on the journey to being rated ‘good’ and the school is being monitored regularly by Ofsted. Parents are being kept informed of the changes.

“It is regrettable that parents might feel they should look for an alternative school and we would expect parents’ concerns to be addressed.”