SET in the picturesque Herefordshire countryside, Mordiford, with its ancient bridge and historic buildings, might seem an unlikely place to lead a revolution.

But the village primary school is doing just that, having become the first school in rural Herefordshire – and only the second in the whole county – to gain foundation status.

Now, 30 more schools across the county are looking in to the possibility.

Foundation status, according to the Government, is intended to promote innovation and educational entrepreneurship by giving school leaders more freedom to decide how best to meet the needs of pupils, parents and the wider community.

It gives the school governors control over its premises, staff and pupil admissions and allows them to be a lot more independent.

John Bentley, chairman of the governing body at Mordiford Primary School, said: “We started considering foundation status two years ago and we finally gained it in September. The thinking behind it was that we wanted more control over our admissions and to be able to have more independence with what we can do here.”

For many years the school has been over-subscribed and it now has its highest number of pupils ever – 120. Elizabeth Kearns, headteacher, said: “Previously we had no idea of who was applying to come to the school until March when we would receive our list of who had been granted a place. We never got to know who those other ones were that didn’t manage to get a place.

“Now, we will get to see all of those who apply to come to the school and it will be our decision to allocate the places. Then any appeals will be heard by our governors, not by the local authority.”

Mordiford held a huge consultation before it took the decision to become a foundation school, in which villagers, parents and the children themselves were involved.

During that consultation the school suddenly came under threat of closure, as Herefordshire Council looked to cut the number of primary schools in the county in response to falling admission numbers.

The council wanted to merge Mordiford Primary School with Holme Lacy Primary School.

Mrs Kearns said: “It came as a huge shock to us because the schools’ review was looking at spare places and we are over-subscribed.

We thought we would be safe.”

Thankfully the threat died when the council withdrew its plans.

“Being a foundation school means that we are now free from this kind of threat in the future,” added Mr Bentley. “The local authority could consult with us over merger plans, but if we did not agree, they could not go ahead. It gives us stability and a very strong position.”

But despite the huge administration changes that come with a change of status, there has been little, if no change in the day to day running of the school.

“The children will not have noticed any change at all, except in our stationery and school sign, on which we have dropped Herefordshire Council’s logo,” said Mrs Kearns. “If anything, September 1 was an anti-climax. There was so much build-up to getting foundation status, and when the day came, nothing actually happened.”

Funding will continue to be delivered to the school by Herefordshire Council, but the school will be able to make its own decisions about how to spend its budget and how to invest cash.

All members of staff are now employed by the governing body, not the local authority, although they will still be bound by the School Teachers Pay and Conditions document.

Mr Bentley said: “This means that if staff have a problem they come direct to us rather than the local authority. It also means that we can utilise our staff in the way we believe to be best for the school.”

Since obtaining foundation status, the school’s governing body has grown to 15, a third of which are parents governors.

“It is a very big responsibility for us,” added Mr Bentley. “School governors are volunteers and give up a lot of their time already.

“Now we are employers we will inevitably have to give up more time and any problems ultimately fall to us. But we believe this was the best decision for the school and we were all prepared to take on the extra responsibility.”

Asked if they would recommend other schools to follow in their footsteps, Mrs Kearns said: “If there is the support of the governing body and they feel they are ready then I would say go for it.

“But if there is any reluctance then don’t. It is a huge responsibility for a governing body so they need to be absolutely sure.