THREE of West Somerset's smallest schools are being advised to secure their future by federating - forging working links with other schools under possibly a single headship. Somerset County Council this week adopted a new policy to tackle the problems of falling pupil numbers with a raft of different measures for schools with fewer than 20, 40 or 60 youngsters. In West Somerset, Stogumber with just 16 pupils is the only school falling into the below 20-pupil category. But after difficulties in securing a headteacher it successfully federated last year with 35-pupil Crowcombe, whose head Anthea Deane now has overall responsibility for both schools but with two governing bodies. However, under the county's new policy, the spotlight will focus on Cutcombe with 23 pupils, Timberscombe with 26 and Exford with 35. Cutcombe headteacher Mo Best, who is due to retire next summer, said discussions had been held with governors, staff and education officials for some time and were still ongoing. "We have been talking about various possibilities for some time and I am quite confident that everyone involved is looking at what is best for the children. "Many suggestions have been put forward and it may not be the same for every school but many different ways of tackling this problems are being explored. "We will find a solution, a good solution and I think the county is showing its concern in a very positive way." Under the new policy, when a school's roll has or is predicted to fall below 40 and this is sustained throughout the lifetime of the school population forecast, the governors will be "strongly advised" to work with the education authority to pursue federation with one or more schools. Where opportunities for federation have not been realised after a year and/or numbers fall to 20 or below, the authority will undertake a formal review of the school and its future. Education chiefs are also advising that all schools with two to three classes should at least be considering federation. And where a school with 60 pupils or fewer needs major capital work to its buildings, the authority will also launch a formal review to decide its future. In a report to the county's executive board on Wednesday, the county's group manager for planning and admissions Julia Ridge said there were currently nine schools in Somerset where numbers were anticipated to fall below 20 and others where numbers were expected to decline rapidly. She said the new policy was designed to present a policy framework for addressing issues facing the smallest schools, whose teachers were required to deliver ten subjects with considerable expertise. "Challenges for small schools are huge," said Ms Ridge. "In very small schools, classes will include a wide age range, which means the task of teachers to provide learning experiences suited to the needs, interests and abilities of each child will be even more challenging." Other problems highlighted include the lack of opportunities for youngsters to work and play with children their own age, and the recruitment of staff - particularly headteachers - which is becoming increasingly difficult. Recent research has shown that nationally one in five schools which advertised for a headteacher last year failed to find a suitable applicant and on average primary headship vacancies attracted only five applicants. "It is not unusual for small schools in Somerset to have to advertise two or three times for a headteacher," said Ms Ridge. "In addition, the locum head list is currently very short." In general, small schools are said to have even greater difficulties attracting candidates for headteacher posts. Reasons for this include the lack of pay differential between present management salary and a head's salary and the levels of work involved, which often involves juggling teaching commitments with the head's role. "Headteachers of small schools have as large a burden of school management as those in larger schools with substantially less time allocated to this work," said Ms Ridge. Although federation is often used to describe an assortment of links between schools, from cluster groups, network and partnerships, under the Government's statutory federation - introduced in September last year - up to five schools can federate under a single governing body with anything from one to five headteachers. However, the federated schools retain their catchment areas and individual budgets, continue to be inspected as individual schools and publish individual test results.