Brighton And Hove Parent Support Group Disappointed By Final Proposals

A campaign group set up in response to Brighton and Hove City Council’s proposals to change admissions criteria for secondary schools has expressed its disappointment at the recommendations.

The Parent Support Group was formed last year by families in the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean catchment area in Brighton.

Supporters were concerned about the effects of open admissions proposals which could mean that 54 children living near the two schools are not given a place at either in September next year.

Next Thursday (27 February), a special meeting of the council will debate the final proposals which include giving allocating up to 5 per cent of places to children living in a single-school catchment area.

The policy would mean more choice for families living in the BACA, Longhill, PACA and Patcham High school catchment areas.

The results of the public consultation were published yesterday (Wednesday 19 February). They showed that more than 60 per cent of the 3,836 people who responded to the consultation opposed the open admissions policy.

The Parent Support Group said:

“Our immediate reaction is that we are disappointed but not surprised to see that the council is pushing ahead with a damaging set of proposals and that the council has chosen to ignore the views of schools and parents.”

The council had been considering reserving 20 per cent of school places for open admissions but said that, in response to the feedback, the final proposal was 5 per cent.

Asked about various options, 1,642 people said that they were completely against the policy while 513 said that offering fewer than 5 per cent of places through open admissions would be acceptable.

Just 251 people backed the option supported by the council. The second most popular response in the consultation was to reserve 30 per cent of places for open admissions, with 798 supporters.

After considering those receiving free school meals, a forecast said that 54 children from the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean catchment would not be given a place at one of the two schools next year. An earlier forecast had predicted 144 displaced children.

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at both schools is expected to be 34 per cent, a report to councillors said.

The Parent Support Group said:

“The council has ignored the opinion of all the LA (local authority) maintained secondary schools who unanimously opposed the introduction of an open admission priority.

“We are amazed that the council has not considered it necessary to work closely with secondary schools to develop proposals that would benefit the city’s schools and its children.

“The data the council has provided from the consultation indicates that there was also widespread opposition from parents to the introduction of an open admission priority.

“Simply reducing the percentage does not address the problems with the proposed open admission priority that have been highlighted throughout the consultation process.

“The combined effect of the council’s contradictory proposals will be to create an artificially oversubscribed catchment area for Dorothy Stringer/Varndean by simultaneously increasing the number of children and reducing the number of places.

“The council’s own numbers indicate that the proposals would leave 63 children with no priority anywhere (54 from the Dorothy Stringer/Varndean catchment area and nine from the Patcham catchment area).

“Many of these children would have to make long, complex and isolated journeys to school.

“The reduction in the percentage of places reserved for the open admission priority reduces the number of children who would be displaced but it does not alter the negative effects that those children would experience.”

The Parent Support Group urged councillors to consider the effects of displacing children from their neighbourhood when they vote on the proposals at the special meeting.

The recommendations due to go before the council are:
• Five per cent of the published admission number (PAN) to be open admission for pupils from single-school catchment areas
• Reduce the intake in year 7 by one class or 30 pupils at Blatchington Mill and Dorothy Stringer and by two classes at Longhill
• Give parents and guardians four choices rather than three when applying for secondary school
• Give priority to children eligible for free school meals up to 30 per cent of admissions
• Move part of Whitehawk into the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean catchment area and Kemp Town into the Longhill catchment
The special council meeting is due to start at 3pm next Thursday (27 February). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.