WATCH: Councillors Agree To Close Two Brighton & Hove Primary Schools

Councillors have agreed to push ahead with plans to close two primary schools at the end of August.

The decisions came despite objections from parents, staff and governors from the schools – St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School, in Brighton, and St Peter’s Community Primary and Nursery School, in Portslade.

A protest was held outside Hove Town Hall before the meeting on Monday, January 22, but, after the decisions, Brighton and Hove City Council is due to publish statutory notices today.

These will mark the start of a four-week window to make representations – until Tuesday, February 20 – so that “interested parties can comments on the proposals”.

As well as parents, staff and governors, the protest was joined by representatives of the National Education Union and Siân Berry, the Green parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion.

At the meeting, St Bartholomew’s head teacher Katie Blood and St Peter’s governor Jeffery Zroback separately raised concerns about the most recent consultation.

Brighton Pavilion Green candidate Sian Berry, Regency ward Green councillor Chloe Goldsmith and St Bartholomew\s head teacher Katie Blood

A report to the council’s Children, Families and Schools Committee included the results of a six-week consultation that ran from Tuesday 7 November to Friday 22 December.

Ms Blood said that many of the families of children at St Bart’s spoke English as an additional language and struggled to understand the consultation questions.

Mr Zroback criticised the council for not being willing to consider alternative proposals for a smaller school with a new structure.

St Peter’s parents Emily Brewer and Kirsty Moore made emotional deputations highlighting the effects of the closure on working families and single parents.

Ms Moore, whose daughter is autistic and selectively mute, said:

“It’s not as simple as putting in extra staff for support or making new friends.

“My daughter uses her friends as a way of communicating her needs with her teachers. It will take years for her to build up trust with new friends to be able to do this.”

She criticised the council for not reducing the admission numbers at larger schools over the past two years, saying those who had opposed previous reductions were “selfish”.

The committee was told that St Bartholomew’s and St Peter’s face closure because they are the two smallest primary schools in Brighton and Hove.

St Bart’s has 135 children on its roll and St Peter’s has 69. Both have budgets that are more than £200,000 in the red.

State school funding is set by the government – not the council – with grants based on pupil numbers. And primary pupil numbers have been falling locally, with further decreases forecast.

For this reason, the council said that it had to close the two primaries and reduce the formal admission numbers for the Reception Year intake at six other schools.

Green councillors Chloë Goldsmith and Sue Shanks asked the committee to vote for a pause in the process for St Bartholomew’s to consider merging with the Bright Start Nursery which the council proposes moving to the Tarner Centre.

Councillor Goldsmith said:

“We can all see how much of an impact the closure St Bart’s and the damaging changes to Bright Start will have on the local community so I really hope you can vote for this motion to at least see if it’s a viable option.

“If not, I think it sends the clear message that this administration is unwilling to fully commit to their manifesto promise to keep schools open.”

She suggested reducing the published admission number – the PAN – at St Bart’s to reduce the school’s deficit.

Councillor Shanks said that the school closures and nursery move would leave a “big hole” in the city and result in empty buildings.

Labour voted down the proposal and Labour councillor Lucy Helliwell said that all the children currently attending Bright Start could be accommodated at the Tarner Hub.

Councillor Helliwell, who co-chairs the council’s Children, Families and Schools Committee, said:

“Pausing the decision in relation to St Bart’s would mean we could not meet the statutory timescale for closure this year.

“Moving to St Bart’s would not achieve the savings required against the £250,000 subsidy. Moving to Tarner Family Hub will enhance support to children and families.”

A report to councillor said that 467 people responded to the latest consultation in relation to both schools, with 286 strongly disagreeing with the proposals to close them.

Conservative councillor Anne Meadows said:

“Parents and teachers are hoping that you can listen. That’s what your leader has said – you are ‘a listening council’ – and that you will keep these schools open.

“The consultation shows the depth of feeling for these schools and all they do for the families and the children.”

Labour councillor Jacob Taylor, who co-chairs the council’s Children, Families and Schools Committee, said that the council had been left with little alternative to the closures.

Councillor Taylor, who is also deputy leader and speaks on finance, said that there were 2,610 Reception Year places in Brighton and Hove but, by 2027, just there would be just 1,700 pupils to fill them.

He said that the Greens and Conservatives had not offered a realistic solution and that, currently, more than half of the schools in Brighton and Hove had deficit budgets.

It would fall to the council to make good any losses, he said, and the current situation merely added to the pressures on the council’s own budget.

Councillor Taylor said:

“We already have a significant problem – and the pupil numbers are only getting worse.

“We have been offered no alternatives to these very sad proposals in tackling those numbers and tackling those budgets.

“What we’ve had to do is make a decision as a council which we’ve reached with very heavy hearts. No one wants to close the schools.

“Why on earth would a councillor stand for election to propose the closure of a school? What we’ve had to make a judgment on is the overall state of the primary system in our city.”

Children at both schools would be tracked throughout the closure process, the meeting was told, and support would be provided with monitoring and oversight through a “transition board”.

One of the concerns of parents was finding another school that catered as well for their children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Labour councillor Emma Daniel said that her autistic daughter had recommended that those children be given virtual and quiet tours around potential alternative schools while they were empty to get a feeling for the place before meeting people.

Parent Carers’ Council chair Becky Robinson asked about parent care and wellbeing and what support was in place.

The council’s head of schools organisation Richard Barker said that parents should contact the schools to co-ordinate support for themselves and their children – and the schools were also urged to contact the council about any support issues.

The council faces a redundancy bill of £200,000 in addition to each school’s £200,000-plus deficit but Mr Barker said that he was unable to give any further closure-related costs at this stage.

The council had no plans to use the school buildings for anything else at this stage. Any change of use for an educational building would have to be approved by the government’s Education Secretary.

After the representation period ends on Tuesday 20 February, proposals will be prepared for a special meeting of the Children, Families and Schools Committee.

The special meeting has been scheduled for Thursday 29 February, with a final decision due to be made by the full council on Thursday 4 March.