Revised timeline for decisions on proposed changes to school organisation
Following the announcement of a council by-election in South Portslade, the decision-making timeline on the proposed changes to school organisation in the city has been changed.
The January 2024 meeting of the Children, Families and Schools committee will now be held on Monday 22 January 2024.
The committee reports on the proposed school admission changes and proposed school closures are now due to be published on Friday 12 January 2024.
This will ensure that decisions are not taken during the period of heightened sensitivity preceding a local by-election, in line with legal advice.
The revised timeline will also allow us additional time in the new year to review all the feedback from the consultations feedback and consult staff likely to be impacted.
School consultations
The proposed changes to primary schools are in response to a huge fall in pupil numbers across the city.
A report to the Children, Families and Schools committee on 6 November highlighted how falling pupil numbers are having a devastating impact on our schools and the resources and teaching available to pupils.
With more than one in 5 primary school places in the city now empty, many of the city’s schools are finding themselves in financial difficulty, and without the resources needed to provide the support they would want to provide for their children.
Changes are needed to ensure the best educational outcomes for all children in the city.
We’ve been holding a number of public meetings about the proposals and asking residents to share their views through our online consultations.
We’re particularly keen to hear from parents of children between the ages of 2 and 18.
Both consultations are open until 22 December 2023.
Primary school admissions
The consultation proposals include reducing the number of pupils joining 9 primary schools in reception each year – called PANs (Published Admission Numbers) – from September 2025.
The proposed reduction in school reception places from September 2025 are:
- Brunswick Primary School (reduced by 30 places)
- Goldstone Primary School (30 places)
- Patcham Infant School (30 places)
- Rudyard Kipling Primary School (15 places)
- Queen’s Park Primary School (30 places)
- Saltdean Primary School (30 places)
- Stanford Infant School (30 places)
- St Luke’s Primary School (30 places)
- Woodingdean Primary School (15 places).
The consultation also includes a proposal to give pupils eligible for free school meals some priority at the city’s community secondary schools when school places are allocated in future.
You can read the full details of the proposed reduction in school reception places, find out about the public meetings and have your say through our school admissions consultation pages.
Proposed school closures
The consultation on the potential closure of 2 one form entry primary schools with some of the lowest pupil numbers in the city relates to St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School in central Brighton, and St Peter’s Community Primary School in Portslade.
You can read more on the proposals to close St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School and St Peter’s Community Primary School by the end of the current academic year through our proposed school closure consultation pages.
The feedback from the consultations will be put into a report that will be discussed at the Children, Families and Schools committee in January, who will decide whether to proceed to the next step of the statutory closure process and publish ‘Statutory Notices’.
The final decision on the proposals will then be made by councillors in March next year.