Purpose

This report provides the Cabinet Member for
Children and Families with an update, summary and recommended
formal proposals, following the public, informal consultation where
the Local Authority (LA) is proposing to amalgamate and/or possibly
close a number of local primary schools. This is in response to the
significant surplus of primary school places in the Borough.

Published Admission Numbers (PAN) reductions from 2025 onwards,
were not achieved in line with the LA’s recommendations as a
part of the Pupil Place Planning (PPP) Strategy agreed by Cabinet
in November 2022, thereby ‘triggering’ worst-case
options. Lambeth Local Authority will therefore use their powers
under section 15 of Education and Inspection Act (EIA) 2006, and
the School Organisation (Establishment and Discontinuance of
Schools) Regulations 2013, to pursue possible amalgamations or even
closures of up to 8 local, primary schools.

Decision

Councillor Claire Holland,
Leader of the Council, set the initial context for the item and
highlighted the following:

·      
Falling birth rates, Brexit, COVID, and the
cost-of-living crisis, had resulted in falling pupil numbers within
inner London boroughs.

·      
School funding was calculated by the government and
was paid per pupil, however, changes to this formula by the
previous government had resulted in detrimental impacts on
Lambeth’s schools.

·      
The Council had lobbied for needs and deprivation to
be included in the pupil formula to produce fairer
funding.

·      
Falling pupil numbers meant less funding for schools
and threatened the viability of schools.
Councillor Ben Kind, Cabinet
Member for Children and Families, then introduced the item and
stated:

·      
The Council had a statutory duty and strategic
responsibility to ensure a sustainable, high quality, and fair
education system in Lambeth.

·      
Austerity measures had led to large budget cuts,
estimated at £40 million for Lambeth, and a fragmented
education system with government policy favouring academisation at
the expense of community and maintained schools.

·      
Lambeth was committed to community schooling and the
contributions of schools, leaders, and communities was invaluable
to creating a borough wide approach to address falling numbers
collaboratively and produce viable solutions.

·      
The strategy was adjusted and balanced against the
data to respond to consultation responses on changing trends,
concerns, and community needs.

·      
Streamlining the system would strengthen
communities, ensure that resources were used effectively, and
provide future families with improved schools.

Andrew Carter, Corporate
Director for Children, Families, and Education noted
that:

·      
The principles applied in the consultation process
had been set out in the supplementary appendix in response to the
decision by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator and showed a fair
and comprehensive approach.

·      
It was not possible to commit to no compulsory
redundancies, however,a recruitment freeze
was in discussion with all employers to protect as many jobs as
possible.

·      
Parental choice across the borough was a central
priority of the strategy.

·      
Work was ongoing with the Contextualised
Safeguarding team and the Community Safety team to ensure that
children were able to access school safely.

Abrilli Phillip, Director of
Education and Learning, noted a couple of corrections which
included the misalignment of some figures  in the report and that the data on the East
planning area was updated to reflect misalignment with one of the
calculations.

Brian Hazell, on behalf of the
National Association of Head Teachers addressed the meeting and
stated:
·      
Amalgamation was the preferred view over
closures.
·      
School closures would have a devastating impact on
the local community.
·      
The proposal to amalgamate Fenstanton and Holy Trinity was supported as it
would protect the community of both schools.
·      
That amalgamations should adopt a bottom-up approach
to allow local communities to contribute meaningfully to the
process.
·      
The Council should encourage larger schools to
reduce forms of entry so that other local schools could remain
viable.

 
Peter Truesdale, Chair of
Governors of St John the Divine Primary School, noted:
 
·      
A correction at page 1178 of the report was
required, as the governors’ submission was made through the
consultation on the Published Annual Number (PAN).
·      
There was concern that amalgamating St John the
Divine would result in the additional funding being transferred to
Southwark due to many children moving to Southwark
schools.

 
Jane Scarsbrook, Headteacher of Glenbrook Primary
School, addressed the meeting and stated:
 
·      
The proposal to amalgamate Kings Avenue and
Glenbrook Primary School was logical since pupil numbers for both
schools had declined and better use could be made of the new school
building at Glenbrook Primary.
·      
Glenbrook Primary was the reasonable site for
amalgamation based on recent pupil number trends, excellent indoor
and outdoor facilities, and accessibility features.
·      
It was also off the main road which protected pupils
further from pollution and traffic hazards.
·      
The quality of education at Glenbrook was judged as
excellent in 2024 and it held the highest proportion of pupils
eligible for the pupil premium in Lambeth.
 
In response to the comments,
the officers answered:

·      
A bottom-up approach was agreed and was evidenced by
the direction taken in the report.

·      
The projected figures for demand recognised current
and future data on trends based on a peer reviewed process, which
led to the conclusion that there was only demand for one
school.

·      
There was no proposed change in the case of Kings
Avenue Primary and Glenbrook Primary; Glenbrook would remain as the
proposed amalgamation site.

The speakers from the Holy
Trinity Church of England Primary School were Pauline Thomas,
Acting Head Teacher, Lesley Saddington,
Deputy Headteacher, Daniel Brooks, Teacher and Union
representative, and Chris Tongeman,
Chair of Governors. The speakers highlighted:

·      
Closure of Holy Trinity Primary School and
Fenstanton Primary school would
permanently change the landscape of primary education in the local
area and take the heart out of primary education in the Tulse Hill
community.

·      
Holy Trinity and Fenstanton school served a similar demographic in
Tulse Hill and were both strongly supported by the community,
staff, and parents.

·      
Holy Trinity was on an upward trajectory of
improving standards which was reflected in improved pupil
outcomes.

·      
A school closure would disrupt pupil, teacher, and
community networks and produce an adverse effect on pupil outcomes
that would become more apparent at secondary school.

·      
Closures would particularly impact those from high
socio-economic disadvantage.

·      
The ask was to support both schools in working
together as a single amalgamated school.
Jess Edwards, National
Education Union, Branch Secretary also spoke during this segment
and noted:

·      
The support to families would be decimated due to
closures and would cause trauma to children displaced from
schools.

·      
Falling rolls should benefit Lambeth schools in the
same way as private schools and their smaller class
sizes.

·      
The Council should instate creative ideas to compel
Headteachers to work collaboratively on solutions.
In response to comments and
questions, the officers answered:

·      
The proposal was for a closure of Holy Trinity with
the condition that a viable alternative proposal to amalgamate
would be proposed within the agreed timeframe and
criteria.

·      
Schools identified within two kilometres of Holy
Trinty were of good and outstanding
rating, allowing high quality education to be
maintained.

·      
Parents would be given a choice and would be
allocated schools based on that choice.

The speakers from Fenstanton School were, Danny Walsh, Headteacher,
and Gillian Roberts, Headteacher. The speakers raised the following
points:
 
·      
There was an opportunity to keep schools open with
lower class sizes instead of creating cuts for already
disadvantaged children.
·      
The pupil and parent/carer community relied heavily
on the school for support.
·      
The Council was urged to receive the amalgamation
proposal put forward by Fenstanton and
Holy Trinty as a viable
alternative.
·      
Amalgamating Fenstanton
with Holy Trinity offered a sustainable alternative to closure
which preserved educational opportunity for local
children while addressing pupil
numbers and creating significant savings to the Council.
·      
It also avoided displacement of vulnerable pupils
and families as both schools served uniquely similar
communities.
·      
Granting the amalgamation would allow the community
to retain a school and community hub thus allowing additional
services to be offered to families.
 
 In
response to comments, officers responded:
·      
The Council had invested over £1.5 million
into schools to support early intervention to support young people
without Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
·      
There was also an investment of over £7
million dedicated to expanding SEN provision in the borough through
the High Needs Capital Grant.
·      
As a borough, we are below national figures and
statistical neighbours for the number of children and young people
with EHCP being placed in independent settings and are above
statistical neighbours and national figures for children and young
people with an EHCP placed in a mainstream setting.
·      
Lambeth’s investments ensured that all primary
schools in Lambeth were designed to be inclusive, and supportive,
and could meet any young person’s needs.
·      
Both schools were in the process of improving
standards, but the proposals were not based on the quality of
education offered, rather it concerned ensuring a sufficient number of school places were available
per planning area in Lambeth.
Pia Longman, Assistant Director
of the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education, then addressed the
meeting and stated:

·      
The SDBE recognised that amalgamations and closures,
in specific cases, would need to take place to allow a strong
school system to be built and parental choice to be secured and
doing nothing was not an option.

·      
The SDBE were committed to working with the Local
Authority on options.

·      
The proposal to amalgamate St John the Divine and
Christ Church Primary school was an opportunity to secure Church of
England education in the area and prevent long-term
closure.

·      
Holy Trinity and Fenstanton served the same community and had
significantly higher disadvantaged and Special Educational Needs
and Disability (SEND) pupils.

·      
The SDBE had put forward an amalgamation of Holy
Trinity and Fenstanton and were
committed to working with the Local Authority to reduce PAN rather
than closing the schools.

·      
In the case of Holy Trinity and Fenstanton, the needs of the community far
outweighed the need to remove places.
 
Councillors Nicole Griffiths,
Jackie Meldrum, Linda Bray, and Matthew Bryant also addressed the
meeting and stated:

·      
There was
concern that plans were driven by cost factors over and above
meeting the needs of children, families, and
communities.

·      
The Council should support schools to remain open
and should demand additional funding from the
government.

·      
Effective communication with parents was vital in
the process and there should be careful consideration of the
negative impact of school mobility on children’s school
achievement and the risk of children having to move school twice if
further changes were required.

·      
The impact of the decision by the school’s
adjudicator on pupil place planning and admissions should be
further explained.

·      
The suggestion that Glenbrook’s
cumulative deficit could be written off at
the point of amalgamation was welcomed.

·      
The proposal to amalgamate Fenstanton and Holy Trinity was supported as it was
a community recommendation and would keep a school in the
area.
In response to questions,
officers provided the following answers:

·      
The initial proposal in 2022 to manage pupil places
was driven by the quality of education, the maintenance of parental
choice,including the proportion of faith and
non-schools within a proximate radius, and the quality of key
assets.

·      
Initially, finance was not a driver but was factored
in as a new risk to schools and to the Council.

·      
There was an emerging pattern between falling rolls
and pupil outcomes.

·      
The strategy was focused on preventing schools from
closing in an unplanned manner and creating strong and sustainable
schools.

·      
The additional funding announced in the
government’s 30 October budget was allocated to pupils with
specific needs in relation to EHCPs and would not increase the
baseline funding for schools.

·      
The governing bodies of Fenstanton and Holy Trinty would need to provide the proposal and
expected governance arrangements.

·      
The consultation provided translated surveys and
opportunities for parents from all backgrounds; access to
information would continue.

·      
Two form entry schools could reduce parental choice
and limit the proximity of schools.

·      
There would be a second phase due to the paused
decision on St John Angell Town’s amalgamation with St
Saviour’s.

·      
The deficit position of the schools would be
reported within the Council’s overall balance
sheet.

·      
The Council held the deficit so any school closures
would impact core reserves.

·      
The Council did not agree with the
adjudicator’s position and was considering how to respond to
the decision made.

·      
The timeline for amalgamation for Kings Avenue and
Glenbrook was raised by the finance manager from Kings Avenue as it
was more cost-effective, and the recommendation sought to write off
debts to allow the schools to start afresh.

·      
Bringing the proposals forward could reduce the
general fund spend from the Council.
The officers then answered
questions raised by Cabinet and advised the following:

·      
The data gathered was monitored to ensure that
forecasts were specific. The actual numbers were closely aligned
with forecasted figures; the current data suggested that there
would be no improvement in pupil numbers.

·      
90% of temporary accommodation placements were
either in Lambeth or a neighbouring borough with many parents
continuing to educate their children in Lambeth schools.

·      
Work with Community safety colleagues was ongoing to
recognise any new and emerging risks and to ensure that parents
were supported with choice.

·      
Resource Bases were fully supported in the borough
and set criteria was available for establishing a Resource Base.
Lambeth is above national and statistical neighbours for children
and young people placed in a Resource Base. Lambeth completes an
annual full scope of the need requirements (i.e., autism, SEMH) and
where the need in the borough existed.

·      
The criteria required to open a new Resource Base in
a school is to have a good or outstanding Ofsted grading, there was
continuous work to expand such places
but they are separate from PPP approaches.

·      
Amalgamated schools would be supported closely with
the governing bodies and should the amalgamation fail, a new set of
proposals would be recommended.

·      
The strategy protected children and families with
protected characteristics by preventing unplanned closures and
recognised the disruptive impact should this occur.

·      
Schools with smaller class sizes cost more per child
in each class and posed a risk to children with SEND needs due to
inadequate funding and specialist staff.

·      
Full and well-funded classes would provide schools
with efficient budgets to manage resources more effectively for
children and young people.

·      
A local agreement with the trade unions was to be
created to request that schools save places for teachers made
redundant at other schools.

·      
The deficit was expected to continue growing however
the mitigations made in the strategy would effectively make the
situation more manageable.
Councillor Kind then closed the
item by stating:

·      
Schools at low capacity were struggling to manage
deficits which would impact staff retention and ultimately the
quality of education offered.

·      
Cabinet was encouraged to consider how the proposals
prevented the abrupt closures of schools.

·      
The proposals were focused on creating balance
across the whole borough.
RESOLVED:

1.   
To approve the Closure of Fenstanton Primary School with modifications,
subject to certain conditions being met.

2.   
To approve the Closure of Holy Trinity CofE Primary
School with modifications, subject to certain conditions being met.
Page 6

3.   
To approve, without modification, the amalgamation
of Christ Church Primary SW9 with St John the Divine CofE Primary
School by closing St John the Divine CofE Primary School and site
and merging into Christ Church Primary SW9 on its site.

1.   
To approve,
with modification, the amalgamation of Glenbrook Primary School
with Kings Avenue Primary School by closing Kings Avenue Primary
School and site and merging into Glenbrook Primary School on its
site.