Agenda item

To hear from Headteachers of schools listed below on Pupil Places: Looking at shortfalls in primary pupil numbers across the borough.

·  Pilgrims’ Way and Bellenden Primary Schools- Gregory Doey

·  Grange Primary School- Rebecca Benjamins

·  Ivydale Primary School- Helen Ingham

·  Rye Oak Primary School- Ruth Sharp

·  Townsend Primary School- Anne Stonell

·  Victory Primary School – Makeda Williams-Pinnock

The commission first heard from Helen Ingham, Headteacher at Ivydale Primary School on the following points:

·  Impact of Brexit and reduction of Ivydale from a four form to three form elementary school.

·  Impact of Covid and families moving out of the borough.

·  Rehousing of families outside of the borough

·  School tourism creating fluctuating pupil vacancies due to the constant mobility of pupils among the schools in the borough 

The commission then heard from Andrew Rojas, Headteacher at St. George’s Primary School on the following points:

·  Pupil premium rates at 60%

·  Drop in pupil numbers leading to budgetary constraint

·  Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) higher number at St.George’s Primary

·  Need to provide support to parents from lower socio-economic backgrounds also factoring in equality across families with regards to schools closures

The commission then heard from Makeda Williams-Pinnock, Headteacher at Victory Primary School on the following topics:

·  Reduction in pupil numbers due to Victory Primary School being located in a regeneration area, parental preference is for newer school buildings

·  Neighbourhood migration as local businesses and industries close down such as Elephant & Castle shopping centre and families moving as parents look for employment elsewhere

·  Regeneration projects leading to newer buildings and higher rents in excess of £2500/month for a one bedroom flat making it impossible for lower income households to afford it.

·  Higher rents leading to migration has also resulted in breakdown of extended family support systems, increasing the need for childcare and its associated costs.

The commission then asked questions on the following topics:

·  Council support to reduce falling rolls especially with regards to school tourism

·  Communication with Liaison Officers in the community and Diocese

·  Signs of stability post-Brexit in nursery numbers

·  Pressures on pupil numbers in years 5 and 6 due to pupil migration to certain primary schools and academy trusts that are feeders for certain secondary schools

The commission learned that current Local Authority fair access protocols give parents the freedom to move schools easily by filling in a form, although this has been an important prerogative given to parents, its often been carried out without enough consideration. Headteachers also have had a role to play in meeting parents who are changing schools and furthermore there is a need to look at proper checks with children’s’ services and taking into account safeguarding factors. School hopping can have a detrimental impact on a child’s education and development. The commission also learnt that there is need for the Local Authorities to look at their respective admission protocols to ensure there are enough checks in place when parents want to move their child to another school.

The commission also learnt that there is a need for better communication from liaison officers on published admission numbers for schools especially with regards to accuracy of the data. The commission learnt that there is a higher risk of Church Schools closing as the Diocese are a much smaller organisation. There is support from the Director of Education for church schools, however there have been delays to certain strategic plans without any information and/or reasoning for it.

The commission heard that the schools in regeneration areas where temporary housing has been removed to build estates has seen a drop in nursery numbers as people moving into the newer buildings are mainly professionals without children. Pressures on pupil numbers in years 5 and 6 still exist due the mobility of pupils into other feeder primary schools and academy trusts.

The commission then asked further questions on the following topics:

·  Pupil premium and financial need of schools, Schools provision for SEND pupils

·  Falling birth rates

·  Council’s role in mitigating falling rolls

The commission heard that although pupil premium does help with school finances as does Education and Health Care Plans with regards to SEND funding, not all schools face the same challenges and there is a need for equity in funding of schools which impacts their resources. Outstanding schools as rated by Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) are able to have more secure funding when compared to good schools who still provide a good education.

The commission learned from the headteachers that the population projections in terms of birth rates are inaccurate giving schools a false sense of security, there has been a 31% reduction in birth rates from 2010 to 2020 with the biggest dip in the year 2018.

The commission heard that the council needs to play a role in educating parents that a school with a good Ofsted rating also provide a quality education and that this should be measured in attainment and progress of the pupil’s education development. The council needs to play a role in implementing decisive actions when it comes to short, medium and long term strategic goals in mitigating falling rolls. Socio-economic factors, housing and regeneration play a major role in falling pupil numbers and there is a need for a Southwark wide co-ordinated approach to mitigate falling rolls.