Parents and residents are to have their say on whether two schools should merge to form a primary school.
Councillors approved a six-week public consultation into the proposed merger of Hertford Infant School, in Hertford Road, and Hertford Junior School, in Lynchet Close, both in Hollingdean.
The six-week consultation is due to start next Monday (19 June) and should include a public meeting and two virtual meetings for people to ask questions about the proposals.
The public meeting has been scheduled for 6pm on Tuesday 27 June at Hertford Junior School.
The virtual consultation events are expected to use Microsoft Teams. The first is scheduled for 11am on Monday 26 June and the other for 6pm on Wednesday 5 July.
If proposals win support, the schools could merge in September next year once building work is carried out at the junior school site to cater for younger children.
At this stage, the council said that it had no plans to “dispose of” the Hertford Infant School site. It would need permission from the Education Secretary to do so – something that could take two years.
The proposals were discussed at a meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council’s Children, Families and Schools Committee at Hove Town Hall yesterday (Monday 12 June).
The council’s head of schools Richard Barker said that the infant school site would require a planning application for change of use before any other council service could move into the building.
Pupil numbers are falling at Hertford Infant School and it has reduced its “published admission number” – or PAN – from 60 to 30. Just 22 children are expected to start in September.
Falling numbers have also affected Hertford Junior School. The PAN has been reduced from 60 to 32 from September, with 31 pupils currently expected to start.
Schools adjudicator Deborah Pritchard said: “I understand that the school wishes to teach with single year groups to a class.
“If the school were to establish one class for year three, it would not want, for educational reasons, to have more than 32 to a class.
“If the PAN were to remain at 60, then it remains possible, until July 2024, that anything up to that number of children could be admitted to year three and the admission authority would have no power to refuse them admission.
“In this situation, the school would have to make other arrangements which might include creating an additional class with the costs that could entail or reorganising its other classes so that there would be more than one age group to a class.
“The governing board wishes to avoid this disruption and potential cost.”
Labour councillor Jacob Taylor, the co-chair of the council’s Children, Families and Schools Committee, said that schools were under pressure.
Councillor Taylor said: “It is no secret that primary-age pupil numbers in the city have fallen in recent years, partly as a result of how unaffordable the city is for working families.
“Falling pupil numbers result in significant challenges for school budgets. Our administration will approach this situation carefully and seek to provide solutions that are best for pupils and parents using creative ideas and pragmatism where possible.”
The public consultation is due to appear on the council’s website on Monday 19 June and finish on Monday 31 July.
A report is then expected to be prepared for the Children, Families and Schools Committee meeting scheduled for Monday 11 September, with the merger expected to take effect in September next year.
