Parents at a Portslade school threatened with closure have accused Labour of breaking a pledge to keep schools open.
Brighton and Hove City Council last month announced plans to close two primary schools, including St Peter’s Community School in Portslade, next summer.
During heated meetings at the school and online this week, parents asked Labour councillors Jacob Taylor and Lucy Helliwell why they were breaking the party’s election pledge.
They pointed to the local party’s manifesto from May’s elections, which includes the pledge “Keep Schools Open”, which says: “We will look at changing catchment areas to protect schools facing closure, particularly in outlying areas” and that Labour would use “what money is available” to keep schools open.
It also says: “A Labour council will look to increase the city’s provision for pre-school children and seek to maintain council-run nurseries wherever possible.”
But the closure of St Peter’s will also mean the closure of its popular nursery, which charges £30 a day, far less than private nurseries.
Parents also questioned the council’s previous assertion that there are enough spaces at nearby schools to take St Peter’s pupils in September for all but children going into year 2 and year 6.
One mother of a reception pupil, Emily Brewer, said she had rung the nearest five schools, and there were only eight places currently free for the 16 children in the year.
Miss Brewer, who also has a child registered to start at the nursery in February, told Brighton and Hove News: “Cllr Jacob Taylor didn’t have anything to say for himself when I challenged him on breaking the pledges.
“The timing of this announcement has been terrible. They did it at a time when people are looking for school places for September 2025. This feels intentional to put people off from applying to this wonderful community school.
“It’s going to have a huge impact on families. I have no idea where my daughters are going to go.
“Some families may have to travel across the city, or might have to send children to different schools – how are they going to live, to work?”
Another, Kirsty Moore, said: “They are breaking promises, they are not keeping to their word.
“They haven’t done proper research before announcing this bombshell and the impact it will have/already had on our school.”
Councillor Jacob Taylor said: “Since we took office in May we’ve met individually with headteachers across the city to understand the needs of our family of schools.
“We have been clear at committee and in public statements that no final decision will be made until the consultation process has concluded.
“By taking these decisions now, we will create a system where schools are fuller, get better government funding, and are able to offer a broad and properly resourced education to all pupils, but particularly those with SEND and from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“In our manifesto we said that ‘a Labour council will use what money is available to keep schools open’. That is exactly what we are doing – more than half our schools are in deficit, and in the next financial year it looks likely that the council will have to use its general fund to support schools.
“We are pursuing PAN reductions at a further nine schools to try and minimise the need for any further school closures.
“The fact that there are falling pupil numbers in schools is not new. The Greens were aware of this but they were incapable of making decisions and did nothing to address this.
“The Tory Government’s funding formula means schools receive funding on a per pupil basis.
“This means sparse classrooms and school budget deficits will only diminish the quality of schools. 54% of schools are now in budget deficits and pupil numbers are reducing and forecast to fall further.”
A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said there are enough places within two miles of St Peter’s for everyone currently on the school roll and for the reception year, there are enough places within 1.5 miles.
He added: “We will strive to meet parental preferences wherever we can.”
Labour breaking election promises and still, desperately trying to somehow blame the Greens. This is getting all rather predictable and tedious. If the Labour council can’t keep schools open, then what is the point of them?
So blame the greens and tories……just tear up your manifesto once you’ve got into power……disgusting..why is it even worth voting 😡😡😡😡🐖🐖
So blame the greens and tories…just tear up your manifesto once you’ve got into power…disgusting..why is it even worth voting 😡😡😡😡😡😡🐖🐖
Words are cheap. Labour no different from all the others.
A broken promise is a broken promise. Labour councillors should hang their heads in shame.
Sadly this was entirely predictable.
Labour’s local manifesto, while an optimistic read, was fully of promises that were simply not possible for any council to achieve. So for anybody who knows what councils can do and can’t, it was obviously deceitful.
The deceit in the manifesto was cynical and brings democracy into disrepute.
I feel really bad for those parents.
Well labour are just lying through their teeth! They say that there are places available in schools in 2 miles from St. Peter’s but that is just not true! These parents have looked and been told there just isn’t enough spaces. Even if there was, they are breaking up families and friends into different and much bigger schools than they are used to many that have additional needs and will not cope or be able to be supported correctly in big mainstream schools- I’ve experienced first hand what it’s like when your child is in a school that doesn’t support them right ( his mental health went down hill so much that he had to be pulled out and to be referred to many different professionals to support and build his self-esteem and confidence back up that they destroyed! St. Peter’s did wonders for my child and with in two months all that hard work was taken)
They talk about 2miles like they accept all parents drive and have the time to go that distance every morning and school pick up. Not all parents drives and some that are a one parent family! And one reason St. Peter’s works for these parents, it’s a couple of minutes walk for most which gives these parents that don’t drive enough time to drop their children off and head to work, or was you wanting them to have to quit their jobs ? ? Also the lack of empathy for these teachers and staff members is shocking! They just can’t see just how hard they work, not just for the school but for these children and their families. They just go above and beyond and truly care not only about the childrens education but to give them support in all areas ( mental health, boost confidence, general health, give their own time to help them catch up with work, supporting parents) this school is a family, a community! You just don’t find that anywhere. This school works absolutely brilliantly for SEN children or children that just struggle socially in bigger environments. They completely understand SEN children and have more experience and knowledge than most mainstream schools. Shame on you for trying to break your promises to these children 😡
2 miles is the legal description of free school travel, Stacey. That particular part has very little to do with the council. Still, those challenges do also have alternative solutions, but as someone said elsewhere, more research needs to be done before committing to an action that upheavals families’ lives like this.
Don’t think that applies to nurseries though? And with the older children, it states on the gov website that the school must be more than two miles and the child has to be under 8, children older it’s 3 miles away. So if you find a school just under that 2mile mark according to the gov website they don’t qualify. Some families on low income may qualify with closer schools but again according to gov this is for age 8-11 yrs which makes no sense to me, what’s the deal with these strange age ranges, why not younger. The only other way they might be able to push it is if they can show that the route they would need to take to school is to unsafe ( don’t know to much about that one) but I’m sure there will be certain rules around that.
All previous decisions agreed by labour greens were in a minority
So Cllr. Taylor’s response is that to save the majority a few must go. That’s quite the utilitarian approach. I can see that being really divisive already. Not a decision I would have made lightly…
Shocking how Labour are trying to backtrack on their election promises.
Keep St Bartholemew’s & St Peter’s schools OPEN. Labour can find the shortfall if they really want to!