The closure of a troubled special school edged closer as Brighton and Hove City Council’s new cabinet approved a statutory consultation.
The council has already stopped sending children to the school, Homewood College, which was rated inadequate and placed in special measures by the official education watchdog Ofsted.
And from September, no pupils are expected to be at the school which caters for children with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs and an education, health and care plan (EHCP).
The government issued an “academy order” but has been unable to find an academy sponsor over the past few years and the council has been placing pupils elsewhere.
Homewood staff member Steve Wood addressed the first meeting of the council’s new cabinet at Brighton Town Hall on Thursday (27 June).
He asked where he could find the cost-benefit analysis that had been promised during consultations with staff and said that there were not costings in a report to the cabinet.
The Labour deputy leader of the council Jacob Taylor said that the school ended the 2022-23 financial year £343,000 in the red and a year later the deficit had more than doubled to £709,000.
Councillor Taylor, the cabinet member for finance and city regeneration, said that without changes the deficit was expected to “significantly increase” even though the college was better funded than similar schools in East and West Sussex.
He said that any new arrangements were unlikely to be more than the costs of running the college going forward.
Green councillor Sue Shanks asked what plans the council had for the buildings at Homewood and two primaries – St Bartholomew’s and St Peter’s – which are both due to close.
Councillor Taylor said that the council had been contacted by various groups about using the school sites as there was currently no decision on what to do with them.
Once the council had identified any education sites that were surplus to requirements, a decision had to go to the Education Secretary and could take years.
Councillor Taylor said: “I do want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the staff at Homewood College and everything they have done in a very difficult environment.
“I know that some have not been happy with decisions made about the school and that they now face personal uncertainty as we consider permanent closure of the school.
“But I do want to thank them for everything they have done to support some of our most vulnerable children over many years.
“The important next step for this city and this council is to consider the future of SEMH and SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) provision and how we continue to learn the lessons of what’s happened at Homewood.”
The cabinet approved a consultation to run from Monday 8 July to Thursday 5 September.
Who is Steve Wood. Not a member of staff there called Steve Wood.
Please report correctly.
All staff will be redundant as of end of august 24 so decision made long ago before this meeting.
There is certainty as the authority have told pupils they are not back at homewood in September and staff last day is end of July.
This meeting shows the authority have not followed correct procedures to close.
How about a report on why authority introduce an academy to help the school but fails massively, doubles the deficit, doubles the staff sickness and absence and turnover. Spends thousands on consultants and fails the pupils, staff and taxpayers but then gets given a broken building in centre of town and £500000 to make good and run the same type of school for a third of the pupils.
The pupils that are not attending the part time new site will be shipped out across sussex, some travelling for over an hour in taxis at a cost to tax payers
Again the authority and academy has punished the pupils and families.
Much more to the story than has been reported so far
Thank you staff and I am sorry on behalf of tax payers that you have been treated so bad.
My child will cherish the time they had with you
No costings? Sounds familiar!
Third school closure by Labour who promised in their manifesto to keep schools open
Still, that promise (we won’t close any schools) got them many votes,
particularly in the areas concerned didn’t it?.
Labour had to be economical with the truth as they very often are!
As for the future, it appears only Mr Starmer knows the plans!!
The Ofsted report said the school wasn’t doing very well. And this is when the government said that an Academy would have to take over the school. But no academy was interested in taking on the school. Plus the school is in debt by over £700,000. There are only 32 pupils at the school. Sounds to me like the school was very badly struggling to support these children. What is the local council suppose to do in these circumstances? Not carry on regardless surely? Better to move the children into better schools
The students are not being moved into better schools, they are being sent to a part time provision which currently has no staff employed for September other than the Headteacher.
Oh well Sally how misinformed you are.
The school had half the deficit as declared but then academy came in and doubled it.
It was also two weeks away from getting a better ofsted grade.
The academy seems only to come in and close the school down so they could then get council to pay them to open a new site.
£500000 to make a derelict site good for a third of the pupils.
If they had spent half the money on more staff the school would not be on this position.
A head who has no interest other than himself and securing a position with the academy.
Pupils will now have to travel out of city at a cost to you the taxpayer.
Would say speak with governors but since the entire governor board resigned the new ones have hidden under the rocks .
There are no other schools in city that can support or cope with these children