The next step in the process of closing a special school is due to be taken in the coming week.
Brighton and Hove City Council started a consultation on the future of Homewood College, in Queensdown School Road, Brighton, two months ago – and now wants to close it.
The council has already stopped sending children to the school which was rated inadequate and placed in special measures by the official education watchdog Ofsted.
And at the end of the 2023-24 financial year, at the end of March, the school had a £709,000 deficit.
On Thursday (26 September), the council’s cabinet member for finance, Jacob Taylor, is being asked to make a decision about the next steps which are likely to end with the closure of the school.
During the consultation process, the council held two public engagement events and received 19 responses. Three responders supported closing the school, six were unsure and ten – or 53 per cent – did not want Homewood to close.
Five people went to an in-person public meeting – and no one attended the online meeting.
The report said: “Following the public consultation, the cabinet member for finance and city regeneration could determine not to proceed with the statutory notice to close Homewood College.
“At this time, the school has no pupils on its roll nor staff employed to work there.
“As a result, it would be some time before the provision could be restarted through the commissioning of places and the naming of the provision in young people’s ‘education, health and care plans’.
“The number of responses to the consultation were low and, while a small majority disagreed with the proposals, consideration needs to be made about the practicalities of not taking forward the next stage of the consultation process, namely publication of statutory notices.”
Before the closure process started, the school took 40 to 50 pupils a year, with social, emotional and mental health needs.
The remaining year 10 and 11 pupils were assigned places elsewhere, including St George’s House, in Dyke Road, Brighton, and Ropemaker’s Academy, run by the Beckmead Trust, in Hailsham.
Most of the 10 to 14-year-old pupils switched to the pupil referral unit at Connaught Road, Hove.
If Councillor Taylor agrees that a four-week representation period should follow – from Monday 7 October to Monday 4 November – it will give people a final chance to comment on the proposal.
Homewood is a special school for pupils from 11 to 16 with social, emotional and mental health needs.
The school became subject to an “academy order” after it as placed in special measures in December 2021 but no trust has come forward to sponsor the school.
If the school is closed, a separate application would need to be made to the Education Secretary should the council wish to dispose of the school land and buildings.
How much power can one man have??
So many Schools within the City are closing, or Council are trying to reduce Student intake at Primary Schools, though some so far have won the Appeals.
Hertford Infants is moving to the Junior Site so that’s a empty premises isn’t it,
Cedar House Hollingdean is suppose to be a Second Site for Hill park in Portslade-has that opened yet for Students.
St Peter’s has Closed with St Barts closing at Christmas
There 2/3 Pupil referral Units within the City, there will be more Special schools than Mainstream soon
Hove Park School have a Unit on it, so does Connaught Rd.
And Mainstream Schools don’t always have enough space to provide Additional needs.
I don’t really know what needs to sorted, but something does.
Personally, I think the situation with schools closing or reducing numbers is a symptom of a lack of affordable housing, more than anything, so my feeling is that tackling the housing shortage is a key consideration. Schools will then organically be in a more viable situation.
Until then, there’s a big gap financially in this area, and it going to have to have some cuts made to it. And they are going to be deeply unpopular. I don’t envy anyone who has to manage this.
This is a school for children with very challenging behaviour. More should be done to keep it open with proper financing. Academies aren’t interested in children with special needs, they just want to show good results, hence no offers to take it on. There should be consultation about where this school should be, how it should be run to best help the children who need it.
There’s a fair few charities around that support SEN behaviours, I wonder if that’s an option that could be explored?
This school is on a huge site – if safe 24 hour pedestrian access could be created it would be worth millions as development land.
I went to Woodside school before it became homewood college it’s a shame it was a lovely school lovely staff when I was there my mum was a governor for the school it would be a shame if the building was no longer there brilliant building play area and the indoor swimming pool I watched it being built it will be a real shame
I wonder if that pool could be hired out on non-school days as a way of increasing financial viability?
Could some religious cult like the Green Party take over the space?
Or worse?
Squatted by Brighton’s homeless community!!
I’ve never known it to be Woodside, Uplands and Queensdown before Homewood
But either way it been a shame to lose the Building, Education is needed within this City-more children with Additional needs will need help in the future.
They should stop thinking on Profit ( should it be sold for Uni students or Council flats) than Education.