Angry parents asked a number of key questions about the failings that led to the proposal to close Brighton’s oldest school at a public consultation meeting this week.
They were told that the budget deficit at Middle Street Primary School had soared from about £250,000 in the past financial year to more than £425,000 in the current financial year.
And, with falling pupil numbers the outlook would be worse, with no realistic way of paying off the debt.
Most of a school’s income is linked to pupil numbers – and fewer than 135 children are now at the school which has a capacity of 210. This time last year there were 193 children.
The key details were spelt out by Richard Barker, head of education at Brighton and Hove City Council.
He was faced with a flurry of question as furious parents accused the council of doing too little too late.
Mr Barker said that he was constrained in what he could say for various reasons as parents asked about head teacher Rob Cooper, who has been on leave since at least the start of the current school year.
There were also questions about the former board of governors who were replaced by an interim executive board (IEB) in June – a move that is only permitted at a “school causing concern”.
Middle Street is believed to be the first school in Brighton and Hove to have an IEB, a step that had to be signed off by the government’s Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
One parent said that this had happened only because parents whose concerns were ignored by the school and the council then complained to the Department for Education (DfE).
As well the plummeting number of children attending the school, one parent said that 90 per cent of the staff had left in the past two years.
But to try to put the closure down to pupil numbers and the finances would be a travesty, a parent said, criticising the failure of the culture over the past three years.
The meeting was told: “The school had a very specific problem with its management – but this is being treated like a demographic issue.”
Questions were asked about the head’s previous employment and whether references were checked.
Mr Barker said: “We hear what people are saying. The process doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone will get the answers that they want.
“There are some things we can talk about and there are some things we can’t talk about. We can’t talk about individuals.”
Parents complained about the council’s response that its hands were tied and it couldn’t do or say anything. It was paying lip service only, parents said, and there was a lack of transparency.
Also, a lack of communication had caused much uncertainty, the meeting was told, even though parents were now sent more emails than ever. None of them told parents what they wanted or needed to know though.
Among those present at the meeting was Green councillor Chloe Goldsmith. She heard the praise for interim executive head Rachel Kershaw and interim head teacher Michelle May for doing their best and going above and beyond the call of duty.
But before the interim board was appointed, parents said that the council did not do enough to keep children safe.
Mr Barker said that the council took steps to deal with matters that had to be addressed. Officials issued a warning notice to the governors last April and they were removed and the IEB was appointed in June.
It emerged that some children at Middle Street had taken up their places when St Bartholomew’s closed in 2024 and were now being forced to find a third school in two years.
The consultation on whether to close Middle Street Primary School is due to end on Monday 9 March, with the results to be presented to the council’s cabinet on Thursday 19 March.
The cabinet will be asked to decide whether to go ahead with the formal closure process and if, as widely expected, it does then there will be a further four-week consultation.
This is scheduled to run from Wednesday 8 April to Tuesday 5 May before a final decision to be made by the full council on Thursday 21 May.
The first consultation meeting was held at the school on Tuesday 10 February, with another meeting due to be held there from 9am to 10.30am next Wednesday (25 February).
A final consultation meeting is due to be held online on Wednesday 4 March at 6pm, the only one taking place at a time suitable for parents with daytime jobs.
Outside the meeting, one parent said that, unusually, the school governing body had not had a council-nominated member for some time and that parents had contacted the council to share their concerns.
The council had appeared to treat those raising concerns as “just a bunch of moaning mums” and ignored other warning signs such as pupils being pulled out of the school and high staff turnover.
One result of the high staff turnover was an increase in the cost of finding temporary staff to cover – and this alone should have been a red flag to the council.
It has not been possible to contact the current head teacher Mr Cooper for comment. He is understood to remain on paid leave.
Speaking as a parent with a child moving to senior school next year, these themes are depressingly familiar. An education department refusing to provide basic data, who fail in school improvement plans and oversee dodgy ‘consultations’ where the result is predefined. This is overseen by the Labour group of councillors, who cannot stop messing about with school admissions (against expert advice), who trust their Councillors so little they have to tell them how to vote, and who vilify entire groups of parents if they disagree with the Labour group.
It is outrageous that some children have had to change schools twice. The simple message is families cannot trust the council education department and Brighton Labour Councillors with our children’s education. This will affect how I vote at the next council election. I hope it does for others.
It’s just a site to be sold from the council’s perspective. They are out to sell everything they can as quick as they can.
More school/library/day closures from new labour’s continued local and national austerity programme.
Part of the reason numbers have dropped so quickly is the school admissions team pushing parents to take up places at other school immediately. They could have held places for parents to allow them to see out the consultation process without the worry of not getting a school place elsewhere. But this way they can state the falling numbers as a reason for closure…
My child went to middle street for two terms in 24/25 and the toxic culture there was frightening. Fear, bullying, violence and lies amongst pupils and staff was rife. 8 out of 21 kids left the year group across the course of one term; the council were kept well aware of the problems. None of this is a surprise or unknown to them.
The headmaster replaced nearly all the staff, mismanaged funds and has destroyed a school that had a reputation for being something special in the heart of Brighton.
The council should own their bad hire and missmanagment of an ugly situation and put a recovery plan in place to fight for a school in the heart of the city, but the easiest thing to do is point blame at numbers and wash their hands.
Shame on them.
6 years ago, Middle Street had a reputation for being a popular, close family community school with loyal teachers that have now all left. There’s only one person to blame for the destruction of this school but ofcourse the council will now blame falling numbers and debt rather than fight to save it. So sad.
This is the same Labour council who, in their 2024 manifesto, said:
“A Labour council will use what money is available to keep schools open…we will look at changing catchment areas to protect schools facing closure.”
Since Labour took over, we’ve already had a number of schools close or plan to close under their administration: St Peters, St Barts, the Brighton Waldorf School, Hamilton Lodge School, St Joseph’s Catholic, and now Middle Street Primary.
And to think we were told a Labour council under a Labour government would be good for our city…
Reading the article, it seems clear that this was a failing school, in both financial and student numbers. I’ve never seen an IEB be used before, but it demonstrates how dire the situation is.
I’m not a fan of the word consultation, because people often assume it affords a level of control over a decision, when sometimes, it’s purely about understanding impact and data collection.
Expert, and even amateur advice, would say that a business cannot run sustainably with a half million and growing deficit. Doing nothing would be the most irresponsible thing to do, right?
Some of the comments here are completely missing the point, especially those attacking the idea that closure is even being considered. I want to respond directly and say this clearly: Benji is right to defend the reality of the situation.
It’s easy to turn this into a political football or claim the council just wants to “sell off a site,” but the facts laid out are stark. A deficit rising from £250,000 to over £425,000 in a year. Pupil numbers collapsing from 193 to under 135 in twelve months. A capacity of 210 seats sitting half empty. No school — however historic or beloved — can sustain that financially.
Benji is absolutely correct that an Interim Executive Board isn’t appointed lightly. It’s a serious intervention used when governance has already failed. That alone tells you this wasn’t a minor issue or something that could be quietly fixed behind the scenes. And as he pointed out, running up a half-million-pound deficit with no recovery plan is not responsible leadership.
Yes, parents are understandably angry. Yes, children being forced to move schools again is upsetting. But defending the school as if it were financially viable does those same families a disservice. Doing nothing would only deepen the debt and make the eventual outcome even worse.
Strong emotions are natural — but Benji’s argument is grounded in financial and operational reality. Sometimes the hardest decisions are the responsible ones.
Yes but why did it get to this point? The school got massively into debt because the headmaster drove most of the loyal staff off and had to hire agency staff. Low numbers are due to the bad reputation and threat of school closure. The school was doing fine 6 years ago before he joined. And now the once lovely school has been destroyed because of this.
James – I feel you are the one missing the point. No one is suggesting doing nothing. They are suggesting the council appoint a new permanent head and board of governors to return the school to the popular, successful place it was until the last head was appointed just three years ago.
I am dismayed that Robert Cooper Headteacher has been able to become head of another school. He was dismissed from Comberbach Primary School in Cheshire due to fraud. Misappropriation of school budget and altering test results.
I was under the impression he would be unable to work in education ever again and yet here he is again.
It’s becoming clear that the council are committed to covering up his failings, and that he will not be held to account. As a parent who has now taken their child out of this school after watching it being slowly destroyed by this man (and all those who blindly supported him) and the persistent ignoring of those raising concerns and attempting to whistleblow, I really feel we are owed answers. What are the flaws in the system that enable people like this to remain in role, including being still on the payroll to the great detriment of the school!? The council-held public meetings have been an insulting farce: parents questions go unanswered and too little too late offers of psychological support have not materialised for those of us with kids struggling in their new schools. A group of parents had to take on this fight and take it to the department of education and press when repeated calls for action were ignored. Early intervention would have prevented the terrible ending we have all been forced to accept. I have friends who’s kids are still there and are utterly heartbroken to lose their friends, some children have developed anxiety as direct result of the impact of what has gone on at Middle Street. These are the real and lived consequences of the inaction of the Board. Rob Cooper was a cancer on this school, many of us saw this from the very beginning or had terrible experiences of him that he was careful not to let others witness. Intervention should have happened as soon as you became aware of this and you owe these families an apology. Those who fought to reveal what was going on, including the facts that Kate Jones has commented above, were vilified and labelled trouble-makers. To those parents: where was your curiosity and concern about or for those families in our community who were struggling? Of course, many families had no idea what was going on, but many others did, and chose to look away because their child was unaffected. If Kate Jones’ comment is true, why have there been no criminal charges brought against this man? Why was he immediately able to repeat his misdeeds at another school? So much of this story continues to be covered up. It is a travesty of justice that increasingly seems to be in the service of protecting the rank failings of Brighton and Hove City Council to protect Middle Street Primary, its staff, and the children and families who have lost the heart and soul of our much-cherished community. The pain of this experience will stay with many of us for a very long time. I hope one day, the full truth will come out.