First choice applications to academised primary school fall to lowest ever levels

Just 14 children have been offered a place this September at a primary school which was forced to become an academy.

Offers for reception places at Moulsecoomb Primary School had already been falling from an average of about 30 in the five years to 2019 to 22 in 2020 – and just 18 in 2021.

Meanwhile the number of children starting at the nearest primary school – Coldean Primary – has risen from 31 last year to 41 this year.

Pioneer Academy Trust said it was expecting 28 children to start in September, telling Brighton and Hove News that second and third preference applications made up the difference.

But Brighton and Hove City Council, which still oversees allocations for the school, confirmed this was not the case. It said the trust had said they were expecting late applications for some of the 25 children in its nursery class who had not already been offered places.

The school was forced to become an academy after an Ofsted inspection in April 2019 rated it as inadequate. At that time, there were 283 children on the roll, including its nursery class.

There are now 209 children at the school, including the nursery.

In April 2021, Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle pledged to lead an exodus of families from the school if the academy plans went through. But by then, many children had already left, with just 227 on the roll in May 2021.

He said: “It was always going to be the case that some parents would not want to send their children to an academy, which is why we fought the change so hard.

“Now the chain has taken over we need to give them a fair shot at running the school but these enrolment figures are certainly not good for them.

“The last thing anyone wants to see is Mouslecoomb left without the community and school provision that Moulsecoomb Primary provides.

“The only way school numbers in the city will be stabilised is for the largest primary schools in the west of the city to make a reduction in their pupil admissions numbers and for the schools in Coldean, Bevendean and Moulsecoomb to work in a co-operative way, which is why we needed Moulsecoomb to remain in the Brighton and Hove family of schools.”

Lee Mason-Ellis, CEO of The Pioneer Academy, said: “The Pioneer Academy (TPA) trust has already invested significant amounts of money in to Moulsecoomb School and is looking forward to improving the school environment even further in the coming months.

“We have plans to enhance classrooms and are redeveloping the Early Years Foundation Stage and outdoor learning areas this summer and have already spent £50,000 securing the school perimeter.

“We are also providing pupils with a free set of school uniform for the second year running, alongside funding the Year 6 residential trip this year as we recognise how the rising costs of living are affecting families.

“TPA is also delighted to have introduced our Pioneer Passport Programme at the school and we are funding trips associated with this for two years. The scheme centres around providing children with a wide range of cultural experiences.

“We are confident that Moulsecoomb School offers a great deal to local children and look forward to welcoming the 25 children who the head teacher already confirmed will be joining us this September. We are also processing a further three late applications.

“As a one form entry school this means Moulsecoomb will be almost at capacity, and we can also confirm that no children left the school following it becoming part of TPA.

“We hope the local community are starting to see all the benefits being part of TPA brings to the school and it was great to have so many parents and carers join us recently for the free Easter Family Meal for pupils and their relatives that was held at the school.”

Meanwhile, other nearby primary schools – Hertford Infant, Coombe Road Primary and Bevendean Primary – have also seen applications fall, albeit not so much.

With fewer families living in the city, pupil numbers have been dropping and are forecast to fall even further in coming years.

Brighton’s northern suburbs, including Moulsecoomb, Coldean and Bevendean, have seen bigger drops in children as family homes are bought by developers and turned into student housing.

This year, plans to reduce the number of children starting each year at a number of schools – the published admissions number or PAN – were scrapped after pushback from the schools and parents.

The council says it will now try and persuade the city’s bigger and more popular schools to cut their intake instead, so more children end up at schools which are currently undersubscribed.

This is how many children have been offered places at schools facing cuts from 2023:

Last year, he council also proposed cutting the PAN at schools from 2022, but several schools successfully appealed. This is how many places have been offered at those schools

Overall, nearly 94% of families applying for reception places this year have been offered their first preference this year – up from 90% last year.

More than 99% of applicants have been offered one of their three preferences, with just 22 children not getting a place at any of their choices.

The total number of applications is down by 123 compared to last year.

The figures for first, second and third preferences are: