It is vitally important that parents are aware of the problem that schools in Southwark and indeed across London are facing as a result of pupil numbers dropping.
This is so they can add their voice to that of the council to ask the government to ensure that their children, after an unprecedented time of hardship with lockdown and restrictions, are given the best education without head teachers having to grapple with balancing impossible budgets.
This week, after almost a month of inquiries from this paper, the council finally revealed that sixteen schools are in financial crisis. They have a deficit because school funding is reliant on the number of pupils attending. Many more could follow suit and find themselves in deficit, but we all know that over time populations, especially in central London, increase as well as fall.
Exclusive: The fight is on to help sixteen cash-strapped primary schools
All hope is not lost. The council has reassured parents that closure would only happen as a very last resort and after a lengthy consultation process that could take years. The council is committed to retaining school buildings as educational centres that cannot be sold for luxury flats, as has happened in years gone by. But there are also a whole range of avenues that the council can pursue before shutting schools’ doors for good. The council has spoken about mergers, restructuring, and renegotiating structures. There is even the possibility of community fundraising.
If a school does close, the council wants parents to know that it will have been in pupils’ best interests. In such an event, council education staff would work with parents to help secure places for their children at other schools – 95% of which are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.
We found that the council was very reluctant to share any information about the problems facing its schools. The last thing is for people to panic unnecessarily. But by sharing briefing papers and correspondence with the News we hope that parents will join in the call for a fair funding formula for their school and others .
Parents are left frustrated when they are not aware of what’s going on, and they are a vital source of strength for schools in the challenges that lie ahead.
After all, the council’s letter to minister Nadhim Zahawi asking for more investment is a start, but it’s unlikely to bear fruit in the medium term given the financial crisis the country is facing. Who is most invested in the success of schools? Who can be relied upon to pull out the stops when the going gets tough? Of course, it’s the parents.
The outpouring of emotion that accompanied the closure of St John’s Primary School in Walworth last year demonstrates the deep connection parents feel with their children’s schools.
As Cllr Jasmine Ali wrote in her statement: “Parents put their trust in the school, and it becomes an extension of their family.”