Three weeks after the News reported that seventeen primary schools could face the axe, the council still hasn’t told anxious parents which schools, if any, are at risk.
On June 1, we reported that a parent at St Francesca Cabrini Primary School was told by a Local Authority figure that seventeen local schools could close due to falling admissions.
They were told that declining birth rates, and people moving out of London after Covid-19 and Brexit, were to blame for plummeting roll numbers.
Exclusive: Confusion as council refuses to confirm whether 17 primary schools face closure
Despite the News asking for comment, and an interview with Cllr Jasmine Ali, the cabinet member responsible for schools, both requests have been repeatedly snubbed.
The council has said it will provide this newspaper with a ‘briefing paper’ on the issue, which should be available next week. For now, parents are in the dark.
The News spoke to Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT to get his insight on the situation.
Though he couldn’t speak about Southwark specifically, he said: “We know that the population of primary aged pupils is currently in decline. There appear to be a number of factors driving this, including lower birth rates, but also some evidence of families moving out of London following the pandemic.
“This will inevitably have an impact on funding for some schools as the money they receive is tied to the number of pupils attending. However, it would be a huge mistake to allow schools to close, only for there to be a renewed places crisis further down the line.
“Local councils and central government need to keep an eye on the long term here and ensure schools are supported where there are short-term reductions in pupil numbers.
“A truly ambitious government would seize this opportunity to reduce class sizes so that pupils can get the best possible support as we come out of the pandemic.”
School closures have been a looming worry in Southwark ever since the pandemic.
Last year, St John’s Walworth Church of England Primary School closed for good. There were also worries that English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary School could shut although those plans were later scrapped.