Agenda item

Report of the Director of Children's Services. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children, Schools, and Families.

To agree the proposed arrangements for admission to community nursery classes, primary, junior and secondary schools and to St Aidan’s Voluntary Controlled School and for sixth form admission for the year 2024/25, including proposals to reduce the published admission number (PAN) for several primary schools can go out for consultation.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Schools, and Families introduced the report which sought agreement of the proposed arrangements for admission to community nursery classes, primary, junior and secondary schools and to St Aidan’s Voluntary Controlled School and for sixth form admission for the year 2024/25, including proposals to reduce the published admission number (PAN) for several primary schools can go out for consultation.

This was an annual report on the proposed admission arrangements for schools. It was explained that all schools were required to have admission arrangements and that these were proposed and determined by admission authorities; the local authority was the admission authority for the borough’s

community and voluntary controlled (VC) schools. The Cabinet Member commented that the local authority published a co-ordinated scheme to ensure a smooth transition and to ensure that all pupils were offered a place; it was added that most people got their first or second choice school.

It was explained that the central government funding received by a school was based on the number of children registered which meant that lower pupil numbers affected a school’s ability to retain staff and maintain high standards of teaching and learning. It was highlighted that the Council had a responsibility to make sure that school places were organised in a way that helped all schools to maintain high standards. To assist schools that had been significantly impacted by the impact of lower pupil numbers, reductions in numbers were proposed as set out in the report.

It was noted that the purpose of the report was to seek Cabinet approval to commence the six week statutory consultation period in relation to the proposals.

In response to questions from Cabinet Members, the following information was provided:

-       It was confirmed that there was a trend in the borough that the numbers of children were declining in the east but remaining relatively stable in the west. It was noted that this put additional pressure on the schools located in the east of the borough.

In response to questions from Cllr Connor, the following information was provided:

-       There was a suggestion that some of the schools with proposed reductions in pupil numbers, as set out in the report, had not been consulted. The Cabinet Member understood that all of the named schools had been consulted and stated that she would investigate this

-       It was clarified that the proposals related to 2024-25 only at this stage. The Cabinet Member stated that the Council was not looking to close or amalgamate any schools. It was acknowledged that pupil numbers were challenging but highlighted that the Council was looking to support schools through these developments.

-       It was noted that the financial resilience of schools was a significant factor in the proposals to reduce pupil numbers. It was added that the levels of funding for schools were set by central government.

RESOLVED

1.    To agree to consult on the proposed admission arrangements, including the coordinated schemes for admission of children to schools for the academic year 2024/25.

2.    To agree to consult on the proposed fair access protocol4 which, if agreed at Cabinet in February 2023, would be come into force from 1 March 2023.

3.    To agree to consult with stakeholders on the proposal to reduce the PANs by 1fE at 8 primary schools across Haringey’s primary school estate; noting that pre-consultation engagement with key stakeholders (school leaders and governors) has been a key factor in formulating these proposals.

4.    To note that, following the consultation, a report will be prepared summarising the representations received and a decision on the final admission arrangements for 2024/25 will be taken by Cabinet in February 2023.

Reasons for decision

In common with many London authorities, Haringey has experienced a decrease in demand for reception school places for several years. This is due, in part, to the turbulence brought about by Covid-19 and Brexit. However, the decrease in applications is likely to reflect a wider set of factors at play that have been impacting demand for primary reception places for the past few years.

Following years of rising demand due to the growth in Haringey’s population, Haringey is in a position of needing to reduce capacity because of a flattening birth rate and a higher than projected increase in out-migration. This has contributed to a higher than necessary number of reception places in some of Haringey’s educational planning areas where supply is predicted to outstrip demand.

This report sets out our response to the change in demand for reception places in the borough and the consultation process we are asking to begin will gather views on an adjustment to our overall number of reception places. We will report back to Cabinet in February 2023 on this consultation and seek final agreement to any adjustment to our reception published admission number (PAN).

Alternative options considered

We are not proposing a change to the oversubscription criteria for our community and VC schools for 2024/25. Whilst there are other ways admission arrangements can influence the allocation of school places set out in the Code (e.g., designated catchment areas, identified feeder schools or giving priority in our oversubscription criteria to children eligible for the early years premium/ pupil premium) no alternative option is being considered at the time of writing this report.

Although other London authorities have taken radical measures to address surplus capacity at primary level (school closures / amalgamations) this is not currently under consideration in Haringey. We are keen to maintain the mix and spread of all of our existing primary schools so that parents and carers have the optimum choice of school type and location.

Through this process of reducing PANs, we aim to ensure that the number of reception places matches demand. An oversupply of places at a school leads to financial and organisational inefficiency and can be challenging for individual schools to manage. Local Authority officers and school leaders have worked together in the last year to consider options and take steps to address this. A review of the rolls of all primary schools in the borough has been undertaken supported by the Isos partnership and schools where rolls were falling and/or where spare capacity already existed due to schools not recruiting to their PANs have been identified and put forward for reduction. Further information on the pre-engagement consultation process with key stakeholders can be found at para. 6.17 – 6.24.

It has been acknowledged by school leaders and governors that doing nothing would put schools under possibly intolerable financial burden which would likely worsen wider educational outcomes for all pupils. This consultation will give us an opportunity to regularise the number of reception places available and also explore with stakeholders any other longer-term potential for creating future opportunities, for example federations or amalgamations. Our overarching aim is to assist schools in helping to enshrine sustainability and to introduce greater flexibility within our school estate to respond to the increasing rate of variation in population demand.