Council cabinet to discuss proposed school changes next month – Brighton and Hove News

Proposals to change the school’s admissions process for September 2026 are due to go before Brighton and Hove City Council cabinet members next month.

The proposed changes have not yet been published, but the Cabinet Office’s forward plan says cabinet ministers will be asked to approve a public consultation.

The consultation is expected to include proposals to reduce published enrollment numbers (also known as PAN) in primary and secondary schools.

Since 2019, the council has been trying to reduce the number of excess reception class places in primary schools as the number of children living in Brighton and Hove continues to fall.

It is predicted that from September 2026, the decline in primary school enrollment will begin to affect secondary schools.

The council is currently holding a public engagement event which will conclude tomorrow (Wednesday 23 October).

It received more than 2,400 “interactions” but the council’s website stopped showing the number of completed responses.

Parents have launched a petition on the council’s website entitled ‘Flawed and rushed consultation on school boundaries in Brighton and Hove’. It collected 348 signatures.

More than 1,500 people have signed a second petition called “Stop current consultation on school admissions boundaries” on Change.org. He is calling on the council to reject the options outlined during public consultation.

Campaign group Class Gap has urged supporters to complete the survey as the group wants more opportunities for children living in east Brighton and less economic and social segregation at secondary school level.

So far, the council’s only recent change to secondary school admissions was made in September next year to give greater priority to children receiving free school meals.

At secondary level, the public has revealed that published admission numbers will be cut at five “maintained” schools – Blatchington Mill, Dorothy Stringer, Longhill, Patcham High and Varndean – and catchments could change.

Councilors are also expected to consider how to address the projected number of empty places in primary school reception classes in September 2026.

Earlier this year, councilors voted to close the two smallest schools in Brighton and Hove – St Peter’s Community School in Portslade and St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School in Brighton.

St Peter’s is closed in the summer and St Bart’s is due to close for Christmas.

In January this year, councilors agreed to cut the PAN for reception classes by 30 at Brunswick, Goldstone, St Luke’s and Saltdean primary schools, and Stanford and Patcham pre-schools.

Goldstone, St. Luke’s and Patcham appealed the decision, and the Office of the School Adjudicator granted their appeals, so they will retain three forms of admission – or PAN of 90 children.

The decline in the number of children under five was also reflected in the 2021 census, with 21 percent fewer children aged four and under compared to 2011.

The drop has had an impact on school finances, as funding is based on the number of students. Some 34 schools are forecast to make losses totaling more than £7 million this year.

The Cabinet of Ministers is scheduled to meet on Thursday, November 14. The meeting is planned to be broadcast on the council’s website.