About the school admissions consultation

Why is the number of pupils in the city going down?

Pupil numbers are falling across the country not just in Brighton & Hove.

There's a recognised natural cycle of birth rate change in the population, locally and nationally. Every 20 to 30 years the cycle goes from high birth years to low birth years and back again.

There was a peak in births in Brighton & Hove around 2010. The numbers have been falling year on year ever since and the trend is continuing downwards for the moment. 

We expect the birth rate to start increasing again in the future. 

What about new housing developments in the city?

The effect of new housing developments in the city is small compared to the impact of changing birth rates. The City Plan for Brighton & Hove proposes another 11,122 units of accommodation to be delivered by 2030. Based on previous experience this would generate an additional 1,023 primary-age pupils by 2030.

We know that only 90% of primary-age children attend state schools. So, we would expect 921 of these children to need a school place.  This would be across 7-year groups. So, we would assume an increase of 132 pupils per year group by 2030.

We're planning on the basis that 30% of these new housing units will be affordable and will most likely go to families already in the city. So, if all the new developments are completed on time, we have calculated that we'll need places for around 90 additional pupils in each year group by 2030.

If the pupils were generated evenly over the next 10 years, we would only expect an additional 9 primary-age pupils per year group across the whole city. However, these additional children are more likely to move in towards the end of the period when building works have been completed.

Do schools have to agree to have their published admission number (PAN) reduced?

The proposed PAN reductions have been discussed with headteachers and governing bodies. We have invited them to respond to the formal consultation. 

The council is responsible for setting the PAN for community schools. However, these schools can object to the National Schools Adjudicator if the PAN set for them is lower than they would wish.

There's a strong presumption in favour of increasing rather than decreasing a school’s PAN which the Schools Adjudicator must take into account when considering any objection.

Why aren’t any Church Voluntary Aided schools, Free schools or Academies included in the proposals to reduce PAN?

The council can only set the admission arrangements and PANs for community schools.  Church voluntary aided, Free schools and Academies are responsible for setting their own admission arrangements and PANs although we work positively with them on this issue.

There's also a consultation underway about closing St Bartholomew’s CE Primary School which is a Church Voluntary Aided school.

Why does having too many space places affect a school’s budget?

Schools are largely funded according to the number of pupils on roll. So the fewer pupils they have, the less money they receive.

There are legal requirements that limit infant classes to 30 pupils.

If an infant school has a PAN of 60 pupils but only has (for example) 35 pupils, they have to operate 2 classes and employ 2 teachers – but they might not receive enough money to be able to pay for both teachers.

If the school has a PAN of 30 pupils, they can fill their 30 places according to the city’s admissions priorities and not have to employ a second teacher.

Why is having a 5 to 10% surplus capacity important?

This allows the city to have enough spaces to allow for parental preference. It also means that there are places available for families moving into the city mid-year, but without having too many spaces to affect the financial stability of our schools.

Will reducing the PAN affect my chance of getting a place at the school?

With pupil numbers going down over the next few years it's likely that there will be fewer applications for these schools.

If in future years there are more pupils applying than available spaces, places at all the schools will be offered to the pupils living closer to the school after the children in the higher priorities have been allocated a place.

We can never guarantee that families will receive a place at a specific school. Primary schools in the city do not have catchment areas and places are allocated in accordance with the published admission arrangements.

I have one child already at the school; will reducing the PAN affect my other child getting a place?

Pupils with a sibling link are given priority for places above other children who do not have a sibling already attending.

How will schools manage a drop in PAN of 15 pupils or half a class?

This would mean the school operating some mixed-age classes.

With a PAN of 45, it's likely that the school would have 2 small reception classes for the first year of 22 and 23 pupils and then as this number of pupils moves through the school it would allow them to have 3 classes of 30 pupils across 2 year groups.

The exact arrangements would depend on the individual school and the number of pupils in existing classes.

How will mixed-age classes affect my child’s learning?

There are a number of research studies looking at this and the majority find no differences between pupils’ attainment in mixed-age classes compared to single-age groups. 

OFSTED have also found that the structure and organisation of a class should not on its own affect the quality of education.