Brighton: Proposed changes to school admissions to be decided
Proposed changes to secondary school admissions across Brighton and Hove are due to go before councillors next week.Brighton & Hove City Council wants to reduce the intake at three secondary schools, introduce an open admission policy and increase the number of preferences that families can make.While the original proposal was to allocate 20% of places for pupils who live in single school catchment areas, this drops to 5% in the modified plans, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.An eight-week public consultation in December and January received almost 4,000 responses, while concerned parents staged a protest last month.
The proposals
Five per cent open admission for pupils from single-school catchment areasReduce the intake in year 7 by one class or 30 pupils at Blatchington Mill and Dorothy Stringer, and by two classes at LonghillOffer four choices rather than three when applying for secondary schoolGive priority to children eligible for free school meals up to 30% of admissionsMove part of Whitehawk into the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean catchment area and Kemp Town into the Longhill catchment area
The open admissions policy would give children living in four secondary school catchments – BACA, PACA, Longhill and Patcham High – a better change of a place at schools such as Stringer, Varndean, Blatchington Mill and Hove Park.Deputy council leader Jacob Taylor said the recommendations had been "shaped by the responses we received during the consultation stage".Separately both Brighton MPs have raised concerns about the impact on children with SEND, particularly those without an education, health and care plan (ECHP).Chris Ward, Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, is concerned that the current catchment proposals "could result in some children with SEND having to travel a long way and potentially via multiple forms of transport" to go to school.The proposals will go before councillors on 27 February.
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