A bombshell council briefing paper has revealed that sixteen Southwark primary schools are in financial crisis, and 37 could be by 2023.
After a month of inquiries, the News can reveal that sixteen schools are in a budget deficit and require “urgent action” from central government.
Southwark Council is urging the Department for Education to deliver an additional £1.2 million cash injection, and to rethink its funding formula, or risk plunging half of the borough’s primary schools into budgetary overspend by the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
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The council blames a perfect storm of unaffordable housing, Brexit, Covid-19, the cost of living crisis and declining birth rates for the perilous state of affairs.
Affected schools have numerous ways of balancing the books such as reducing their Pupil Admission Number (PAN), merging with other schools, or restructuring. If these measures fail, closure is a last resort.
In a letter to Nadhim Zahawi, the Secretary of State for Education, Cabinet Member for Schools Councillor Jasmine Ali wrote: “I must now ask for your support by bringing to your attention the troubling issue of falling pupil rolls in London schools.
“This is a pan-London issue, with dire consequences for inner-city areas like my borough, Southwark.
“Here we are seeing a £3m deficit, with 17 schools in deficit, projected to rise to 37 in the coming years.
“This summer I was forced to close a primary school. My counterparts in London are in the same position. If we don’t act fast, more school closures will inevitably follow.”
The number of schools in deficit is now 16 rather than 17, after one school climbed its way out of crisis.
Under the current system, schools receive central government funding on a ‘per pupil’ basis. This spells trouble for Southwark’s schools which have seen falling admissions since 2018.
The council is asking the government to provide extra cash to cover falling rolls and to change the ‘per pupil’ funding formula.
The government has already provided £1.8 million in funding but the council says the deficit stands at £3 million, leaving a £1.2 million shortfall.
Responding two months later, Nadhim Zahawi wrote back to Cllr Ali arguing that “88% of local authority maintained schools are in a cumulative surplus or breaking even”.
He added the department was already providing additional investment of £2.6 billion in 2020-21, £4.8 billion in 2021-22 and £7.1 billion in 2022-23 compared to 2019 – 2020.
While Zahawi cites that 88% of local authority maintained schools are at least breaking even, this appears to be a national figure that fails to account for the problems facing a central London borough.
Southwark’s high immigrant population may have made it particularly susceptible to a post-Brexit exodus and many families chose to leave London during the pandemic.
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Moreover, Southwark’s high levels of deprivation and expensive housing could be making families leave the borough, especially as the cost-of-living crisis tightens its grip.
The redevelopments of the Aylesbury Estate and Heygate Estate have seen scores of young families leave Southwark.
St John’s Walworth Primary School, which served many of the estate’s children, closed in 2021. Nearby English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary School was saved by the skin of its teeth that same year.
The council has refused to say which individual schools are in trouble because it fears that parents might withdraw their children from affected schools, compounding the problem.
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The council has said, if parents are concerned about a school’s financial situation, they should inquire with schools on an individual basis.
Councillor Jasmine Ali, deputy leader and cabinet member for children, young people and schools, said:
“We know that for most families, the choice on where to send their children to school is a decision from the heart, with careful consideration for what their child wants and needs. Parents put their trust in the school, and it becomes an extension of their family. That is why our focus is with the children in our schools, their parents and the teaching staff, and we too have their best interests in our hearts.
“The fact is, across London and other parts of the UK, and for many complex reasons, there are not enough children to fill London schools. This is causing a funding gap in schools. I know this will worry families when they hear that it is happening, but we are working with each school affected, individually, to find a solution.
“We offer families and school staff our unwavering support; practical help and assurance that we want schools to continue to offer the exceptionally high standard of education young people already receive in Southwark.”
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Birth spurts come and go like all the lockdown banies. I hope the council makes use of data like that and counts of nursery children along with new residential blocks to model school needs in the borough. When there’s an ebb, I hope the buildings can be repurposed for temporary community uses/low rent social startups so that the building is maintained and not get sold off for more single bed flats.