Consultation on closing troubled Brighton special school

It's been in special measures for three years after being rated 'inadequate'

Author: Sarah Booker-Lewis, Local Democracy ReporterPublished 1st Jul 2024

The closure of a troubled special school edged closer as Brighton and Hove City Council’s new cabinet approved a statutory consultation.

The council has already stopped sending children to the school, Homewood College, which was rated inadequate and placed in special measures by the official education watchdog Ofsted.

And from September, no pupils are expected to be at the school which caters for children with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs and an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

The government issued an “academy order” but has been unable to find an academy sponsor over the past few years and the council has been placing pupils elsewhere.

Homewood staff member Steve Wood addressed the first meeting of the council’s new cabinet at Brighton Town Hall on Thursday (27 June).

He asked where he could find the cost-benefit analysis that had been promised during consultations with staff and said that there were not costings in a report to the cabinet.

The Labour deputy leader of the council Jacob Taylor said that the school ended the 2022-23 financial year £343,000 in the red and a year later the deficit had more than doubled to £709,000.

Councillor Taylor, the cabinet member for finance and city regeneration, said that without changes the deficit was expected to “significantly increase” even though the college was better funded than similar schools in East and West Sussex.

He said that any new arrangements were unlikely to be more than the costs of running the college going forward.

Green councillor Sue Shanks asked what plans the council had for the buildings at Homewood and two primaries – St Bartholomew’s and St Peter’s – which are both due to close.

Councillor Taylor said that the council had been contacted by various groups about using the school sites as there was currently no decision on what to do with them.

Once the council had identified any education sites that were surplus to requirements, a decision had to go to the Education Secretary and could take years.

Councillor Taylor said: “I do want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the staff at Homewood College and everything they have done in a very difficult environment.

“I know that some have not been happy with decisions made about the school and that they now face personal uncertainty as we consider permanent closure of the school.

“But I do want to thank them for everything they have done to support some of our most vulnerable children over many years.

“The important next step for this city and this council is to consider the future of SEMH and SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) provision and how we continue to learn the lessons of what’s happened at Homewood.”

The cabinet approved a consultation to run from Monday 8 July to Thursday 5 September.

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