Closure of Kirklees schools “cannot be ruled out” as pupil numbers plummet
Schools in Holme Valley and Skelmanthorpe and Denby Dale are most at risk
The potential closure of some Kirklees primary schools “cannot be ruled out” as the number of children starting in reception continues to plummet.
A report to next week’s meeting of Kirklees Council’s Children’s Scrutiny Panel sets out the challenges being experienced as a result of the falling numbers. It explains that sizes of reception classes have been on the decline since the population peaked in 2015/16, with this expected to continue.
This trend – which is also being experienced elsewhere in the UK – is placing financial pressure on some local schools, with the vast majority of their funding being based on the number of pupils on roll in October. The most popular schools are said to have a “degree of protection” from the impacts of a dwindling population, though the greater choice available to parents can exacerbate the negative financial repercussions felt by schools that are less popular, the report explains.
It continues to say that for the majority of Kirklees, house building alone is not enough to reverse the population decline, even in the areas where major housing developments are planned.
To help mitigate the problem, the number of students a school can admit, referred to as the ‘Published Admission Number’ (PAN), has been reduced in some primary schools and is set to go further. While this is said to have had “some success”, there are still “significant surplus places” in some areas, with the possibility of future school closures unable to be “ruled out”.
Decisions made between 2020 and 2026 will see the number of places cut by 456 through PAN reduction. This equates to a 7.7% reduction, though the size of the reception cohort is said to have got 8.2% smaller in this same period.
Some successes have already been made, according to the report, though it highlights the areas of ‘Holme Valley’ and ‘Skelmanthorpe and Denby Dale’ as having a very significant number of surplus places standing at 26.1% and 26% respectively. A surplus of between 5% and 10% is considered “healthy”, able to account for fluctuations in the population.
The report continues: “Without action in areas with significant surplus and no mitigating factors, there is a real risk that continued pressure on school budgets could lead to the need to close some schools.
“School closures are hard to reverse should the population increase again in the longer term future. PANs on the other hand can be increased quite quickly to respond to any increase in local demand.”
Taking no action is not considered to be a “viable option”, with consultation on further PAN reductions to take place this summer. By taking this opportunity, the hope is to avoid the need for “resource intensive” and “unpopular” school closures which are difficult to reverse.
Demand for secondary schools remains high, though a decline has started, the report adds.