Sadiq Khan: Councils could ‘regret’ closing London schools
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, February 8, 2024
The mayor of London Sadiq Khan has urged councils not to make permanent decisions on school closures based on a current fall in birth rates in the capital.
Speaking to CYP Now, Khan said he was “really worried about local authorities taking permanent decisions based on what could be a short to medium term blip in the demography of London”.
“I’d encourage councils not to take decisions which later on they regret,” he added, highlighting the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis as reasons why families are moving out of the city.
“If they’re boomerang Londoners and they come back and schools have been shut down and property sold off, that’s a problem,” he said.
The comments came following the closure of scores of schools in the capital including four primary schools run by Hackney Council due to “an ongoing, significant decline in the number of school-aged children, observed all across London”.
Lambeth Council ran a six-week consultation between December and January on plans to further reduce admissions at primary schools in the borough, with proposals for 45 less places at community schools from 2025.
Meanwhile, three Lambeth academy and voluntary aided schools told the council that they will also be consulting on proposals to reduce admissions by 75 places for 2025.
London boroughs are forecasting a drop in demand of 7,904 places across reception and Year 7 between 23/24 and 27/28, according to research from London Councils.
The umbrella body’s latest report shows a predicted decrease of 4.4 per cent in reception pupil numbers over the next four years, equating to 3,864 places or 128 reception classes.
It also predicts a drop in demand of 4.3 per cent for pupils beginning secondary school, the equivalent of 4,040 Year 7 places or around 134 classes.
The mayor of London told CYP Now, during the launch of his school inclusion charter this week, that City Hall has “got to make sure that we can support families to stay in London”, highlighting the extension of free school meals for all primary school-aged pupils for an extra year and the freezing of Transport for London fares.
“Families are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and that’s one of the reasons they are leaving, because they thinks it’s cheaper [elsewhere], but for many their roots are here, their friends and families are here, their GPs are here, their children’s education is here so we’re doing what we can to keep families in London but it’s really difficult without government support,” he added.
