THE council could scrap plans to reduce pupil numbers across primary schools in the city following the two month consultation process.

Councillors will meet to discuss whether to cut pupil numbers at primary schools in Brighton and Hove as of September 2023 - or to abandon the idea.

It follows a recommendation from the council’s cross-party school organisation working group.

The chair of the working group, councillor Sarah Nield, said: “We’re grateful to all the governors, headteachers, families and residents who engaged with our consultation and gave us their views.

“We have amended our proposals in response to these.

“Locally and nationally we are facing a very serious problem with falling numbers of children set to start school in the next few years.

“We are committed to keeping all our schools open if we possibly can.

“But the council has no budget for keeping schools open where pupil number forecasts suggest schools may encounter serious financial difficulties.

The Argus: Parents, children and councillors at Carden Primary School in NovemberParents, children and councillors at Carden Primary School in November

“We’ve been working hard in collaboration with the schools affected by our proposals to understand what falling pupil numbers mean for them, and to look to find solutions wherever possible.

“A key concern is that changes at this point would have a disproportionate impact on schools that serve some of the city’s most disadvantaged pupils."

The move follows public consultation during November and December, and detailed discussions between the council and the schools involved.

Parental preference for which schools parents want to send their children this September will be a factor in the council’s decision.

The council warned that the city’s falling birth rate is still a “serious issue” that will need to be addressed.

The Argus: Parents from multiple schools including Bevendean Primary School and Woodingdean Primary SchoolParents from multiple schools including Bevendean Primary School and Woodingdean Primary School

Cllr Nield added: “Many respondents said they wanted all schools in the city to play their part in reducing the overall number of surplus places – particularly larger schools and schools situated in areas where there are accessible alternative schools.

“We agree – and in recent years we have tried to make this happen, precisely because bigger schools are proportionally less affected by a reduction in numbers than smaller schools.

“But we have been stopped from doing this by the national Schools Adjudicator, who is appointed by the government.

“The adjudicator’s view is that schools that have high numbers of parental preferences should be allowed to remain the same size.

“We acknowledge that nearly all of our schools are currently managing within existing budgets or have clear recovery plans in place. With this in mind we think it is reasonable to see how parental preferences for this September’s intake affect things.

“But with falling pupil numbers continuing to be a serious issue, we will continue to engage with our family of schools about any concerns they have.”

Brighton and Hove City Council’s children, young people and skills committee will meet on Monday.

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