A London council has apologised to hundreds of teachers and pupils after a watchdog ruled that it was unlawful to shut two primary schools.
Plans to close Fenstanton Primary School and Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School in Lambeth were rejected by the government’s schools adjudicator last week.
It comes after plans to close St John the Divine Church of England Primary School and merge it with Christ Church Primary SW9 were also rejected last month.
Lambeth had agreed to close or merge six schools in November after classrooms were left half empty across the borough due to plummeting pupil numbers.
Over 1,000 fewer children are starting in reception in Lambeth compared to 10 years ago, with issues such as Brexit, the cost of living crisis and a lack of affordable housing contributing to lower numbers of children in the area.
Since schools are funded per pupil, resources can quickly come under strain and schools can fall into debt if there is a sudden drop in pupil numbers.
Fenstanton and Holy Trinity have seen some of the steepest pupil number declines in Lambeth, and the council has said closing the schools would help protect the quality of education in the borough.
Following Lambeth’s decision, the schools had asked for more time to come up with an alternative plan to try and avoid having to close their doors.
The council agreed the schools could have more time by modifying its closure decision but the Office of the School Adjudicator (OSA) rejected the modified decision, saying it was unlawful.
Lambeth has said this was due to a technical process and that the OSA has not disputed whether the schools should close.
The OSA also rejected plans put forward to amalgamate Fenstanton and Holy Trinity primary schools on the Fenstanton site.
The council has now been forced to go back to the drawing board and is hoping to meet with the OSA and the Department for Education to discuss how to address the challenge of falling pupil numbers.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson previously said the council would have to begin looking at further school closures later in the year after the OSA rejected plans to merge St John the Divine CoE Primary School and Christ Church Primary SW9.
Councillor Ben Kind, Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: “This is a deeply challenging time for schools across London as falling pupil numbers impact education budgets and sustainability.
“The very difficult reality we face is that a big drop in pupils in has seen the number of children starting reception classes falling by more than 1,000 over the last 10 years.
“We have worked hard to address this, running a pupil place planning process that aims to make sure viable and sustainable school remain in the local area – minimising disruption and retaining education provision in a way that would protect the quality of education for our children.
“The council’s approach, set out in 2022, was endorsed at the time by trade unions, school leaders and the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education as a way to respond to falling pupil numbers while protecting jobs and avoiding sudden and disruptive school closures.
“That collective, borough-wide process, where schools would come together rather than work against each other, is now at risk.
“However, we respect the OSA decision and will now consider what it will mean for our approach to tackling the excess of school places in Lambeth.
“We acted on external legal advice at every stage, and while the OSA has taken a different view on one part of the process, we remain committed to learning lessons and moving forward constructively. We also apologise to the parents, pupils and staff at both schools.”
