A class issue

Primary school places are being turned into a political football, according to some of those in charge. Frank le Duc reports

The shortage of primary school places for children in Brighton and Hove has become a political football. That’s the view of members of the ruling Green group on Brighton and Hove City Council. They may not have a majority but they thought that they had the backing of enough councillors from other parties to move ahead with their plans to deal with the shortage. They didn’t.

“The 30 children who would benefit from this expansion will now have to get on two buses to go across town”

And the political football was being kicked around the playground of one school in particular when the council’s Children and Young People met to tackle the problem. It’s a small playground. And that’s been a crucial sticking point in talks between council officials and the governors of Stanford Infant School in Highcroft Villas, Brighton.

Labour and Conservative councillors combined to vote against the Greens, leaving a hole in their plans to force Stanford to take more pupils from September. They were concerned about overcrowding, the logistics of lunchtimes and the safety implications at the start and end of the school day. Parents and governors also have concerns about disruption from building work, children being taught in prefabs and the lack of capacity at Stanford Junior School when the time comes to move.

Councillor Jeane Lepper, who will stand down at the next election, recalled the problems faced by parents and children when Balfour Infant School agreed to expand but Balfour Juniors didn’t. She said: “Everyone swore that mess wouldn’t be allowed to happen again. But they’ve [Stanford Junior School] got a loaded gun to their head really.”

She said that any consultation over Stanford Juniors would be a sham and added: “The reason this dog’s breakfast has happened is because the [Green] administration hasn’t done anything in the two years that it’s had. Stanford Infant School shouldn’t be punished for this.”

Councillor Andrew Wealls said that more should be done to prevail upon the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to make land available behind the Territorial Army barracks at Highcroft Drill Hall. Councillor Lepper recalled dealing with the MoD during discussions about Preston Barracks. She said: “They don’t exactly move swiftly.” So Labour and the Tories voted to delay any expansion of Stanford Infants to allow for a deal to be done.

The Greens cried foul. Councillor Stephanie Powell pointed out that Labour had closed a secondary school. And Councillor Ruth Buckley said: “This is all just showmanship and this is the part of politics I really don’t agree with. I’m really quite angry you’ve turned this into a political football.

“The 30 children who would have benefited from this expansion plan will now have to get on two buses to go across town.” She said that in Port Hall Road, Brighton, “on one side they can get into Stanford – on the other side they can’t”.

There is a widespread belief that they won the Goldsmid by-election in 2009 by promising a new primary school. They were careful with the wording in their manifesto when they won control of the council two years ago. They promised to “continue to campaign for a new secondary and a new primary school for the city”. They also stated their opposition to academies. Since the election they have made clear that they oppose free schools in principle too.

And this is where claims of turning the issue into a political football have been thrown back at them. They say that the government won’t let them build a new school. But Councillor Wealls said that they could work with groups wanting to open a free school. He has supported those behind Brighton and Hove’s only free school, the Bilingual Primary School. It opened in temporary premises in Falmer but is expected to move permanently to a site in Hove. Like the Catholic school Cottesmore, it wants to expand.

The council official in charge of trying to work out what happens next – so the council can meet its responsibility to offer enough places to local children – is Gil Sweetenham. He pointed out: “Regardless of the circumstances, head teachers and teachers will do everything they can to ensure the very best education for their children.” He has the experience that comes with having been a head teacher but, if school places do become a political football, he may have to act more like a referee.