PARENTS, teachers, and a vicar trying to stop the amalgamation of two C of E primary schools in south London have spoken of their dismay at a perceived lack of support from the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education (DBE).
Falling pupil intake across the borough is referred to by Lambeth Council as the rationale that schools have to be closed or amalgamated. Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis are quoted as reasons for young families’ leaving inner London, and a drop in birth rates.
On 9 September, the Council published its proposals to amalgamate St John the Divine C of E Primary School with Christ Church Primary SW9, each in Kennington. The proposal is being resisted by representatives of the college and by the parish church, St John the Divine, Kennington, but not by the DBE.
On Tuesday, the pinnacle teacher of St John the Divine Primary School, Catherine Warland, said that she was dissatisfied with the Southwark DBE: “We can’t quite understand why they are usually not supporting us fully.”
She compared the college’s case with that of one other C of E primary school — St Saviour’s, Herne Hill — which had been set for amalgamation, before plans were dropped in response to opposition from parents and the DBE.
“Our parents are saying the exact same thing, however it doesn’t feel like they’ve been listened to,” Mrs Warland said: “We don’t understand why the board perhaps isn’t fighting as hard for our college, for our kids.”
St John the Divine schoolPupils within the kitchen garden of St John the Divine C of E Primary School
A spokesperson for the DBE said that the proposals had been considered “on their very own merits”, and “no two are alike, just as no two schools are the identical.” She said that the DBE’s response had been “shaped by information from the council, attendance at meetings that we’ve got offered to every school with governors, staff, and families in the course of the informal consultation, current and projected pupil-roll numbers, in addition to other local aspects”.
On Wednesday, the Vicar of St John the Divine, the Revd Mark Williams, said: “It is disappointing that St John the Divine is being singled out like this when outcomes far exceed others in educational attainment and enrichment. The [DBE] is presiding over the decimation of the church-school estate within the diocese of Southwark.”
C of E schools in Lambeth, he said, were being “disproportionately affected”: the present raft of proposals for varsity closures and amalgamations put 90 places at C of E primaries under threat.
Holy Trinity C of E Primary School, Tulse Hill, is being proposed for closure within the Council’s plans. The school provided no comment when contacted by the Church Times.
“Clearly, Lambeth’s proposals are targeting Church of England schools, and the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education does nothing,” Fr Williams said.
A spokeswoman for the diocese said that the DBE had been working with the council “for a lot of months”. “We understand the priority and distress that individuals are feeling over this issue — and the will of the college to stay because it is,” she said.
The DBE, nonetheless, regarded the proposed amalgamation as “a possibility to create a blended school with a recent identity that might secure the legacy of each schools, and construct on the strength of the church to serve the youngsters on this area”, the spokesperson said.
Nazmin Rahman, whose son is within the reception 12 months at St John the Divine, said on Tuesday that she thought that there was a “racial dynamic” within the council’s decision — a view with which one other parent, Mohammad Ibrahim, agreed.
“This wouldn’t be happening in a white middle-class area: taking the alternative of a very good school from parents living on the deadliest estate in London,” Ms Rahman said, referring to a headline in The Times from 2018 in regards to the Brandon Estate, where most of the school’s pupils live.
“We are a presence locally which disrupts and disturbs a number of the significant issues that might occur . . . with gang violence in the world,” Mrs Warland said.
For greater than two-thirds of the pupils, English is just not their first language, but academic attainment in the college is above the Lambeth average in each maths and literacy, at each Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
The funding formula for schools is predicated on pupil numbers, and so reduced intake results in a drop in funding. At the moment, nonetheless, St John the Divine, unlike many other schools, was balancing its books, Mrs Warland said on Tuesday. Further, although overall intake was declining, there had been a rise previously 12 months.
“Lambeth predicted we’d only have seven children in our reception class, but we’ve got 14, and are above their proposals. . . This time last 12 months we were 110 on roll, and we’re now 130.”
Cassie Robertson, who has three children at the college, spoke of her concern on the prospect of closure. “It’s greater than a college,” she said, referring to the supportive networks, after-school clubs, and community focus.
Francis Martin/Church TimesPupils leave St John the Divine C of E Primary School at the tip of the day
Although not a Christian herself, she valued the college’s ethos, saying that it had helped her children to “turn out to be kinder, more thoughtful of others”. Mr Ibrahim, who’s Muslim, agreed that the Christian identity of the college was helpful to its pupils.
As Ms Robertson spoke, a bunch of pupils was lining up within the playground, able to go down the road for choir practice on the parish church. The school feeds the church choir, but earlier this 12 months the then Precentor, Ben Vonberg-Clark, told the Church Times of the challenges that such work needed to contend with (Features, 19 January).
“There’s a possibility for the Church here that doesn’t exist in other bits of London, though it’s changing massively now that personal developers are moving in and families who can not afford to live listed below are getting moved out,” he said. “Inner London boroughs are getting sort of hollowed out of youngsters.”
The choir also featured on the front cover of probably the most recent annual report from the Archbishops’ Council. The church received funding from the council to develop its youth outreach and choral work.
“We appreciate people’s clear passion for St John the Divine Primary School — there’s a lot to commend it. In reality, this is just not in regards to the merits of particular schools, however the very real challenges that make keeping things exactly as they’re unimaginable,” the diocesan spokesperson said.
Lambeth Council didn’t reply to specific questions on St John the Divine, as a substitute pointing to an announcement by the cupboard member for youngsters and families, Ben Kind, who said: “I understand how that is an incredibly difficult situation for all involved.
“It is just not a process either Lambeth Council or anyone in our college community need to be undertaking. However, Lambeth Council has a responsibility to act now, to stop the situation getting worse and to guard the long run of Lambeth’s schools.”
Mr Kind said that the consultation was “not a mirrored image on the dedication of our teachers or staff, but on the undeniable reality of declining pupil numbers. We’ve engaged with our communities in shaping these proposals, and their feedback has been crucial.”
Further consultation is happening. A final end result will probably be announced by 4 November.
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