Brent Council to go ahead with formal consultation on halving the size of Leopold Primary School despite overwhelming parent opposition - Gwenneth Rickus site to close

 

Site proposed for closure

Brent Council Cabinet on Monday is set to launch a formal consultation on the closure of the Leopold Primary School Gwenneth Prckus site, Brentfield Road, despite overwhelming opposition at the informal consultation stage. LINK

The Governing Body of the school opposed the proposal as did 86.7% of the consultation respondents.

Brent Council's rationale is based on the need for forward planning as pupil numbers drop and the additional expense involved in running a school on two sites.  They admit that parents' perception is that despite a shared senior management team and governing body, it runs as a separate school from the Hawkshead Road site. 

Certainly it seemed a school in its own right when I visited several times a few years ago and I was bowled over by its ethos and the vitality and talent of the diverse staff and pupils. It was (is) very special. Leopold School (both sites) had a period of difficulty which saw the appointment of an Executive Headteacher to stabilise things and came through with flying colours and improved pupil achievement. It made a postive contribution to the Black Achievement project.

Considerable capital investment was made into the building when it was decided to refurbish what had been  the Brent Teachers Centre into an annex to Leopold Primary to accommodate the 'bulge' of pupils that was moving through the system at the time. 

The Cabinet paper states:

The Local Authority remains of the view that the proposal is required to address the level of spare places in the local area. While concerns raised by parents would need to be taken into consideration if the proposal was implemented, officers are of the view that the Council should move to consult formally on the proposal to cease provision on the Gwenneth Rickus site of Leopold Primary School.

The building would be used for other educational purposes according to the Cabinet paper but there is no mention of it as a possible site for the Islamia Primary School which is under notice to quit its Queens Park site. SEND and alternative provision are mentioned as possibilities so building expenses would remain.

The closure would lead to job losses and proposals are put forward to manage this process involving talks with trade unions and possible re-location of some staff to the Hawkshead site or re-employment elsewhere.

I embed below officers' responses to the consultation.

Informal consultation opens on closure of Brentfield Road site of Leopold Primary School

 

The informal consultation process on the closure of the Brentfield Road (Gwenneth Rickus building) site of Leopold Primary School began yesterday with a letter to parents:

 

Brent Council has launched an informal consultation seeking the views of the public regarding the closure of the Gwenneth Rickus site of Leopold Primary School. This is being proposed in response to falling pupil numbers in Brent, resulting in a high number of spare places in local primary schools.

The proposal will not result in changes to the provision of education on the Hawkshead Road site.

No decisions have been taken yet, but if the proposal to close the Gwenneth Rickus site was to be implemented it would begin to take effect from September 2025.

It is important you have a chance to have your say on this proposal. A consultation document and response form is available on the Brent website at www.brent.gov.uk/neighbourhoods-and- communities/have-your-say, via email LeopoldConsultation@brent.gov.uk and hard copies are also available from the school’s reception. All documents are also available on this webpage www.brent.gov.uk/leopoldconsultation where you can find facilities to translate them into different languages.

There will be six public consultation meetings where you will be able to find out more about the proposal and express your views. Public consultation meetings are being held at:

• 9am, 3.30pm and 6.00pm on 14 November 2023 at Leopold Primary School, Gwenneth Rickus Site, Brentfield Road, Neasden, NW10 8HE
• 9am, 3.30pm and 6.00pm on 15 November 2023 at Leopold Primary School, Hawkshead Road, Harlesden, NW10 9UR

The informal consultation runs from Wednesday 1 November until Wednesday 13 December 2023.

Please note that when I went to the webpage this morning it was not accepting submission at present.

For ease of reference I embed the consultation document below:

 

As funding crisis begins to hit Brent schools join Education Cuts Hurt - Fund Our Schools Rally November 22nd 6pm

 

 

Parents, students, governors, support staff, teachers and councillors are being urged to make their voices heard over school funding as long-term underfunding begins to hit local schools by attending the above rally tim ed to coincide with the Autumn Statement.

'Restructures' are taking place in many schools with support staff likely to be hit by redundancies. As Wembley Matters has pointed out before support staff have become vital to the achievement of higher quality education in Brent schools. They run special programmes of support in primary schools with a focus on maths and literacy, deliver 1:1 programmes on speech and language that may have previously been delivered by speech therapists, and provide behaviour and pastoral support. 

A long way from the 'washing paintpots' role of the 70s that readers may have experienced. 

Teaching support staff are so integrated into the classroom that many children see them as another teacher.

The differences are hidden and include low pay and for some term-time only contracts. In Brent they are overwhelmingly women and ethnic minority and if the main wage earner, often have to take on another job in order to make ends meet.

By far the biggest proportion of the  school budget is spent on salaries. Essential equipment and materials prices have increased with inflation. not to leave out soaring energy costs, so it is staffing costs that bear the brunt of budget cuts. Every class or subject has to have a teacher, so inevitably it is support staff, the often invisible backbone of the school, who face redundancy.

The situation is so bad that the National Education Union now runs training sessions for its school representatives in restructuring and redundancy - and resistance:

 

 

Local authority schools (as distinct from academies) that are unable to balance their budget can request a 'licensed deficit'. This means the LA will support them over a period of several years to bring their budget back into balance. They have to submit plans to reduce costs over that period to gain a licence and this can mean  more time to allow 'natural wastage' to take effect, as long as it includes a rationale that maintains the quality of education in the longer term. A difficult task. The LA's capacity to do this is limited by its own financial constraints so it is not the answer to widespread difficulties.

Falling pupil numbers also contribute to the budget crisis as schools are funded per pupil. If schools cannot fill their classes the staffing costs for a teacher (and a class teaching assistant) remain the same for a 24 pupil class as for a 30 pupil class. Smaller classes are welcome but need proper funding.   Brent Council is currently reviewing primary provision and will be proposing changes such as reducing some schools by a class per year with the possibility of mergers or closures in the longer term. They are currently consulting on the closure of the Brentfield Road site of Leopold Primary School.

There have been decades of under-investment in schools. This year was going to be difficult anyway but the situation has been made worse by the Government's mistake in the simple foecast of the number of  pupils in schools, so that schools have a lower budget than promised.

Leaders of the teaching unions wrote to the Secretary of State on October 15th:

On 17 July, Schools Minister Nick Gibb told the House of Commons:  

“Funding for mainstream schools through the schools National Funding Formula is increasing by 2.7 per cent per pupil compared to 2023-24.  

“The minimum per-pupil funding levels (MPPLs) will increase by 2.4 per cent compared to 2023-24. This will mean that, next year, every primary school will receive at least £4,655 per pupil, and every secondary school at least £6,050.  

“The core factors in the schools NFF (such as basic per-pupil funding, and the lump sum that all schools attract) will increase by 2.4 per cent.”  

On 6 October we were informed that there had been an error resulting in an underestimate in forecasting pupil numbers, and that the NFF tables issued in July were being revised and republished to stay within the already announced Core Schools Budget.  

Funding for mainstream schools through the schools NFF will now increase by just 1.9 per cent. The minimum per-pupil funding level for primary schools will be £4,610 (£45 less per pupil) and for secondary schools it will be £5,995 (£55 less per pupil). The core factors of the NFF will now only increase by 1.4 per cent.  

Government’s revisions to the NFF, in light of higher than forecast pupil numbers, effectively reduce the value of the NFF by £370 million. Schools are already having difficulty balancing their books; some will now face the very real prospect of cuts to provision.

Brent teachers and parents are already hearing about the difficulties and proposed cuts to provision. The November 22nd Rally organisers say:

After more than a decade of underfunding of education, we see the results in crumbling buildings, a profound teacher recruitment crisis and redundancies and restructures in schools across the city.

Cuts to Special Educational Needs provision are damaging the education and life chances of millions of children and young people.

Hear from those organising and fighting for the money we need, including trade unionists, parent campaigners and politicians.

Join the short demonstration beforehand as parliament meets to hear the Tories' Autumn Statement. Bring friends, colleagues and family to demand better. Save our schools, fund education.

Join the Resistance - book your place HERE

 

Leopold Primary School, Brentfield Road site, earmarked for eventual closure. A potential site for Islamia Primary?

 

Leopold Primary School, Brentfield Road

Falling school  pupil numbers and subsequent school closures and amalgamations were a feature of my early years in teaching in the 1970s and the issue has returned post-Brexit as pupil numbers fall. 

Camden has already been hit and  there was a local warning when the Strathcona site closed. Now Brent Council is wrestling with managing pupil numbers and school provision. in the borough.  A review of primary provision was promised last year and focused on Planning Area 4:

The above table shows how the actual admissions compared with the PAN (Planned Admissions Number).  30 is one form admitted at reception, 60 two forms and 90 three forms, 45 is a class and a half and results in either two small single age classes or mixed age classes.

The only two oversubscribed schools were Donnington (single form entry - one class per year) and St Joseph's a Roman Catholic school.  There are parents who prefer a small school such as Donnington where vulnerable children feel less threatened than they would in a school with  large numbers of pupils and a big site.  Our Lady of Lourdes is also one form entry.

Single form entry schools are becoming much less common in London but this may change in time. Brentfield, Furness, John Keble, Newfield, St Mary's C of E and Stonebridge are all around or well below one form of entry. They tend to have higher per pupil costs than larger schools.

The two sites of Leopold Primary have a combined form of entry of 4 classes.

 

Brent Council explains the background to their proposal to close the Brentfield Road site of Leopold Primary in phases from September 2025. The site was previously the Brent Teachers Centre andPupil Referral Unit.

Leopold Primary School currently has capacity for 120 places in each year group with 60 on the school’s main site on Hawkshead Road and 60 on the Gwenneth Rickus site (Brentfield Road). Leopold Primary School achieves good outcomes for pupils across both sites and was rated by Ofsted as ‘Good’ in June 2022.

 

Leopold operates as a split-site school with one leadership team and staff who work across both the main school site on Hawkshead Road and the Gwenneth Rickus site.

 

On national offer day in 2023 for Reception places in 2023, 60 places were offered and there remained 60 spare places across the two school sites. As with other schools across the borough, the actual Reception cohort now on roll is higher due to late applications, which would have been diverted to other schools had Leopold’s capacity only been 60. Demand for Leopold Primary School has been falling since 2018 and the Gwenneth Rickus site operates as one form of entry in some year groups, including Reception and Year 1.

 

The Leopold Gwenneth Rickus site was opened in September 2013 as annexed provision in response to increasing demand for primary school places. The site was previously used by the borough as a school improvement centre, running courses for education professionals. Now that demand has reduced, there is no longer a need for this additional site to be retained as there are sufficient spare places on both the Leopold Primary School main site and in other local schools to accommodate future demand for primary provision in the area.

 

In January 2023, there were 628 pupils at Leopold Primary School compared to 767 in January 2019, with 282 pupils educated on the Gwenneth Rickus site.

 

The proposal is for the status of Leopold Primary School to return to that of prior to 2015 when the school operated with two forms of entry from one site only (Hawkshead Road). A phased closure of the Gwenneth Rickus site is recommended to avoid disruption to as many pupils and their families as possible. As the Hawkshead Road site has a central location within the planning area, it is anticipated that over time pupils from the Gwenneth Rickus site would move to the main Leopold Primary School site. Other local schools will be able to accommodate any pupils who wished to move school.

 

Parents of future Reception children would continue to have a range of schools to choose from. Only two schools in the area (Donnington Primary and St Joseph’s RC Primary School) were oversubscribed on national offer day for the September 2023 intake. There are several schools with spare capacity close to the Gwenneth Rickus site.

 

There were built-in problems with operating on two sites that are some distance apart including staff movement and travel time and the difficulty of shaping the two sites into one school with a shared ethos.  Despite the difficulties the  school has been very successful.

Many felt that it would have better if they operated as two separate schools but Government rules did not allow it. School expansion was allowed but not the opening of new community schools - any new school had to be an academy or free school.

The proposal is for a phased closure, as in the Strathcona case. The site would be used for other educational purposes so that it would be available for any recovery in pupil numbers. Several alternative uses are mentioned in the Cabinet paper but not the possibility of it being used by Islamia Primary School.  There is likely be a reduction in staffing as the school shrinks.

Also included in the proposals is a reduction in the size of Mitchell Brook Primary so that it takes 60 pupils a year rather than 90. This proposal is supported by the school:

 

The proposed reduction of the Pupil Admisison Number at Mitchell Brook Primary School from 90 to 60 would help to reduce spare places in other schools in the planning area. Mitchell Brook Primary Schools is rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted (September 2021). It is anticipated that Mitchell Brook Primary School will remain a popular school. However, any children who are unable to secure a place at the school would be able to access places at other local schools in the immediate area.

 

The school is in support of a reduction of the school’s PAN and has raised concerns about the constraints of continuing to operate as three forms of entry due to the school’s confined site. Although forecasts indicate low demand in Planning Area 4 in the short and medium term, the spare building capacity created by reducing the school’s PAN could be brought back into use in the future at a time when demand rises again

 

The proposals would have to go through a consultation process. An indicative timeline is included in the paper. 

 

 

Lead councillors respond to residents' demands for the renaming of Gladstone Park and Leopold Primary School

 Given recent articles and exchanges on Brent heritage I thought readers would be interested in these questions and answers to be heard at tonight's Fill Council Meeting:

Question from F. Lee to Councillor Donnelly-Jackson (Cabinet Member for

Customers, Communities and Culture)

 

In August of 2020 the Mayor of London launched the initiative for Diversity in the Public Realm to review statues street names and landmarks in London, to reflect its diversity.

 

Given that Gladstone Park was identified as such for a review and given the obvious link to Leopold II with a Primary School in Harlesden, why has there been no effective council led public consultation in relation to the issue, in keeping with the Mayor's stated initiative?

 

Councillor’s response:

 

In 2020 the council undertook a review of the name of the park as part of the Mayor of London’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm. This involved a review of statues, street names and landmarks in London including the possibility of a name change for Gladstone Park, and community engagement was part of this process.

 

The review was completed in in August 2021, and the decision taken by the Black Community Action Plan Steering Group was not to rename the park, but instead to develop a public art commission in partnership with the community to both acknowledge the Gladstone family’s role in the slave trade, whilst celebrating the considerable contribution and influence of African heritage to the cultural landscape of Brent. This is in line with heritage sector best practice to retain and not obscure the significant associations of a place, and where the significance of a place is not readily apparent, it should be explained by interpretation.

 

Interpretation should enhance understanding and enjoyment, and be culturally appropriate, which is what we have strived to do with the heritage trail installed in the park.

 

In reference to Leopold School, there is no direct evidence to suggest the school is named after King Leopold II of Belgium. The school was originally named in 1874, with the high likelihood that it took its name from Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Leopold (1853-1884), who was known for his interest in education. Unable to pursue a military career because of his illness (haemophilia), he instead became a patron of the arts and literature. The school has worked with pupils to explore the history of the school and produced history boards documenting its historic timeline. In doing so, no further origins of the school’s name were found in the archives.

 

 

Question from N. Scott to Councillor Donnelly-Jackson (Cabinet Member

for Customers, Communities and Culture)

 

In light of recent proposals made to the Council to change the name of Gladstone Park, due to the Gladstone family’s abhorrent role in African / Caribbean slavery, could you please let me know who and when it was decided to hold a Windrush Tea Party in that particular park from 12-4pm on 24th June?

 

With regards to the Mayor of London’s stated initiative, I am particularly concerned that the Council have made no meaningful attempt to address concerns of local residents and initiate a wider public consultation in relation to ethical name changes regarding Gladstone Park and two Leopold educational establishments - named after families who exploited, traded, tortured and profiteered from slavery.

 

Councillor’s response:

 

The council has a duty to mark Windrush Day – and does so each year. This year’s Windrush 75 celebrations follow the land art – known as The Anchor, The Drum, The Ship – which opened in the park in October 2022, and was curated by the Brent artist Linett Kamala. The Windrush Tea Party, also curated by Linett Kamala is being held close by to the heritage trail which has been installed in the park to highlight untold histories, and to recognise and celebrate the hugely valued contribution made to Brent by Black African Heritage residents and to further the conversations that the art exhibition and accompanying heritage trail began. The Brent Windrush 75 community tea party’s location reflects the council’s commitment to continue the conversation with communities about the history of Gladstone Park.

 

With regards to Gladstone Park, in 2020 the council undertook a review of the name of the park as part of the Mayor of London’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm. This involved a review of statues, street names and landmarksin London included the possibility of a name change for Gladstone Park.

 

Engagement with the community was part of this process, which was completed in August 2021. The decision was not to rename the park but instead to develop a public art commission in partnership with the community to both acknowledge the Gladstone family’s link to the enslavement of Africans, whilst celebrating the huge contribution and influence of African heritage to the cultural landscape of Brent.

 

This space in the park, including The Anchor, The Drum, The Ship land art and the history trail, are now a space for learning, reflection, healing, gathering and celebrating.

Strike planned at Leopold Primary School over bullying allegations

National Education Union (NEU) members at Leopold Primary School in Brent have voted by a clear margin to take strike action over alleged bullying and harassment by the Headteacher. The first strike action is scheduled for 20^th to 22^nd March.

Last Autumn 13 members of staff, the majority NEU member,  submitted formal grievances against the Head. An independent investigator was appointed who submitted his report to the Governing Body and the London Borough of Brent in December. 

 The NEU claim that the complainants have still not been informed of the outcome of the investigation, in clear breach of the Grievance Procedure. Meanwhile they allege that several of those members have been subject to disciplinary allegations, at the instigation of the Headteacher.

The NEU have asked that the Head be suspended on full pay, and have no involvement in any disciplinary procedures until the issues arising from the grievances have been resolved. The NEU say that Brent  Council and the Governing Body have failed to respond.

Phil Pardoe NEU Regional officer said:

This is outrageous. The allegations are very serious. It is completely unacceptable for the Governors and Brent to sit on the report, and refuse to take any action to protect our members. We still hope to find a negotiated solution, but our members have reluctantly decided that they have no option but to take strike action in the face of the unacceptable behaviour of the Head and the seeming indifference of the Governors and Brent.