Brent Cabinet to approve Islamia Primary School move to Brentfield Road site from 1st September 2027

 

It is more than 5 years since Yusuf Islam (AKA Cat Stevens) gave Islamia Primary School and Brent Council notice of eviction. The search has been on for a new site ever since with the South Kilburn site earmarked for a merged Carlton Vale Infants and Kilburn Park Junior rejected by Brent Council  and Strathcona vacated by Roe Green Primary, rejected by Islamia parents,

 

 

Following the decision to close the Leopold Primary Brentfield Road site I suggested in a Wembley Matters article LINK that this might be suitable for Islamia, the only state-funded Muslim School in the borough. 

 

 

In November 2024 Gwen Grahl, lead member for schools, responded to my question at Full Council pursuing that possibility by saying:

 

As set out in the refreshed School Place Planning Strategy 2024-2028, agreed by Cabinet on 12 November 2024, consideration will be given to opportunities to use any spare capacity within the primary school sector to expand provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, given the increasing need across the borough.

 

The Gwenneth Rickus site of Leopold Primary School will continue to be used for mainstream primary provision until September 2027 and the Council has not determined the future use of the site, that could also include provision for SEND.

 

Now next week's Cabinet, after a formal consultation is set to approve a recommendation that Islamia Primary School transfer to Leopold's Gwenneth Rickus site from 1st September 2027. The Islam Yusuf Foundation (IYS) has extended the eviction period to enable this to happen. The Leopold site will be transferred to IYS, despite the eviction order:

 

[The IYS] would be required to hold the site for the benefit of the Islamia Primary School. Further details in terms of ownership would be set out in a Trust Deed. This would ensure that the primary school would be protected from eviction in future.

 

The Strathcona site would be used for SEND provision.

 

It appears likely that the present Islamia site in Queens Park will be used to expand IYF's private secondary schools. 

 

A majority of respondents rejected the Leopold proposal at the informal consultation stage, but Brent Council reports the result of the statutory consultation as the basis for going ahead with the move:

 

56 responses were submitted to the Brent Have Your Say consultation portal, 6 responses were submitted directly to the school and one response was handed in to the Civic Centre.

 

50 responses were fully supportive of the proposal. 13 respondents either opposed the relocation or raised concerns about it. Of these, 7 were explicitly opposed or objected to the proposal, while 6 were generally supportive but raised concerns regarding the relocation without explicitly opposing or objecting to the proposal.

 

Three local primary schools had raised concerns that the relocation would put further pressure on them at a time of falling schools rolls. 

 

Concerns were raised about journey times, lack of public transport and other issues that are dealt with in the full Cabinet paper HERE.

 

The Equality Impact Assessment LINK  addresses areas likely to be of interest to readers. Here are some key points:

 

AGE

 

The relocation of Islamia Primary School to the Brentfield Road site would ensure that children are taught in a suitable provision setting which will benefit all pupils in the school. Currently pupils are taught in split-site accommodation on the Salusbury Road site and in classrooms in Winkworth Hall, a building leased from the Council.

 

The proposed site would offer improved indoor and outdoor facilities on a single site which would enhance the children’s learning experience and would support the school to sustain a good quality of education for pupils. Being on one site will also allow for improved use of resources, ensuring budgets are used effectively to enhance learning opportunities and experiences for all children.

 

Information will be provided in the Council’s Starting Primary School September 2027 brochure (published September 2026) to advise potential applicants of the planned relocation of the school so that parents are aware before they apply for a school place.

 

DISABILITY

 

The proportion of children at Islamia Primary School with an EHCP is 2.4% compared to 4.0% across schools in Primary Planning Area 4, the planning area within which the school is proposed to be located.

 

The proportion of children at Islamia Primary School receiving SEN Support is 16.5% compared to 18.6% across Planning Area 4.

 

The proposal will not disproportionately impact any person on the basis of special education need or disability. The new site will provide better facilities for all pupils, including those with SEND. It will allow all pupils to be educated together on one site (rather than the current split-site arrangement), supporting the school’s inclusive ethos.

 

Children with an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) who transfer to the new site will be able to make an application for transport assistance if they meet the eligibility criteria.

 

RACE

 

The top ethnic groups attending Islamia Primary School (Black African 38.8%, Any other ethnic group 30.6%, and Pakistani 13.4%) are similar to those of schools in Primary Planning Area 4 (Black – African 27.1%, Any other ethnic group 18.9%).

 

It is not considered that relocating the school would have a negative impact on the basis of race

 

RELIGION

 

Islamia Primary School is the only Muslim faith school in Brent. Relocation to the proposed site will ensure the long-term future of the school, ensuring diversity of provision across the Brent educational landscape.

 

There are both denominational and non-denominational schools with spare places in Primary Planning Area 4 where the new site is located, so relocating the school to the area will not impact on local choice for parents and carers.

 

Consideration has been given to community cohesion concerns in the context of moving Islamia Primary School to a site near to the Neasden Temple. The area where the site is located is diverse, reflecting Brent’s mixed communities. Within the context of Brent’s diversity, the Local Authority works proactively with communities to address any community cohesion concerns. Supported by the Council, the Brent Multi-faith Forum also works to develop understanding and shared belonging through bringing communities together.

 

The YIF, and its schools, have a track record of interfaith work, including representation at the former London Interfaith Centre for a number of years, working with the former Three Faiths Forum (now called, The Faith and Belief Forum), hosting the launch of Nisa-Nashim, a Jewish and Muslim women’s network, some recent discussions with representatives of the Brent Multi-Faith Forum, participating in borough-wide interfaith walks and other activities.

 

If the relocation to the Gwenneth Rickus site proceeds, the YIF has indicated it would be supportive of working with the local community to ensure that local considerations are reflected in the school’s decision-making processes. This might include, for example, exploring options for local representation on the Governing Board and, through its broader activities, creating space for dialogue via a forum that brings together faith representatives, community groups, residents and council members to consider inclusive engagement and to explore, with the Governing Board, how the site might also support wider community benefit.

Cllr Tariq Dar circulated a jubilant message that assumed (rightly given the rubber-stamping role of Cabinet) that Brent Cabinet would approve the recommendation:

Fantastic News – Islamia School Brent is Saved
Cllr Tariq Dar MBE

Islamia Primary School, founded in 1983 by Brother Yusuf Islam, grew from a small nursery into the first Muslim school in Britain to receive state funding, following the Parents’ Campaign for Voluntary Aided Status in 1984.

After years of uncertainty, Alhamdulillah, the school has been saved and will relocate to the Gwenneth Rickus building (formerly Leopold Primary School), 242–250 Brentfield Road, London, NW10 8HE.

Our heartfelt thanks go to the Leader of Brent, Cllr Muhammad Butt, Cllr Grahl (Cabinet Member), council officers, councillors, staff, governors, parents, and the community for their tireless efforts.

Massive thanks all around — Alhamdulillah, Islamia’s future is secured.

Cllr Tariq Dar MBE
Chairman, Islamia School Parents Campaign for Voluntary Aided Status 1984

 

 

 

 

 

The future of Islamia Primary School on the agenda for Brent Cabinet's May 19th Meeting

 From the school website

 

Readers will remember the controversy over  state-funded Islamia Primary School currently housed in Queens Park. The school was given an eviction notice by the land owner, the Yusuf Islam Foundation, as it wanted to expand the neighbouring private secondary schools.

An informal consultation was held that rejected the school moving to the Strathcona site in Preston ward. Calls for it to be housed on the site in South Kiburn set aside for the merged Carlton Vale Infants and Kilburn Park Junior schools was rejected by Brent Council. Islamia parents cited the very low pupil numbers at those schools compared with the over-subscribed Islamia Primary. Brent Council argued that the numbers at the new South Kilburn Primary would increase as the regeneration progressed and attractive new resources were offered.

My suggestion in a question at Full Council asking if the soon to be closed Brentfield Road site of Leopold Primary School could be allocated to Islamia Primary received this response from Lead Member for Schools, Cllr Gwen Grahl in November last year:

The Yusuf Islam Foundation is still considering whether it wishes to proceed with the relocation to the Strathcona site following consultation in autumn 2022. No timescale for the relocation has been agreed. Should this proposed use of the Strathcona site not proceed, the site will be used to develop additional provision for children with SEND. In this event, the local authority would continue to work with the Yusuf Islam Foundation to identify a suitable alternative site for the school.

 

As set out in the refreshed School Place Planning Strategy 2024-2028, agreed by Cabinet on 12 November 2024, consideration will be given to opportunities to use any spare capacity within the primary school sector to expand provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, given the increasing need across the borough.

 

The Gwenneth Rickus site of Leopold Primary School will continue to be used for mainstream primary provision until September 2027 and the Council has not determined the future use of the site, that could also include provision for SEND.

A new SEND school is to be be opened in London Road, Wembley.

After a long silence the issue has reappeared as 'The Future of Islamia Primary School' on the Brent Cabinet Agenda for the  May 19th meeting 'for determination'.

There is little more information except a note stating 'There could be an exempt appendix as legal guidance.'

I will update readers as soon a I have more information,

 

Strategic CIL to be used for new Kilburn Primary School building and Open Space improvements: some associated issues.

Current site

 Proposed

 

 Proposed in wider context

 

It has been no secret that in the past there has been resistance by the neighbouring South Kilburn schools, Carlton Vale Infant School and Kilburn Park Foundation School (a junior school), to amalgamation. However, they have recently been operating as a Federation with some joint management and leadership.

Now Brent Council has come forward with plans to build a new combined school building on the existing  Carlton Vale Infant site (KVI) and Kilburn Park School Foundation (KPFS). The demolished KPFS site would be incorporated into an improved South Kilburn Open Space.

The proposal before Cabinet on Monday December 9th is:

Approves the use of £12.9m of SCIL funding, for the construction of a 1 Form Entry primary school with a nursery and the infrastructure to expand to a 2FE school (including decanting of Carlton Vale Infant school to Kilburn Park Junior school and the associated building works), as part of South Kilburn Regeneration Programme.

 Approves the use of £4.4 m of SCIL funding, for the enhancement of the South Kilburn Open Space, as part of the South Kilburn Regeneration Programme. 

Given the difficulties facing the delivery (and viability) of the remaining housing schemes on South Kilburn the proposal, by using £17.3m of Strategic CIL, removes any funding through the regeneration.

As a Foundation school Kilburn Park has possession of its land and will have to agree a land transfer to Brent Council. Brent Council once in possession will have to request permission from the Department for Education to use the land for non-educational purpose, namely the improvement of the open space.

There is a potential fly in the ointment here because Islamia Primary is still looking for a site following an eviction order from the Islam Yusuf Foundation. The Strathcona site as an alternative was overwhelmingly rejected by parents. A potential school building will be standing empty and available before demolition. Islamia could appeal to the DfE not to release the land for non-educational purposes.

Both CVI and KPSF are operating well below capacity. The latest figures I have managed to find are CVI 56 pupils out of a capacity of 230, and KPFS 66 out of a capacity of 240. As a result the LA is proposing a one form entry school (30 per year group) and a 26 place nursery. In addition however, the build will include infrastructure for expansion to 2 forms of entry if required when demand increases as a result of the regeneration, but importantly the officers' report (rather puzzlingly) states:

20. It should be noted that should the need arise for the new school to expand to a 2FE school in the future, there is no provision in this proposal to cover these costs.

The  regeneration so far does not appear to have  resulted in much of an increase in the rolls of the two schools despite Good Ofsted report. If future housing tenure is aimed at young professionals rather than families the anticipated demand may not materialise.

This brings us to another issue. Brent Council has a School Places Strategy that deals with falling numbers in primary schools in some areas of the borough, with amalgamations and federations, and potential closures as part of the solution. Because school funding is based on the number of pupils, falling numbers impact on the school budget. As argued in some recent discussions this impacts in turn on the capacity of the school to employ the full range of staff to offer a broad and balanced curriculum and SEND support.

The officers' report sees a glowing role and future for the new school:

15. The school will not only support the educational needs of the growing population but will also act as a catalyst for community cohesion, social mobility, and local economic growth, linking directly to the wider regeneration goal.

    The new school will not only replace outdated facilities but will create a modern, efficient educational environment that meets the needs of South Kilburn’s children now and in the future. It aims to provide top-tier educational facilities at the heart of the community, fostering community cohesion and improving life chances for residents.

The officers' report does not see an early increased demand for places and discounts the Islamia interest:

 The modelling exercise [ ] identified that there would be sufficient capacity over the next five years (the 2027/2028 academic year) to meet projected need if a one form of entry primary school replaced CVI and KPJ schools, taking into account the likely relocation of Islamia Primary School away from the area.

Development of a two-form entry school would likely lead to spare places in the area which would not be an efficient use of resources. However, in the longer term given the level of planned regeneration, it was felt prudent to design options that would allow the new primary school to be relatively easily expanded to a 2 FE school should the need arise.

 However the new school will not be occupied until 2029, after that period, according to the timeline. Will a 2 form need be apparent by then and additional work needed?:

 

There are no design details of the new school as yet but it may well be a similar to the pre-assembled Wembley Manor SEND school in London Road. LINK

Proposals for the improvement of the  South Kilburn Open Space are promising at this stage:

28. The proposed landscape strategy of the South Kilburn open space includes ecological enhancements and activation of the open space through a network of safe routes, creating opportunities to bring together new and existing residents of South Kilburn. The proposed improvements include new cycle and pedestrian connections, a new multi-activity area, youth space, gym trail, woodland play area and earthworks, enhanced biodiversity, community orchard, and growing space, and a proposed community pavilion that can accommodate community space and café. Officers within the Parks Service have commented on the design proposals, to ensure ease of maintenance and community benefit. 

    
    

    
    

Brent Schools update. Islamia Primary'a future remains uncertain. New SEND provision is planned but overall mainstream primary pupil numbers decline presaging budget problems

 I know it is annoying when issues are in the news and then everything goes quiet, so in a Public Question to the next Full Council on November 18th, I requested an update on some of the school stories covered previously in Wembley Matters.

Currently many of our primary schools are experiencing reduced demand following Brexit, and as young families are forced out of the borough in the search for affordable accommodation. This has led to pupil  numbers in schools falling and as funding is per pupil developing budgetary problems. However, there is an increasing need for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision.  There are a number of former education sites that are vacant or due to become vacant and may be more if some schools are forced to close or amalgamate if they are no longer financially and educationally viable.

Particularly quiet has been the situation surrounding the state-funded Islamia Primary School. The school was given an eviction notice by Yusuf Islam (AKA Cat Stevens) some years ago but in a consultation parents opposed the closure and were particularly opposed to a move from Queens Park to the vacant Strathcona site in South Kenton.

Here are the questions and answers. I will have a chance for a follow up question arising from the answer I received, so if you have something you would like me to ask please write it as a comment or  below or send it to wembleymatters@virginmedia.com I will only be able to choose one.

Remember, you too can ask a question at Full Council but it has to be sent well in advance of the meeting.

 

Question from Martin Francis to Councillor Gwen Grahl (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Schools)

 

This question regards educational sites in the borough. Can the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools please advise on:

 

(1) any progress in finding a new school site for Islamia Primary School, along with the timetable for any move, if applicable.

 

(2) future plans for:

(a) the Strathcona Site in South Kenton; and

(b) the Gwenneth Rickus Building (Leopold Primary) in Brentfield Road.

 

(3) progress on delivery of the following with timetable for completion and full

opening:

(a) North Brent School, Neasden Lane;

(b) SEND School, London Road, Wembley Central

(c) Post 16 Skills Centre, Welsh Harp

 

(4) Recognising that it is not part of the Council’s Estate but is restricted to educational use, whether you also have any information or have been engaged on the future of the Swaminarayan School (formerly Sladebrook) site in Brentfield Road.

 

Response:

 

The Yusuf Islam Foundation is still considering whether it wishes to proceed with the relocation to the Strathcona site following consultation in autumn 2022. No timescale for the relocation has been agreed. Should this proposed use of the Strathcona site not proceed, the site will be used to develop additional provision for children with SEND. In this event, the local authority would continue to work with the Yusuf Islam Foundation to identify a suitable alternative site for the school.

 

As set out in the refreshed School Place Planning Strategy 2024-2028, agreed by Cabinet on 12 November 2024, consideration will be given to opportunities to use any spare capacity within the primary school sector to expand provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, given the increasing need across the borough.

 

The Gwenneth Rickus site of Leopold Primary School will continue to be used for mainstream primary provision until September 2027 and the Council has not determined the future use of the site, that could also include provision for SEND.

 

With regards to the other questions:

 

 The North Brent School moved into its new buildings in Neasden in September 2024.

 Wembley Manor, the new secondary SEND school, opened in temporary accommodation this September and the building work is on target for the school to move to its permanent home on London Road in September 2025.

 The design work of the Post-16 Skills Resource Centre based in Welsh Harp is near completion, with a view to building work being completed in 2027.

 

The local authority does not have any information on the future use of the former

site of the Swaminarayan School on Brentfield Road.

Falling school rolls - the challenge ahead with mergers and closures possible

 In the old days of cinema the programme would be shown back to back. If you arrived late you would sit tight and after the B feature, adverts etc, watch the main film from the beginning, until one of you muttered, 'This is where we came in' and you'd scurry out.

 

'This is where I came in', is how I feel about the present school places crisis. In the mid-70s pupil numbers dropped, termed 'falling rolls', and school closures and mergers were on the agenda. I had just started at a small Church of England  primary school in North Paddington. As the 'last one in' I was selected for compulsory redeployment. This meant a transfer to another primary school and despite parental and union pressure I was moved on. There was an education authority that took in the whole of London (the Inner London Education Authority -ILEA) so there was considerable scope for redeployment. Thatcher and Tebbit abolished the ILEA on idelogical grounds so now each borough is an education authority - so narrowing the scope for redeployment.

 

Yesterday the umbrella organisation for London boroughs issues a report LINK on the crisis of falling rolls in London boroughs. London Councils explain:

 

London’s birth rate is the main reason for the decrease in demand for school places. Between 2012-2021 there has been a 17% decrease of the birth rate in London, which is a reduction of 23,225 live births across the capital.  It is not unusual for London’s birth rate to fluctuate, however it is having, and will continue to have, an impact on demand for school places which schools, boroughs and the DfE will need to manage.

 

There are further factors which affect the number of applications for school places in London. For the last few years, boroughs have also experienced shifts in their local child population as a result of families leaving London for example due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit and cost of living crisis. 

 

As a result of the reduction in school places having an impact on the amount of funding a school receives, schools will have to make further difficult decisions to balance their budgets. This could mean narrowing the curriculum, offering fewer after school clubs or reducing the number of teaching and support staff. In some cases, school leaders and local authority leaders will have to make difficult decisions to merge or close schools.

 

Is closure inevitable? It is if you accept the current funding structure but it could be a rare opportunity to reduce class sizes.  Back at my first school class sizes had reduced from 35/30 to around 18. Some of the veteran teachers said that this was the first time they felt they were really teaching, rather than just performing crowd control. Suddenly class sizes were similar to those in the private sector offering similar opportunities for individual tuition. The economic arguments were the main factor behind closures etc but other arguments were deployed by the management and inspectorate: Classes of 18 didn't have the same dynamic and buzz of big classes,  there was not enough expertise across a smaller staff and therefore in a smaller school to ensure curriculum development across all the subjects. 

 

The process of closure and amlgamation has already started in Brent and a review of overall provision is in progress. The Brentfield Road Leopold site is ear-marked for closure LINK , Strathcona site of Roe Green Primary has been closed LINK, and amalgamation  of Carlton Vale Infants and Kilburn Park Juniors in a new building is planned (although there are dounts about the funding at present).

 

Meanwhile the impact of reduced funding has been seen at Lyon Park Primary with the strike by teachinng support staff in the face of compulsory redundancies and worsening conditions.  LINK 

 

These are the September 2023 Reception intake figures for some of our Brent schools. As funding is per pupil, lower numbers mean less funding for the school and thus staff costs. PAN - Planned Admission Numbers

 

The Planned Admission numbers of some schools will be reduced to match the actual number of applications leading to staff losses. One form entry schools (PAN of 30) have reduced in number over the years but have proved popular with parents.  At present only Donnington and Our Lady of Lourdes are officially one form of entry but there are quite a number of potentials above that could reduce by one or even two forms.  The same arguments about curriculum and higher costs of one form entry schools may again be deployed and mergers advocated instead.

The crisis is not only in Brent but also in our neighbouring boroughs with North West London, of which we are a part, the worst affected in primary schools after Inner London:

 

 

The secondary figures are only a little better but it is important to note that as the sector is academised Brent Council has no direct influence in determing intake numbers.

 This is an extract from the main London Councils Report. Highlighting mine.

 

In some instances local authorities will have to take forward plans to close schools that have become financially unviable and there are no forecast increases in the local child population, and keeping these schools open will have a detrimental impact on the wider sustainability of other local schools.

 

Local authorities recognise the disruption to a child’s education that a school closure can create, so they work very closely with affected families and other local schools mitigate the impact on children’s education.

 

However, this needs to be managed carefully and in partnership with other local partners, including the Diocese, where appropriate, and DfE.

 

Boroughs make decisions about where to close schools based on a range of key factors, including the popularity of schools, Ofsted ratings, travel routes, demand forecasts and budget deficits. They want to ensure that local areas have choice in the system and don’t disadvantage particular groups of children as a result of school closures.

 

However, these strategic decisions need to be made in agreement with partners and local authorities should be able to consider all local state schools, including academies, as part of a fair and transparent process.

 

Currently academies do not have to be part of a local authorities’ school places strategy and local authorities have no statutory duties over academies in terms of places planning.

 

Therefore a local authority can’t direct an academy to reduce PAN even when other local good schools are struggling and might need to close if all local schools don’t work together. In some cases academies work well with local authorities, recognising the local challenges and voluntarily reduce their PANs, but without levers this happens on an ad hoc basis and does not allow for any choice in the system.

 

Local authorities are also constrained in how they work with neighbouring local authorities due to data restrictions. It would be helpful if neighbouring local authorities could have access to pupil census data to be able to better plan provision across borough boundaries. The DfE could help support a more strategic cross-borough approach by considering the implications on the wider sub-region in its decision-making, particularly around new free schools.

 

Protecting the school estate and funding model

 

With school closures on the increase, London Councils is concerned about the loss of educational assets for future generations. London’s birth rate has historically ebbed and flowed, and London is likely to become a more popular place to raise a family at some point in the future, leading to renewed demand for school places. To avoid the DfE from having to purchase land and build new schools in the future it is vital that we are able to keep current educational assets in use for educational purposes, such as nurseries, family hubs, special schools, which creates more flexibility going forward. Many local

authorities are looking at these options but would welcome more support from the DfE to ensure empty schools can be protected for educational purposes.

 

The DfE’s Falling rolls fund is welcome to schools experiencing a short term drop in demand. However, many schools in London will not be able to access this as they can’t demonstrate an increase in demand in the next four years. It would be helpful, given the scale of the challenge, number of schools currently facing falling rolls and the further forecast drops in demand, if the DfE could make this pot of funding more flexible in recognition of the need to protect vital education assets across London.

 

Special Educational Needs (SEND)

 

London has been grappling with a steady increase in the number of children identified with SEND in recent years. In the last year alone, the number of children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCPs) in London has increased by 9% from January 2022 to January 2023. Some local authorities are reporting that the increased budgetary pressure facing schools is leading to a decrease in additional support available and this is leading to some schools to be less inclusive than previously. We think it is vital that the DfE works with local authorities and schools to promote more inclusion in schools, and that schools receive consistent and appropriate levels of funding to enable more children with SEND to access mainstream school places.

The question as a General Election comes closer is will any incoming government grasp the nettle and increase the funding of schools so that we can take advantage of falling rolls for a generation of pupils that has been so affected by Covid and its consequences.

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.