PARENTS, teachers, and a vicar trying to prevent 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 reason that schools need 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, both in Kennington. The proposal is being resisted by representatives of the school and by the parish church, St John the Divine, Kennington, but not by the DBE.
On Tuesday, the head teacher of St John the Divine Primary School, Catherine Warland, said that she was disappointed with the Southwark DBE: “We can’t quite understand why they are not supporting us fully.”
She compared the school’s case with that of another 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 exactly the same thing, but 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 school, for our children.”
St John the Divine schoolPupils in 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 own merits”, and “no two are alike, just as no two schools are the same.” She said that the DBE’s response had been “shaped by information from the council, attendance at meetings that we have offered to each school with governors, staff, and families during the informal consultation, current and projected pupil-roll numbers, as well as other local factors”.
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 in the diocese of Southwark.”
C of E schools in Lambeth, he said, were being “disproportionately affected”: the current raft of proposals for school 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 in 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 many months”. “We understand the concern and distress that people are feeling over this issue — and the desire of the school to remain as it is,” she said.
The DBE, however, regarded the proposed amalgamation as “an opportunity to create a blended school with a new identity that would secure the legacy of both schools, and build on the strength of the church to serve the children in this area”, the spokesperson said.
Nazmin Rahman, whose son is in the reception year at St John the Divine, said on Tuesday that she thought that there was a “racial dynamic” in the council’s decision — a view with which another parent, Mohammad Ibrahim, agreed.
“This wouldn’t be happening in a white middle-class area: taking the choice of a good school from parents living on the deadliest estate in London,” Ms Rahman said, referring to a headline in The Times from 2018 about the Brandon Estate, where many of the school’s pupils live.
“We are a presence in the community which disrupts and disturbs some of the significant issues that could happen . . . with gang violence in the area,” Mrs Warland said.
For more than two-thirds of the pupils, English is not their first language, but academic attainment in the school is above the Lambeth average in both maths and literacy, at both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
The funding formula for schools is based on pupil numbers, and so reduced intake leads to a drop in funding. At the moment, however, 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 an increase in the past year.
“Lambeth predicted we would only have seven children in our reception class, but we have 14, and are above their proposals. . . This time last year we were 110 on roll, and we’re now 130.”
Cassie Robertson, who has three children at the school, spoke of her concern at the prospect of closure. “It’s more than a school,” 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 end of the day
Although not a Christian herself, she valued the school’s ethos, saying that it had helped her children to “become kinder, more thoughtful of others”. Mr Ibrahim, who is Muslim, agreed that the Christian identity of the school was beneficial to its pupils.
As Ms Robertson spoke, a group of pupils was lining up in the playground, ready to go down the road for choir practice at the parish church. The school feeds the church choir, but earlier this year the then Precentor, Ben Vonberg-Clark, told the Church Times of the challenges that such work had to contend with (Features, 19 January).
“There’s an opportunity for the Church here that doesn’t exist in other bits of London, though it’s changing massively now that private developers are moving in and families who can no longer afford to live here are getting moved out,” he said. “Inner London boroughs are getting kind of hollowed out of children.”
The choir also featured on the front cover of 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 is so much to commend it. In reality, this is not about the merits of particular schools, but the very real challenges that make keeping things exactly as they are impossible,” the diocesan spokesperson said.
Lambeth Council did not respond to specific questions about St John the Divine, instead pointing to a statement by the cabinet member for children and families, Ben Kind, who said: “I understand how this is an incredibly difficult situation for all involved.
“It is not a process either Lambeth Council or anyone in our school community want to be undertaking. However, Lambeth Council has a responsibility to act now, to prevent the situation getting worse and to protect the future of Lambeth’s schools.”
Mr Kind said that the consultation was “not a reflection 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 taking place. A final outcome will be announced by 4 November.
Read our special education supplement here