Children at St Joseph’s in Covent Garden are calling on the council to not let the primary school close down

TEACHING unions are urging the government to scrap a funding system which could see four Camden schools close next year.

The Town Hall agreed this week to launch a consultation over the future of three primary schools: St Patrick’s in Kentish Town, St Joseph’s in Covent Garden and St Alban’s in Holborn. The same process will consider whether La Sainte Union, the secondary in Highgate Road, should close or amalgamate with another school.

A shortage of children at all four have hit finances under the current funding per pupil system. This week, the National Education Union and Unison said the answer to a now all too familiar problem should be overhauling budgets.

Megan Quinn, the Camden branch secretary of the NEU, said: “If families cannot afford to live in Camden, rolls will continue to fall. The government needs to replace the per pupil funding formula to make smaller class sizes possible, which would benefit all children and help prevent future closures.”

Liz Wheatley, branch secretary at Unison, added: “Pupils are not walking pound signs. There should not be such a rigid funding of education per pupil. Some of the money spent on warfare should be spent on things that make our society better and that includes educating our children.”

She added: “There is a housing crisis where working-class people cannot afford to live here. Pupil numbers go down and that means less funding for education. This is a ridiculous way to run schools.

“Rather than merging or closing schools, they should be funded so they can embrace smaller class sizes that will help pupils thrive. Across the Channel we are seeing young people in France taking to the streets over underfunded education and large class sizes. Maybe we need some French lessons.”

Liz Wheatley from Camden Unison

Reforming budgets has been backed by new Holborn and St Pancras MP Sagal Abdi-Wali and her parliamentary counterpart in Hampstead and Highgate, Tulip Siddiq, who both said they would be lobbying Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the issue.

Ms Siddiq said: “Falling class sizes could be an opportunity to give pupils more individual support, particularly if mainstream settings are taking on a greater role in supporting pupils SEND. I am urging the Government to reform the pupil funding formula and provide a long-term funding plan.”

Ms Abdi-Wali added: “We must ensure pupil funding fairly reflects the pressures facing inner-city schools. We must also address falling pupil numbers by building more family-sized social, affordable and private homes, helping families stay in Camden and our schools thrive.”

Parents and teachers gathered at the Town  Hall to hear a cabinet debate on Tuesday night – and let councillors know their fears for the future.

Camden’s education chief Councillor Marcus Boyland

Education chief Labour councillor Marcus Boyland told the New Journal: “There is understandable anxiety from school communities, but I stressed to parents and teachers this is just the start of the conversation. No decisions have been taken. There are options on the table that schools may stay open. We do not want a panicked response.

“We will support schools in their ideas about alternative plans that might be put forward –but they have to be viable  and have to work.

“Schools cannot be run with high deficits and low numbers of pupils.”

He added that options could include schools becoming federations with others or mergers. And Cllr Boyland added that the schools, which offer a faith-based education, could seek funding from the Church.

“If parents can help persuade the church to support schools, that would be fantastic,” he sad.

St Patricks’ Parent Action group chairwoman Agnes Panasiuk told the Cabinet on Tuesday night the plans “threaten the survival of a vital community anchor.”

She said: “St Patrick’s is not just a figure on a funding spreadsheet. It is a destination for faith-based education, providing stability and outstanding pastoral care.

“We understand the demographic realities. Parents are not blind to the financial strains caused by the housing crisis and falling birthrates. But closing down our school or forcing a rushed physical relocation would be a short-sighted, permanent reaction to a temporary economic cycle.

“ If you vote to move forward with a consultation that defaults to school closures, you are telling working-class and Christian families that Camden is no longer a borough where they are welcome to raise their children.”

She added that because three out of the four schools under threat were Catholic, it would lead to overcrowding in other faith schools that remain or force parents to travel outside the borough. She said parents wanted closures to be “taken off the table” and a federation system or amalgamation was preferable.

La Sainte Union

A petition organised by parents at La Sainte Union has already garnered nearly 3,000 signatures in under a week.

It said: “La Sainte Union is so much more than a school. It is a place where generations of young women have received an education built on faith, respect, discipline, kindness, academic achievement and strong moral values.

“La Sainte Union has been part of our community for generations, providing girls with an education that goes far beyond examination results.”

The Diocese of Westminster, which oversees Catholic schools in London, told the New Journal they would not support any possible closures.

A spokesman added: “All four schools now being considered for possible closure are faith schools and follow the closure of three other faith schools in Camden.

“Taken together, this represents a significant erosion of faith-based education and narrows the choice available to families. The Diocese does not support the proposal which Camden Council has put forward.”

– See Forum, page 17