Consultation on Changes to Brighton Secondary Admissions from September 2018

[ummlilia]

Hi , if you are in Brighton or are thinking of moving to Brighton with a child due to start secondary school in or after 2018- take a look at these proposed changes in catchment areas- paticularly necessary if you are considering Dorothy Stringer as some postcodes that qualify now won't if the changes go through.. see this
www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/children-and-education/school-admissions/consultation-reorganisation-secondary-school

[KathrynL]

Why on earth should children on fsm be given priority that's ridiculous.

[ummlilia]

KathrynL in the link I posted there is a further link to FAQ and it says this;-

'Why should free school meals children get priority?
No decision has been made on this. The proposal for the current oversubscription criteria to be
amended to give children eligible for free school meals a higher priority is, at this stage, simply a
suggestion that we want residents’ views on.
Closing the gap in achievement between children from disadvantaged families and those who aren’t
is one of the top priorities of this council and indeed of the government.
Eligibility for free school meals is the most accepted and recognised national indicator of
deprivation. We have to follow government rules on school admissions. These rules allow for the
possibility of giving priority to children receiving free school meals.

My child is already at secondary school so I have no personal interest here-I just thought if people are making plans for their children's schooling it's imperative to have all the information-I only saw this because it was on Facebook

[KathrynL]

I understand what you're saying and whilst I do agree that the attainment gap between the affluent and those less fortunate needs to be closed, I'll be honest with you. I would be fuming if this became part of every schools admissions policy and my child missed out on a place at the school of their choice simply because they do not get free school meals. Between myself and my dh we only earn 22k, a mere 6k above the cut off for fsm yet we aren't any better off than someone who gets fsm as we have to pay full rent, council tax etc. Just because we work doesn't mean my children are overly affluent and after we have paid out everything we do we just about manage.

[Bolognese]

Definitely an idea worth thing about. Consequently it could get a high proportion of deprived children in the school and middle class parents will flood away, achievement will drop and no one will want to go there. Warehousing the poor kids. Its the fine balancing act of whack-a-mole.

[swingofthings]

Closing the gap in achievement between children from disadvantaged families and those who aren’t is one of the top priorities of this council and indeed of the government
I agree with KathrynL, ultimately, this decision will still be discriminatory. It will mean that the rich and the very poor will get access to the best schools whilst the large majority of those that fall in the middle will have to make do with the rest.

The difference between a family entitled to fsm and one who isn't might just come down to mum doing extra hours at work. Considering the cost of living in Brighton, it seems very unfair that those who do try to maximise their income by working should be penalised when it comes to their children access the best possible education.

This sort of consideration does nothing to encourage people on lower incomes to try to better themselves, instead it is almost providing a reward to stay as they are.

There is no miracle ways to apply total fairness in school admissions and ultimately, most parents will want their kids to go to the best schools rather than the failing ones regardless of their situation.

[prh47bridge]

It will mean that the rich and the very poor will get access to the best schools

I'm not sure how you think the rich will get the best schools. Brighton uses random allocation as its tie breaker (although this may be a breach of the Admissions Code since it applies to all schools for which the council is the admission authority) so you can't get a place at a school simply by moving next door.

[Samcro]

something needs to be done in brighton. it is a very unfair system. it means people in east brighton are all stuck with one school.....and we all know which one that is.
I was lucky my ds went to secondary before the last changes. otherwise he would have ended up in a failing school.