falling birthrate

[robinpud]

Is falling birthrate an issue for schools around you? It is where we are but my sister in london has huge schools and no such problem. We have lost 1 playgroup, tumble tots and seen the local state nursery drop from 40 mornign and afternoon to 26- that's all happened in the last 5 years.

[robinpud]

codbump.. only threads with cod in are getting any action

[roisin]

We have massively falling birthrates in the town - the slump is current junior school age. So the primary schools have adjusted already, but it's about to hit secondary schools hard.

Apparently numbers will reduce by 40% in total over the next 4 years

If the numbers then stabilise at that level - and I think they do - that would mean losing 2 or 3 out of 6 secondary schools!

[robinpud]

We are amalagamating primary schools where possible but there is still a huge number of surplus spaces. Like you it hasn't reached secondary yet, but we are teaching classes of 22 rather than 30 and although it is lovely for the teacher, it can't be sustained financially.
Also the number of childminders and toddler groups is falling.
anyone else?

[Cam]

This happened in the late 70's when my dd1 started school, there was a trend to have only one child for a few years plus it was the start of some women getting married later or others not having children at all. It actually became hard for teachers to find a job, schools had falling rolls. When the trend swung the other way sometime during the late 80's/early 90's the govt had to find more money to try to build new schools etc and class sizes expanded. I believe the state education system never recovered. I have heard from dd2's headmistress that there is another wave of small numbers in certain years and there will again be falling rolls.

[laurenhannah]

Falling birthrate is an issue across the whole of the north east, some schools are threatened with amalgamation or closer whilst others are facing teacher redundancies as numbers fall.

[Littlefish]

Definitely an issue in Worcestershire. In one area, there are something like 11 schools closing due to the switch from First, Middle and High Schools to Primary and Secondary. This is partly being done because of falling birthrates, and therefore, falling numbers in schools.

[mszebra]

not an issue here (rural north Norfolk). But was very much so in the area where we wanted to live (mix of university professionals and students).

[Pinotmum]

We are having to build 2 new Primary Schools here for 2007 intake - this is Essex.

[throckenholt]

we seem to have a bit of a baby boom in our area (south Norfolk) - the local primary school is having to consider making an extra class (they have never needed it before), and we have just had to add another day to playgroup to cover demand.

When my twins were born (Jan 2003) I remember the midwife saying they had the biggest numbers on their books for a 6 month period that they had ever known.