Response to Latest Coverage: The Need for a Balanced Approach to School Changes

The recent coverage of the council's proposals has highlighted both the complexity of making changes to our city's school system and the very real anxieties many parents feel about their children's education. The parents in our group understand these concerns deeply - every family wants the best possible education and opportunities for their children. However, we must balance individual family concerns with the wider needs of our whole community.

Professor Adam Dennett, like many parents across the city, has raised concerns about the impact these changes could have on local families. As both an academic and a parent of young children himself, his analysis reflects the deep investment many families have in this issue. Interestingly, just weeks ago, he was advocating for measures like marginal ballots and calling for his community's voice to be heard. The council appears to have listened carefully, incorporating some of these very suggestions into a significantly moderated approach compared to their initial ideas.

The characterisation of these proposals as "rushed and ill-thought through" overlooks the extensive academic research and evidence that underpins them. The council has drawn on decades of studies from world-renowned experts like Stephen Gorard, the Sutton Trust, and others who have conclusively shown that reducing school segregation improves outcomes for disadvantaged pupils without harming others. Their research demonstrates that measures like marginal ballots and carefully managed catchment changes can help create more balanced school communities - exactly the approach the council is proposing. Far from being ill-thought through, these proposals represent careful application of proven strategies that have worked elsewhere.

What's concerning is the suggestion that any change that might impact families' guaranteed access to certain schools is automatically "ill-thought through." The reality is that our current system already forces many of the city's most disadvantaged children to travel significant distances to school - this has been happening for years in areas like Whitehawk. The difference is that those families haven't had the platforms or resources to make their voices heard as loudly. During this process, we have an opportunity to listen to each other as well as share our own views on this important topic.

The council's proposals attempt to create a fairer system while still maintaining strong local links for most families. The suggestion that the only acceptable outcome is maintaining guaranteed places at Dorothy Stringer or Varndean for certain postcodes, regardless of the impact on the city's most disadvantaged pupils, cannot be the way forward for a city that claims to care about educational equity.

We need to move past protecting privilege and start focusing on creating a school system that works for all Brighton and Hove's children. That will require some compromise from everyone - something many groups across the city have already accepted.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Join the Conversation

Want to learn more or get involved? We're here to help:

- Come to our community events - announcing dates soon

- Join the consultation process when it starts

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This is our chance to create real change in Brighton & Hove's education system. Let's make it count.

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