Hove schools urged to rethink academy plan

West Hove Infant School and Hove Juniors are consulting on whether to join the Aurora Multi Academy Trust

Two schools in Hove have been urged to reconsider a plan to become an academy.

West Hove Infant School and Hove Juniors are consulting on whether to join the Aurora Multi Academy Trust (MAT), which would move them out of local authority control.

Brighton & Hove City Council warned against the "irreversible decision" and urged the schools to reconsider.

It wrote to parents and carers of children at the schools, who are being asked to comment on the proposals, setting out the reasons why the council thinks "joining the trust at this time is the wrong decision".

The council said: "Academisation will lead to greater fragmentation of the education system in the city and remove accountability from local communities and parents."

It added that the majority of schools in Brighton and Hove have remained "proudly local authority maintained, working in partnership with each other and the council in order to best support all children and young people within the city".

"Joining a trust does not improve local partnerships, nor does it necessarily enable more vulnerable pupils to access the support they require," it said.

'Challenging situation'

Jacob Taylor, deputy leader of the council, said: "This is a decision that will impact on the future education of thousands of city children and should not be made lightly or without considering all the facts.

"The council opposes this proposal."

He admitted it had been "a challenging situation for many schools in the city over the past few years", but blamed "years of underfunding from national government".

“We want to make sure we work together to do all we can to safeguard the future of the city’s schools," he said.

“We are therefore very much of the view that now is not the moment to continue the drift towards academisation.”