Cross Border Flows of Primary Pupils January 2014

Background Greenwich judgement (House of Lords, 1989) allows pupils to attend schools irrespective of borough of residence Notwithstanding the Rotherham judgement of 1997 allowing catchment areas (providing not in contravention of above) This has led (or at least not discouraged) to pupils sometimes attending a school in neighbouring authorities Under previous arrangements, boroughs invoiced each other for educating non-borough pupils (‘recoupment’) Now schools are funded irrespective of origin of pupils Pupil place planning, to an extent, relies on these flows remaining constant – development or new schools inside and outside the authority can potentially affect this

Schools near borders will recruit varying percentages from adjacent borough(s) (up to 90%) Occasionally, this has meant problems with projections and planning, as knowledge of developments in adjacent authorities may not be current, and information sharing may not be developed Some authorities (not Southwark!) are reluctant to build near border as increase of places financed by the authority will be taken up with children outwith their borders Effects

Cross Border Flows of Primary Pupils Number of reasons or factors affecting pupil mobility across borders Mobility/transport links Standards (or perceived standards – ‘grass is always greener effect’) Parental aspiration (see above!) Proximity to border – can be nearest school Admissions policies (VA/Foundation/Academies tend to have a wider number of non-LA pupils) Types of schools available locally Parental mobility may mean children educated in previous locality –Late applications may not be able to be accommodated locally –Effects of social policies (bedroom tax/benefits cap)

Cross Border Flows of Primary Pupils There are 2,192 (10%) pupils in Southwark primary schools who are non-Southwark residents – this is equivalent to five 2FE primaries educating non-Southwark children This percentage higher than London as a whole (9%) and the English average (4%), but about the same as Inner London (10%) Of the non-Southwark resident pupils, 80% of these originate from a Lewisham (971), or Lambeth address (791) The remainder mainly Croydon, Bromley, and Greenwich addresses Students from 25 different LAs attend our schools (including Manchester and Thurrock) In 2013, 2012, and 2011 these figures were broadly similar (2,068, 2,056 and 2,086 non-borough pupils respectively, all 10%)

Cross Border Flows of Primary Pupils 1,439 pupils from Southwark (7% of those resident) also attend outborough primaries This is slightly lower than for Inner London and London (both 8%), but higher than English average (4%) (Highest K & C 29%, Westminster 22%) Highest proportion outborough education destinations are…Lambeth and Lewisham - 1,232 of all outborough (86%) – an equivalent of 3 x 2FE primaries Smaller proportions attending are attending schools in Westminster, Croydon, and Bromley Students from Southwark attend primary schools in 21 other LAs (including Lincolnshire). Therefore there is a net inflow of +827 primary age pupils (or around 2 x 2FE primary schools)

Cross Border Flows of Primary Pupils LA Into Southwark From Southwark Balance % non LA Pupil Lambeth % Lewisham % Newham71+64% Tower Hamlets615-94% Wandsworth916-79% Bexley % Bromley % Croydon % Greenwich % Merton % Kent40+41%

Cross Border Flows of Primary Pupils Ric Euteneuer School Place Planning Strategy Officer (or 55018)