Birthrate renews row on schools
The controversial decision to axe four Black Country primary schools has come under attack again – after it was revealed the number of babies being born nationally was on the increase. The controversial decision to axe four Black Country primary schools has come under attack again – after it was revealed the number of babies being born nationally was on the increase. Dudley Council education bosses made the decision to close Beauty Bank Primary School in Stourbridge, Highfields Primary School in Coseley, Holt Farm Primary School in Halesowen and Sycamore Green Primary School in Dudley last year. Scores of empty places and a plummeting birth rate were blamed for the moves, which were pushed through despite fierce opposition from parents. The figures, from the Government's Office for National Statistics, reveal the average number of children per woman in England and Wales has risen to 1.87 – the highest rate since 1980. Read the full story in the Express & Star.
Dudley Council education bosses made the decision to close Beauty Bank Primary School in Stourbridge, Highfields Primary School in Coseley, Holt Farm Primary School in Halesowen and Sycamore Green Primary School in Dudley last year.
Scores of empty places and a plummeting birth rate were blamed for the moves, which were pushed through despite fierce opposition from parents.
The figures, from the Government's Office for National Statistics, reveal the average number of children per woman in England and Wales has risen to 1.87 – the highest rate since 1980.
Last year there were 669,531 live births, the most since 1993 and a rise of 3.7 per cent from 645,835 in 2005.
Figures for Dudley itself have not yet been released but are expected to confirm the trend.
Parent Debi Bradley, a lead campaigner who battled to save Holt Farm last year, said: "Parents expressed concerns all the way through the process about the council using projected figures and predictions for birth rates to close schools.
"How can you accurately predict how many babies are going to be born?
"The figures this year show birthrates are going up and not falling. If this carries on, will there be enough spaces in our schools in 10 or 15 years' time? Or will we have to spend more cash opening new ones?
"It is very worrying."
Dudley Council's director of children's services John Freeman said: "Nationally, there has been a very small increase in the birth rate over the last year. This is expected to be replicated in Dudley when figures are confirmed.
"However, following the very large drops in the Dudley birthrate – 18 per cent or very nearly one fifth in 10 years – there is no reason to believe that when these children reach school age there will not be places.
"At present there are vacant spaces in schools right across the borough, and a significant number of schools have more than 20 per cent surplus places, so the small increase last year will not have any impact.
"We would need to see a sustained and significant increase over a period of a decade or more before we started to fill our schools."
