School Catchment Plan Needs a Rethink

There are few more important issues than making sure our schools give every child the chance to fulfil their potential. As a father of one, and soon to be two children myself, the choice and quality of our schools weighs particularly heavily on my mind.

So Brighton and Hove Council’s (BHCC) proposed changes to school catchment areas is something I’ve watched carefully. I know from the number of letters and emails I’ve received that many constituents are closely engaged in this too.

I fully understand the motivation behind these changes. We need to address the school places challenge we face across Brighton, and the chronic educational inequalities that hold so many children back. It can’t be right that some children have a choice between multiple schools while others have just one. It also can’t be right that the choice of schools in the City is so heavily determined by house prices and the fortune of where your family happen to live.

BHCC has already taken a major step forward by becoming the first council in the country to give priority in the admissions process to children receiving free school meals. This will make a huge difference and comes into place from September.

But I am particularly worried about two aspects of the current catchment proposals – and have raised this directly with BHCC in recent days.

First, the potential impact on children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). As I set out in this column a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been working with local campaigners and families to improve local SEND services. The families I’ve been working with have told me just how important it is that our school system becomes more inclusive and better supports SEND children. So I’m concerned that the current catchment proposals may not deliver this, and could result in some children with SEND having to travel a long way, and potentially via multiple forms of transport, just to go to school. Frankly, that’s not realistic for many children with SEND that I have met, especially those with complex needs – and I worry could make a bad situation worse.

Second, transport. I’m already concerned at the cost, time and trouble that many local children endure every day simply to get to school. In areas of my constituency such as Whitehawk – where the nearest secondary schools are nearly three miles away – this is a particularly serious problem. I’ve raised this in Parliament and called for changes to school transport rules so that children who live miles away from their nearest school aren’t priced out of their education. I’m concerned that the current catchment proposals could exacerbate this and mean even more children have to travel long distances or across the City. This would, of course, mean more inconvenience, more costs and more complexity – both for families and BHCC.

I’ve raised these concerns – as well as the impact of catchment changes on families living in parts of my constituency such as Queen’s Park – directly with BHCC. I know the Council are acutely aware of these challenges and are working hard to ensure the final proposals reflect concerns on both SEND and transport – as well as delivering greater equality and fairness in admissions.

Those final plans are due shortly and I’ll be watching – along with many families – to ensure these concerns are addressed.

Backing Votes at 16

One of the best things about being an MP is that you get to meet so many young and inspiring people. A couple of weeks ago, I visited Varndean College in Brighton to speak to their politics society. One of the first questions they asked me was when will Labour deliver their manifesto commitment to introduce votes at 16? I’ve long believed this would breathe new life into our democracy and give young people a proper say in their future. So I took Varndean’s question directly to the House of Commons, and asked the Leader of the House when there will be a vote on lowering the voting age. I was delighted that she confirmed this would likely be later this year, and in time for the next General Election.

It was also great to meet this week with one of our brilliant Youth Parliament Members alongside BHCC Deputy Leader Jacob Taylor. We discussed how we can ensure young people have more opportunity to take part in politics and shape our community, including securing funding to travel to Westminster for their upcoming Youth Parliament debate in the House of Commons.

 Shocking rise in antisemitism

Antisemitism is one of the oldest, and sadly still most virulent, forms of hatred. This week, figures from the Community Security Trust (CST) found that in 2024 there were an average of 10 antisemitic incidents a day in the UK – the second highest on record. In Brighton too there was a rise in recorded incidents, including shocking examples of antisemitism like holocaust denial and vandalism of synagogues and memorials.

I’ve met with CST, the Jewish Leadership Council, the Board of Deputies and local Jewish groups over recent weeks to discuss what more we can do to tackle this. It’s clear there’s a huge amount still to do to provide reassurance and action against antisemitism in our own community and across the country – and I’ll continue to do everything I can do to support this.