Hackney Town Hall cropped
Education

Four Hackney primary schools will permanently close in September

Four primary schools in Hackney will permanently close at the end of this school year due to the ongoing decrease in pupil numbers across the borough.

The changes, approved by Hackney Cabinet last night, will take effect starting with September 2025, and include the closure of:

  • St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School
  • St Mary’s Church of England Primary School
  • Oldhill Community School, and the merger of its pupils with Harrington Hill Primary School, with Harrington Hill expanding to two forms of entry. This will include adding additional resourced provision (ARP) for autistic children to Harrington Hill.
  • Sir Thomas Abney Primary School, and the merger of its pupils with Holmleigh Primary School, with Holmleigh expanding to two forms of entry and moving to the site of Sir Thomas Abney. The language resource provision (LRP) from Sir Thomas Abney will remain on site, to be run by Holmleigh.

The changes, first proposed in September 2024, are in response to an ongoing, significant decline in the number of school-aged children that is seen across London. There are simply not enough children seeking places at Hackney primary schools, and this is forecast to remain a problem in future years. 

The number of children in Hackney mainstream primary schools decreased between 2017 and 2024 by 2,399, and is projected to fall by another 2,637 within the next ten years. This will bring the total number of children in mainstream primary schools down to 13,648 by 2035.

This ongoing trend means that local schools struggle to fill their empty places, with 23 percent of the reception places in Hackney unfilled in October 2024. 

Schools receive money from the central government based on their number of pupils. The plummeting rolls have had a severe  impact on schools budgets needed to pay staff, maintain and repair their buildings, buy all the equipment and resources they need, or organise activities for children. Financial reserves across Hackney’s maintained primary schools, or the federations they form part of, have been reducing at an alarming and unsustainable rate, which puts additional pressure on the Council’s already stretched budget. 

Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Deputy Mayor of Hackney and Cabinet Member for Education, Young People and Children’s Social Care, said:

“It is with a heavy heart that we have had to decide for the second time in as many years to close four of our primary schools because there simply aren’t enough children in Hackney. 

“Like many other local authorities across London and the country, we face incredible pressures in trying to maintain balanced budgets, and cannot afford to maintain schools that are not financially viable. Unfortunately, this means we have to make difficult choices to ensure we are able to continue to offer the high quality education that our children and families deserve. 

“Reducing the number of schools that have to compete for the same limited resources available under the current funding system is just one of the ways in which we are responding to the challenge of falling rolls. We will continue to work together with our family of schools and with our other partners to encourage cooperation, the sharing of data and best practices, to build a stronger, lasting education offer.

“We know that this decision will be difficult for our children, families and members of staff. Our schools have built a lasting legacy within their local communities, and their absence will be profoundly missed. But great schools are the rule, not the exception in our borough - and  families going through the transition will find a new place for their child where they will receive just as much care, love and support as they have in the past.” 

Support offered to children, families and staff to help them during the transition

Following consultation with the schools, the Council has prepared a support package to help all those directly affected by the changes through the transition. This includes:

  • Parent and carer handbooks;
  • A programme of workshops for pupils and parents, including mental health and wellbeing support;
  • Coffee mornings and admissions support for parents;
  • Staff support, including access to an online library of digital resources, a wide range of workshops, pensions advice, employment and skills training.

All parents from closing schools will have access to a school uniform grant, to help with the cost of buying new uniforms, by filling in an online form. 

Families with children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will receive additional help to ensure their child’s successful transition, including personalised support depending on the child’s needs. Each child’s SEND coordinator will meet with the “team around the school” professionals, to identify the best ways to help the transition, and identify vulnerable children that may require more personalised support. 

Each school impacted will receive £30,000 to ensure they can maintain their education offer throughout the transition period. Further information about the support, advice and guidance for all staff at the schools impacted by the proposals can be found in the Cabinet papers.