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Falling birth rates in Bradford will lead to All Saints in Ilkley and two other primary schools in the Bradford district reducing their pupil numbers.
There were 1,000 fewer births in Bradford in 2023 than there were in 2015 – meaning fewer children are approaching receptions age.
At a meeting of Bradford Council’s Executive on Tuesday morning, members voted to approve plans for three schools to reduce their Pupil Admission Numbers – the number of children the school takes on in Reception year.
The changes will mean that from September 2026 All Saints’ C of E Primary School in Ilkley, Ley Top Primary School in Allerton and St Matthew’s C of E Primary School in South Bradford will take on fewer reception children.
Following a public consultation, the Council decided to reduce the PAN at All Saints in Ilkley from 60 to 30, reduce the PAN at Ley Top from 60 to 30 and reduce the PAN at St Matthew’s C of E Primary School from 60 to 45.
A report to the Executive said:
“The latest data from the Office of National Statistics goes up to the end of 2023 and shows that the number of live births in the UK has fallen in seven of the previous eight years, with the total number of live births in 2023 being the fewest since 1977.
“Data for the Bradford district confirms more than 1,000 fewer live births were recorded in 2023 than in 2015.
“Funding received by schools is directly related to the number of pupils attending them. Vacancies mean that a school does not receive the maximum possible revenue, which in turn can lead to the school facing financial difficulty.
“Over 40 primary schools and academies have consulted to reduce PAN in recent years.
“There are significantly more school places available in each area (of Bradford) than there are younger children living there and requiring these places in the coming years.”
All Saints in Ilkley had increased its PAN from 45 to 60 in 2018 due to a rise in pupil numbers. The report says that while there were 60 pupils in reception one year, there have been some years where there have been as few as 39 pupils in reception.
Recent figures show there were 41 on roll in October.
There are currently 43 pupils in reception at Ley Top, and St Matthews CofE is expected to fill just 36 of its 60 reception places starting this September.
The report that went to Executive said the estimated pupil numbers for the coming years take into account housing developments in the areas around these three schools, and any increase in school aged children they would bring.
There was a public consultation into the proposed pupil number reductions held late last year, and the results were given to the Executive on Tuesday.
The Diocese of Leeds voiced support for the planned reduction at the two Church of England schools, saying:
“I hope this change will allow the schools to provide a more sustainable model of education to best meet the needs of your pupils and the school community.”
Several responses to the All Saints proposal suggested the PAN be reduced to 45 rather than 30 – the same level the school had before 2018.
The Council responded:
“The decline in the birth rate is so stark that the size of the cohorts due to start Reception in the coming years are significantly smaller than those entering school before the previous expansion programme. It is therefore not a simple case of resetting things to how they were before.”
The Ley Top consultation saw six people support plans to reduce the PAN and three people object. However, the Council pointed out that all three objections listed the same address and were sent within a minute of each other.
At the meeting Councillor Sue Duffy, Executive for Children and Families, said:
“What we’re seeing across the District and nationally is reduced birth rates.”
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