Like the whole of London, Lambeth has seen a fall in the birth rate; families moving out of the Borough, and a changed demography following Brexit. The impact of these changes since 2020 has resulted in a 44% reduction in children on roll in maintained nursery schools and 600 fewer children in Primary School Reception classes with a 20% oversupply.

Failure to address these changes has resulted in significant financial deficits of over £10 million and rising, impacting other services as Lambeth tries to balance its books overall. It has also resulted in organisational ineffectiveness and inefficiencies in our local schools which inevitably depresses educational achievement.

Nursery School sector

Lambeth issued consultation documents to close three nurseries – the Effra, Maytree and Triangle - earlier in the year, subsequently withdrawn last month. Their financial deficit was £2.4 million in the 2024/25 financial year.Unlike the majority of private sector nurseries, these nurseries only offer services 38 weeks a year, potentially reducing their appeal to working parents.

Even if the service was extended to 52 weeks a year, with the 44% reduction in nursery age children across the board, could all three really be viable?

What plans will the candidates put forward to ensure the maintained nursery school sector is financially viable and stable, and responsive to parent’s needs?

Primary School sector

There is little evidence that the Lambeth Plan to deal with the 20% oversupply of primary school places in Lambeth will deliver a sustainable sector.There are a number of primary schools in Lambeth whose pupil rolls are so small that they cannot deliver either sustainable or effective educational programmes, whilst contributing to the significant budget deficit in the Borough.

What plans will the candidates put forward to create a sustainable primary school sector that delivers the high-quality education all Lambeth children deserve?Parents usually ask questions related to ethos, educational standards, class sizes, religion education, and how far the school is from home.

It is now essential for them to also ask what the difference is between the capacity of the school and the number of pupils on roll. The bigger the difference, the more at risk the school is from falling standards and potential closure.