Decision - The Future of Homewood College

Brighton and Hove Cabinet Decided 14 Nov 2024 · effective 23 Nov 2024 approved GET /api/coverage

Decision maker

Cabinet

Report author

Richard Barker

Published

15 Nov 2024

Reference

7319

As published

the council's own words, unedited

This report provides a summary of the responses to the statutory consultation on the proposed closure of Homewood College and makes a recommondation informed by the consultation.

1) Cabinet notes the responses received during the representation period following the publication of Statutory Notice on 7 October 2024 proposing the closure of Homewood College. 2) Cabinet agrees to the closure of Homewood College with effect from 31 December 2024, subject to the Secretary of State having exercised their discretion to revoke the Academy Order which the school is currently subject to.

Parsed from the document

gpt-5.6-luna-2026-07-09 · 4223/1453 tokens · 10350ms · parsed 9 Sep 2026 15:34

Everything below was read out of a PDF by a model It is useful and it is not authoritative. The document it came from is linked in the rail, and where the two disagree the document is right.

Brighton & Hove City Council agreed to close Homewood College, a community special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs, from 31 December 2024. The closure is due to the school’s inadequate Ofsted rating, financial deficit and poor educational outcomes, with alternative provision being developed elsewhere in the city.

Outcome

approved

Recommendation

To note the responses received during the statutory representation period and agree to close Homewood College with effect from 31 December 2024, subject to the Secretary of State exercising discretion to revoke the Academy Order affecting the school.

Financial impact

Homewood College had an estimated cumulative deficit of £825,000 as at 31 August 2024, which will be a cost to the Council’s general fund, plus redundancy costs. Recommissioned provision is expected to save approximately £250,000 annually for 50 places.

Ward affected

city-wide

Decision maker

Cabinet

Date in document

14 Nov 2024

Stakeholders named

parsed

Pupils with social, emotional and mental health needsParents and familiesSchool staffLocal MPsSchool governorsLocal ward councillorsSecretary of State for EducationDepartment for EducationBeckmead Academy Trust

Next steps

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The Secretary of State for Education must exercise discretion to revoke the Academy Order.
Subject to revocation of the Academy Order, Homewood College will close on 31 December 2024.
Alternative SEMH placements will continue to be implemented through expanded capacity at Central Hub Brighton and new Key Stage 4 provision at St George’s House.
The Council will support affected families and pupils during the transition to alternative placements.
The Council will consider future use of the school premises and remaining resources.

Precedents

not built

"Decided elsewhere" is not built Finding the same decision in other councils needs semantic matching over decision text, which is part of the search rewrite. Until then, the council's own decisions list is the way through.