Redbridge wants 150 fewer Reception and 180 fewer Year 7 places as rolls fall. Closure is a last resort, but 23 of its 54 maintained schools ran a deficit.

Redbridge Council plans to cut another 330 places from the number of children its schools take in each year, because fewer families are applying.

The figures are in the council’s new School Organisation Strategy, a five-year plan running from September 2026 to August 2031. It is on the agenda for the Cabinet meeting of 17 September, with a recommendation that councillors approve it.

The proposed further cuts are:

  • 150 fewer Reception places: at least 30 in September 2028 and 120 in September 2029
  • 180 fewer Year 7 places: 60 a year in September 2029, 2030 and 2031

These come on top of cuts already decided for September 2027, of 195 Reception places and 132 Year 7 places.

Why the places are going

The strategy blames falling birth rates and families leaving London. It says both have led to “a significant decrease in demand for school places in London”.

The council’s own forecast shows the gap. This September Redbridge primary schools offer 4,170 Reception places against a forecast need of 3,864, leaving 306 empty.

Reception places have already been cut hard. The borough offered 4,500 in September 2020. By September 2027 it will offer 3,975, a fall of 525 places. The strategy puts that at 17 and a half classes, or 12% of Reception places in seven years.

The council aims to keep about 4% of places spare. That allows for families moving in mid-year and parents’ preferences. The forecast says Reception demand should stop falling after September 2029 and hold between 3,670 and 3,680 until 2032.

Two line charts. Reception places fall from 4,170 in 2026 to 3,825 from 2029, against forecast need of about 3,670 to 3,680. Year 7 places fall from 4,098 in 2026 to 3,786 in 2031, against forecast need falling from 3,938 to 3,652.
Places offered against forecast need. Source: Redbridge Council School Organisation Strategy, September 2026 Cabinet papers. Graphic by Ilford Today.
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Secondary schools will shrink for longer

The fall reaches secondary schools later. The forecast shows a slight rise in Year 7 demand up to 2028/29, then a steady decline.

The strategy also looks further ahead, with a warning attached. Using Reception numbers to estimate future Year 7 classes, it suggests “possibly an additional 240 places” may need to go before September 2034. It marks those figures “for illustrative purposes only” and says they do not account for new housing.

Will any schools close?

The strategy does not name any school for closure or merger. It says the council “will consider the amalgamation of schools to secure viability” and that “closure will only be considered as a last resort”.

The Cabinet report shows headteachers have already been consulted on two documents. One is a policy on changing school organisation. The other is an appraisal form “to be completed in the event of the need to consider a school closure”, with a list of criteria.

The money is the reason this matters now. Excluding special schools and pupil referral units, Redbridge has 54 maintained schools. In 2025/26:

  • 31 had a combined in-year surplus of £4.501m
  • 23 had a combined in-year deficit of £3.270m

The report says the schools with falling rolls “are the most likely to have a poor financial position”. If a maintained school closes with a deficit, that deficit passes to the council’s general fund. Without action, it warns, “many Redbridge schools will be placed in an untenable financial position”.

More special school places are needed

Demand is moving in the opposite direction for children with special educational needs. Between January 2022 and May 2026, the number of Redbridge children with an Education, Health and Care Plan rose:

  • 60% in Reception to Year 6
  • 37% in Year 7 to Year 11

The strategy says 182 more special school places may be needed at secondary level by 2029/30. It adds that “a new special school or satellite school will probably be needed” to provide them.

The plan is to use empty space in mainstream schools for specialist classes where possible. Three expansions are under way:

  • Little Heath Foundation School is adding places on the William Torbitt Primary School site
  • Hatton School is expanding onto a new Upper Site on Park Avenue, Ilford
  • Hatchside Academy, opened in 2021, reaches full capacity in 2027/28

Earlier this month the council also approved publishing a statutory notice to grow New Rush Hall School in Hainault to 140 places.

What it means for you

If your child starts school in 2028 or 2029. The cuts are sized to leave about 4% of places spare across the borough, so the council expects there to be enough. The change is in individual schools, some of which will take fewer children each year than they do now.

If your child’s school has spare places. Watch for consultations. Any cut to a school’s admission number must be consulted on and decided 18 months ahead. Changes for September 2028 must be decided by February 2027, so any consultation on them has to happen before then. Consultations appear on the council’s school consultations page.

If your child has an EHCP. The strategy says the council expects to need more specialist places inside the borough, so fewer children travel out of it. A separate SEND Commissioning Strategy, which will say how, is still being written.

The full Cabinet papers are on the council’s committee website.

Sources