High exclusion rates and poor GCSE results may be behind Lewisham parents choosing to send their children to secondary schools out of the borough.

But there is a growing group of parents who want to change the negative perceptions of the borough’s schools – and are pushing Lewisham Council to listen.

After setting up Lewisham education network group Parent Engage, Nicky Dixon and Fiona Forrest have been lobbying the council to harness the power of local parents to improve the borough’s schools.

The group has grown from around 80 members in 2016 to 130 members today – with around 500 Facebook followers.

They want to work with the council on behalf of parents to change these negative perceptions, support all the borough’s schools and be a voice for parents.

“Our members have kids in Lewisham’s schools; we want our children to attend good, local, community schools. We have got a vested interest in Lewisham schools,” Ms Dixon explained.

“We understand and we hear what people are telling us. We see what’s going on on Facebook where there is lots of negativity about secondary schools.”

And with 14 schools in deficit and falling pupil numbers compounding budget pressures, encouraging parents to keep their children in the borough’s schools is also a financial imperative.

Council forecasting predicted that Lewisham would need 2,641 school places for 2017/18, leaving a surplus of just 51. But on national offer day a total of 2,368 offers were made, leaving 324 spare.

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The council put this down to Brexit uncertainty and negative perceptions of the borough’s schools.

But the duo believe the council does not fully understand the depth of the issue's around students leaving Lewisham for secondary school.

A first step towards convincing parents to keep their children in-borough would be by improving communication between schools, the council and parents, the duo explain.

‘Brain drain’

That includes letting parents know about local improvement plans like Lewisham Learning – a programme which has the potential to slow the “brain drain” out of the borough, Ms Forrest said.

"The fact the parents don’t know Lewisham is investing in secondary schools – it is daft to not let them know.

“Even if it is a negative outcome or it’s not the way they want, at least people know they are making a concerted effort and that they are trying.”

They had asked for Lewisham Learning’s annual report to see what it had achieved.

“The answer was silence, and no engagement with parents as stakeholders,” Ms Dixon explained.

“We have criticised Lewisham Learning for not being public. Most Lewisham parents don’t know about it. The Year 6 Lewisham parents that were told about it in their secondary school leaflets probably don’t understand it.

“Now if you’ve got this massive school improvement programme with all Lewisham schools collaborating why on Earth would you not tell the community, and especially the parents who make choices about the schools that their children will attend?”

Lewisham Council cabinet member for children and young people, Cllr Chris Barnham, said he had the "greatest regard" for Parent Engage" and was "puzzled by this criticism."

"We have endeavoured to work with the group at every stage, and will continue to do so. The mayor, Damien Egan, has regular meetings with parent representatives, including Parent Engage, as have I. They were also recently invited to address members of the Council’s children and young people committee, contributing to the discussion on Lewisham Learning."

He also said a copy of Lewisham Learning's annual report was available online.

But the duo said while they have had many meetings with the council "our issue remains that Lewisham parents are not considered formal stakeholders" and are not informed about children and young people strategy documents and plans.

"Other than statutory bodies, Lewisham Council does not provide opportunities for Lewisham parents to express their views. We need a parent's champion."

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School and parent wellbeing

Using parents to reinforce the community around a school and contribute to its overall wellbeing is also a key focus of the group.

This means thinking beyond GCSE results, Ms Dixon explained.

“What we do know is that not all Lewisham secondary schools enjoy a good reputation and there are a group of parents who will bad-mouth the Lewisham schools, even if they have never visited the schools – it’s become a bad habit. There are a group of parents who will look at GCSE results from the past five years, judge the schools, and say, ‘I am not going there.’

“We want the schools to be promoted in the round, not just GCSE results. Our children attend these schools, and they don’t want their school to be run down either. Look at the good things, because there are good things happening.

“We want every school to be good for every child.”

This also means providing support for parents, they explain.

To help parents cope with increasing pressures, Parent Engage is running a parent resilience programme “so that they [parents] are in a good place themselves and to help their children cope with stress and anxiety,” Ms Dixon said.

The programme, which is funded by the council, is “peer-to-peer support and it’s designed so that if the parent doesn’t have the tools we can help them,” she added.

And despite the negativity, the group does see a positive way forward.

“We do have a bank of positive parents willing to promote their secondary schools,” Ms Dixon explained.

“For every strategy paper [on education] the council should consult parents.”