23/06/07 - School Admissions Public Meeting

School Admissions Northern Sector

On Saturday July 16^th, a meeting for concerned parents to discuss school admissions in the local area was called by the MP. There were approximately 20 parents, Hilary Pitts - Director of Education, Cllr Garry Perkins - Lead Member for Education, Governors from Isambard and Red Oaks and ourselves as ward Councillors. We fully support any actions which will help local parents.

I have pulled together some notes from the meeting:

1^st Choice Schools

Across Swindon 97% of parents are able to secure a place at their 1^st school for their children. This puts Swindon in the top 10 in the UK. However the vast majority of the unsuccessful 3% are in the Northern Sector in particular the Oakhurst area 32 children.

How The Problem Occurred?

When houses are planned predictions are made on the number of children. Whilst the number of children in Swindon has remained static there has been a huge shift in young families to the Northern Sector which has put huge pressure on the local schools.

Surplus Places

There is a pressure on schools to limit the number of surplus places in the system. With the number of children remaining static new schools simply draw children from existing schools, increasing the number of surplus places. This is clearly seen with the shift of children from West Swindon schools to the Northern Sector schools. The Government wishes surplus places to not exceed 10% (as it is less efficient to spread the schools budget over a greater number of half empty schools). In an ideal world schools would be built on wheels and could be shifted to follow the children (West to North).

Schools Should Come First!

In Swindon money is only released for schools after houses are built so there is always a delay. In towns like Milton Keynes the Government provides the money in advance, therefore the schools etc are built first. The Labour MP argued this was due to them being a growth town, and that Swindon was not classed as growth town as the Council was not signed up to support their plans for 35 000 extra houses being built on our open spaces. This is nonsense. Last year Swindon had more houses built than anywhere else in the country, including Milton Keynes. Clearly we are a growth town, so stand up for us Swindon residents and get our upfront money!

PS7

Plans for a new school to be built on the PS7 site will be explored in the following months. As the majority of parents unable to secure their immediate local schools this is clearly essential.

Real Time Numbers

The MP made a sensible suggestion that it would be helpful for parents to see the schools admissions online, real time. This was supported by the meeting and a request was made by Hilary Pitts for Government funding for this.

Recent Actions

This year the Council has funded an additional 30 places at each of Catherine Wayte and Abbey Meads. In addition the Council supported plans to add an additional 30 places to Red Oaks. However this move was not supported by the Isambard School preventing it from happening. (Concerns over pressure placed on space available). Following this we then requested an additional 30 places at Orchid Vale again this was unsuccessful due to the lack of space on the site. The next available school was Haydonleigh who are able to take a further 30 children.

The Future

• Better advice is needed for local parents who are unsuccessful, guiding them through the options.
• It is essential if the numbers of parents are to continue growing PS7 must be built asap.
• The MP needs to stand up for Swindon residents and secure upfront funding for local infrastructure, no excuses get us the money we deserve.
• A future meeting will be organised to consult on future school catchment areas.