To think that the present governant has not done enough to alleviate the school places crisis

[ReallyTired]

My neighbour has not got a nursery school place at the local school 300 metres away. The school is not a good school and recently the entire senior management was replaced. Currently it is under a local authority improvement plan. I feel that the lack of school places in the area gives schools no moviation to improve. I don't live in London and I believe that the issue of school places is a nationwide problem.

Parental choice is a joke. Free schools can't be set up in areas with no land.

The government has been trying to open up free schools a lot more, but challenged by teachers and labour authorities.
Blame them

Where I live it was the local authority that went around shutting schools and sold of the land within the last 5 years and refused to acknowledge that the birth rate was booming...

Getting the right number of school places is a local, not central, government issue.

And many LA's were selling off 'excess' schools only a few years ago - just befor the implications of recent demographic change started to becom apparent.

"Getting the right number of school places is a local, not central, government issue."

The present governant has made life difficult for the LEAs by insisting that all new schools are academies/ free schools. The con/dem coalition has been in power since 2009. Many of children affected by the admissions crisis were tiny babies or bumps when labour left office. Infact our LEA did not sell of the land, but it is taking years to get free schools up and running.

I think it is sad that you say lack of competition means schools have no desire to improve.

Surely people should go into teaching to want to do their best regardless of what might be on offer round the corner.

"Surely people should go into teaching to want to do their best regardless of what might be on offer round the corner."

My children's school has gawd awful pastural care as well as appauling standards. There are parents who want to move their children but can't because of a general lack of places. School choice is a joke.

As a parent, I don't want choice, I just want my local school to be a good school.

"And many LA's were selling off 'excess' schools only a few years ago - just befor the implications of recent demographic change started to becom apparent."

Certainly Surrey LEA intentional ignored and shouted down all the information presented to them about the change in demographics and the property building locally, because apparantly "families don't live in flats"

scholes I totally agree.

Randommess yes, Surrey ignored all evidence to the contrary and are now scrabbling around trying to add extra classes in schools all over to cope with the current demand. The next few years are looking even worse.

scholes I agree with you however I however I would be prepared to walk 100m extra to avoid the school that is in special measures.

However some people just want a place in walking distance of their house.

I drive my DD 4 miles to school.

M

There are 4 primary schools in easy walking distance of my house they are all full to bursting - one of them Surrey tried to close down and sell off only 5 years ago!!!!

I am so grateful my dc are now in juniors and beyond the stress of trying to get a reception place. I tell everyone I know how important it is to put down the local schools as a preference or they could literally end up with a place miles and miles away.

Tameside did exactly the same. Shut schools, sold the land to housing developers, didn't build replacements and the shortage began with the 2010 intake and the same problem faces the same cohort when they go upto high school. The answer? It's too far away to worry about yet.

I live on a new housing estate- started being built 9 yrs ago and still more houses being built, not to mention another estate about a mile away.

These are family homes. The council gave planning permission, they knew how many houses there would be.

We were one of the first to move into the estate and a primary school was being built. It has 30 places per year. The nearest schools are approximately 2-3 miles away and have never been under subscribed.

Why they only built such a small school is beyond me- anyone with an ounce of forethought would have predicted it would need to be much bigger.

But that isn't the most frustrating part. On the edge of our estate is an academy school that has applied for 3 years in a row to extend to 3-18yr education.

It would solve lots of problems locally- siblings being split, extra traffic as parents have to drive etc.
The school has the space for the extra classrooms and an excellent head and reputation.

The council keep turning down their applications and cramming extra classes into already overcrowded primary schools in other parts of the town, saying each year that "it has been an exceptional year for the number of children needing places".

I know there are cut backs etc but they cannot keep squeezing huts into existing school playgrounds as a solution.

DDs old primary has plenty of places and an Ofsted good rating, but house prices and nothing to rent means no DCs.

The birth rate in our authority rocketed 7 years ago... have they built any more schools? No, of course not!

They've 3000 extra children to find places for this September!

They've done a lot of it by doubling the PANs on schools... but schools here are so overcrowded, on tiny sites, with next to no outdoor space, not good really.

What Scholes said.

caroldecker

"The government has been trying to open up free schools a lot more, but challenged by teachers and labour authorities.
Blame them"

1/ Have you done any research in to free schools?
2/ You can open a free school without permission from teachers.

Not 2009 as posted above, the Coalition came in in 2010 and the first handful of free schools opened in 2011. And arguably they have done more to increase parental choice (especially the new Hindu faith schools which made up a lot of the first tranche).

They haven't really changed the supply of school places, nor are LAs unable to open or ensure the opening of more schools. They can commission a free school themselves (if no academy backer can be found and the places are needed).

It's dealing with the demographic issues that are the birth-rate consequences of policies from early 00s that is the real problem. The schools sold off then fuelled LA spending in those fat years. Now we are in lean ones, and finding the money is a problem.

Central government is providing extra money to LAs for establishing more school places (one of the few things that central Govt has provided more for), but LAs (who took the profits from earlier school sales) are also going to have to find more for this.

Part of the problem is actually short term thinking at local govt level. There was an excess number of secondary spaces round my way which led to a 'sink school' situation. The LEA closed it and dispersed the students, slightly expanding other, more successful schools. Sounds fine until you realise that AT THE SAME TIME primaries were full to burst and more family housing was being built without further secondary provision! A few months ago they suddenly realised what they had done and are desperately trying to expand provision.
I live in area where local government is always Tory - it's more about their length of time in office rather than the politics.
As for why teachers don't like Free Schools and Academies - they are less accountable (to parents!), employment conditions can be worse (cared for staff = happy staff = happy, supportive learning environment). Most teachers (I am aware they are some who'd disagree), don't want the world and don't want massive pay rises, we just want to be respected by government, Senior Management, parents and students.

I think it depends where you live the primary my boy goes to has just upped its intake from 45 a year to 60.. Ok not massive more but this year it's also having building work done to make it even bigger.

We live a good 30minute walk away so for a over subscribed school last year only those who lived a 5minute walk where getting in..

It is a great school but a lot of people don't apply due to last year criteria for getting in. 95% of people I know got their first choice round here the other 5% got their second and third choices.. We for given all of our options so picked the first.

MiaowTheCat

I know the school well, as my son has been there seven years. It is truely crap at the moment. I really wish I didn't have to send my daughter there.