dundonald school takes extra class

[istilllovelassie]

there's been lots of discussion here about lack of primary school places this year - i thought this might be of interest, it appears Dundonald is going to take a bulge class this September - and offeres will be going out in May.

www.merton.gov.uk/news-events/press-releases/press-release-details.htm?id=2563

Merton: dumbing-down Dundonald Primary School?

1. Merton Council's consultation process regarding the proposed expansion of Dundonald Primary School(DPS) has now commenced and information can be obtained from their website or that of DPS. The Council has distributed a leaflet to residents for feedback and is due to hold a public meeting on Wednesday 8 June.

1. Disappointingly, the Conservatives, LibDems and Independents have been very quiet on the issue. The Labour Party has given out letters supporting the proposed expansion and, to his credit, Cllr Walker has had the courage to put his personal credibility on the line given his close involvement with the campaign. However, threatening parents/carers that they will have to take their children to school in Morden if the Council doesn't get its way seems a little extreme. Frankly, parents don't care how far they travel if their children can attend an outstanding state school.

1. It seems that the governors of DPS only agreed to an expansion programme on condition that the Council provided more space. The governors knew that this was impossible for the Council to achieve because of the existence of the restrictive covenant concerning the neighbouring park (see the petition on the Council website).

1. The proposal to double the size of DPS, starting with the temporary bulge class, has caused much concern to parents of pupils at the school as witnessed by DPS being forced to issue an explanatory letter and Q&A to try and quell those fears.

1. DPS is a popular school because it had an outstanding rating from Ofsted following the last inspection and it is the ideal size. It currently has around 250 pupils which is the average number for a primary school in England. If it doubles in size, parents fear that standards may slip. Merton has 40+ primary schools of which only 6 were rated outstanding and the majority of those were 1FE schools ie similar number of pupils to DPS.

1. Parents are also worried by the disruption to their children's education that will occur once construction begins on such a small and restricted site with all the attendant health and safety issues.

1. The school currently enjoys a harmonious relationship with the neighbouring community which might not survive if the Council's plans prevail.

1. Somewhat surprisingly, the Council's consultation process takes no account of ethnic diversity.

Please feel free to forward this to and/or discuss the contents with any parents of pupils at Dundonald Primary School who may have concerns about the Council's plans and say NO to the proposal.

PAGE - Parents AGainst Expansion

As a parent of children who were taught at Dundonald it is obvious why it became successful. Small is definitely a great advantage for children from scholastic success, increased confidence to just being nice people. The authorities own other property which could house another small successful school. As a resident, I do not understand why so many supposedly local people have to drive their children to a local school. Dundonald, The Chase, The Willows, The Castles and Wimbledon Art College are 5 mins apart walking and our roads are clogged twice a day with cars. Bishop Gilpin refused expansion so why shouldn't Dundonald?