Any Parents out there refused places at St Mary's Leith

[soo22]

Hi, I'm trying to get other parents out there who have been refused a place at St Mary's Leith to lobby the Council for additional teachers/space to allow children the right to attend their local catchment school.

That's great news Fanjo

V. happy for you Fanjo - at least they are making sure the people who really need to go to the right school are getting in.

soo22 Have you managed to get parents to sign up to a campaign and have you spoken to the HT? I am going to email Malcolm Chisholm and see what he has to say. I am also in process of making formal appeal as DS is baptised and we are catchment. If 65 pupils in catchment enrolled, Catholic or not, for only 35 places I think council need to re-look at the situation.

Jackedin- do you know how they selected what pupils from the catchment they would take? How are the non doms placed for accepting those who I'm assuming they were not necessarily expecting? Just trying to get a feel for the situation.

Kuamama The letter I got said it was baptised with siblings already at the school who were first and then baptised solo children next. As far as I'm aware no nom doms were offered a place and I don't know how they categorised the solo baptised..?

It doesn't seem very fair or even legal. You need to get clarification on what "solo baptised" actually means.

Thecrackfox - sorry, it didn't actually say "solo" baptised but that's what it meant, first time children who are baptised which my DS is, why no place. WHO KNOW?

StewieGriffinsMom - there was no indication of how the class/es would be made up. It could be 35 in one class with 2 teachers or it might be a P1 with 25 and P1/2 composite. BTW there are quite a few schools this year who are being made to take more than 25 P1's and cram them into one classroom with 2 teachers. Funny that CEC are not publishing this though...?!

Do they actually have any space for another classroom?

My recollections are a bit hazy but I am sure Edinburgh Council has capitulated before regarding St Mary's and at the last minute gone from a one class to a 2 class intake.

Can their PTA help you at all?

I'm still waiting to hear, although suspect that since DD2 hasn't been baptised she won't get in.

Even if the PTA is not supportive, legally they cannot stop the library being converted (back) into a class room. In fact, the mere existence of a library would mean that the council would lose any appeal based on the "lack of room" argument.

Ds' school lost its library-come-computer room for exactly that reason. The year before, it lost its "noisy-quiet" room (used for music and drama). There are no spare rooms left - so god knows what they will do next year if it gets its usual "class" worth of placing requests to supplement the class of catchment requests, as there is only one P7 class this year.

It now has books spread around all the classrooms and in the communal area - which doubles up as the structured play area (as well as being the area between the classrooms - there are no corridors). The gym doubles up as the dinner hall and assembly hall - ds can't even get 2 hours of PE because there aren't enough hours available to use the "gym".

Jackedin, I have e-mailed HT, he said that it is all in the hands of the Council. I also contacted Malcolm Chisolm who said that he couldn't do anything until after the election, but promised to look into it if he is re-elected. So well worth contacting him too. I also e-mailed Rob Munn, Marjorie Thomas and Gordon Munro as suggested by Malcolm Chisolm, not heard back yet. I cannot believe that your son has not been offered a place if he is baptised Catholic in catchment, because I know that was the second on the list, followed by non baptised children with siblings at the school. I know of at least 4 or 5 children like that that have been given places, something is very wrong. I think we should try and get some other parents to put pressure on the Council, know anyone else?

Jackedin, sorry to hear your DS wasn't awarded a place at St Mary's Leith. However, I can't understand why this has happened.

The CEC prioritise P1 intakes for Catholic Primary Schools as follows:-

1. Baptised DC with siblings (in catchment).
2. Baptised DC with no siblings (in catchment).
3. Non baptised DC with siblings at school (in catchment).
4. Non baptised DC with no siblings at school (in catchment).
5. Baptised DC with siblings (out with catchment).
6. Non baptised DC with no siblings at school (out with catchment).

If at anytime there is not enough spaces for every child within a category, then distance from home to the school would be used to prioritise within that category.

I know non catholic DC with siblings have places so if a baptised child within catchment wasn't awarded a place (and provided the relevant forms were completed & handed in correctly, on time and accompanied by the birth & baptism certs) then the Council have made a big error. Jackiedin, I would def find out who is head of the admissions dept at CEC and demand to know why DS was not awarded a place - and what are they going to do about it.

St Mary's have an intake of 35 this year which will consist of one class of 25 and a P1/2 composite. FYI, there is only one P7 class leaving this year so only one spare class for the new intake. Their library is a small room, not big enough for a classroom so thats ruled out. Basically, the school isn't big enough to take anymore kids this year.

Jackiedin, small consolation, but your son should be 1st on the waiting list (assuming no more baptised DC in catchment that live nearer to the school than you and also weren't awarded places). If this is the case, it's likely he'll get in as there are usually always DC who drop out because they move, go to private schools etc.

Sorry this is so long, but hope it clears up some confusion.

PS - I've nothing to do with St Mary's except that my DC go there and I listen to the gossip in the playground (which is why I know class sizes etc).

AMML, do you think that they could have the P2 composite class with P3 instead?

No, there is only one P3 (currently the P2 class) and they already have 30 DC in that class so no room for any P2's to join them in August.

Yes but don't they have 2 teachers

They do have 2 teachers but they're both part time (one works Mon/Tues and the other is Wed-Fri).

They did have 2 full time teachers in P1, but that was because they had 30 DC in the class. P2 up to P7, they'll only have one teacher (or 2 p/t).

Good luck with the appeals.

I know it is Glasgow, so not relevant - but ds' school has a planning capacity of 297, a working capacity of 288 ('cos, for example, the P7 class is only 22) - yet the head teacher said that next year she will have to try to fit 308 into the school. She's juggling classes all the way through the years - so, for example, even though there are two (full) P1 classes, next year she will have a P1 class and a P1/2 class in order to accommodate the 38 kids (Catchment plus siblings - that's all she can take) - which means in turn that she will have to create a P2/3 class...... and so on.

We made the mistake of asking how she was at the Parents' night earlier and go the answer "keech"

AMML - thanks for all that. We got letters in Feb asking to resend baptism certs as they knew then the competition for places was going to be fierce. I send this and thought no more of it. I've been told that DS is 1st on waiting list but I heard someone else been told this too. I was also told that the only enrolments were baptised with siblings and baptised with no siblings. I am going to phone placements tomorrow again and will post thereafter. They told me categorically that no non catholics with siblings have places so if that's true....!!!

What I feel is particularly unfair is that I know of one parent who baptised her DC as Catholic and they are not Catholic! I think CEC needs to deal with this better, particularly when the DC suddenly got baptised after the original application went in.

soo22 I'm sorry I don't know anyone else, my DS doesnt attend the nursery due to work committments but I will try and see if the parent council have had any feedback from parents. Will also email those councillors too. Thanks for the names.

Keep me posted jackedin, as I say, I do know quite a few non-catholic children who have been given places. I think some investigation needs to be done!