Primary-school places shortfall: what's happening where you live?

[HelenMumsnet]

Hello.

It's headline news today that one in five primary schools are now full or near capacity.

And, with 240,000 new primary-school places needed for 2014, the National Audit Office is saying the Department of Education "faces a real challenge... there are indications of strain on school places".

We were wondering how you all feel about this? Do you have a child due to start primary school in September? Are you aware of a shortage of places in your area? What steps are your local council taking to make school places available to all those who need one?

Please do let us know.

[gazzalw]

When our Borough asked for suggestions regarding solutions to the shortfall in primary school places, DW thought outside the box and suggested that it would be cheaper to send the children without places to pre-prep schools - needless to say that went down like a lead-balloon .

It is more than worrying though....

[RubyGates]

Tiggy, I'm talking about people who move for non-work reasons. Most of them who end up here don't/can't work. They move here for community/family support, and get outraged that there is not a limitless supply of instant school places.

Obviously if you have to move for work reasons that's very different. But it seems that many families don't think beyind the fact that Auntie/Uncle/Grandma/ lives here and there will be a happy ending.

[RubyGates]

Plus I'm a librarian, not working for the education department and swearing and cursing at me is not appropriate in any circumstances. I'm trying to help.

[lljkk]

if an area really HASN'T got a school place for a child, what happens to that child?

LA is obliged to find the child a place but it could be half way across the county (transport would be provided). There is a standard appeals procedure, waiting lists, etc., but I've figured out our LEA doesn't adhere to all the national admissions guidelines, either.

We were keen to move to Wymondham in Norfolk but decided against because of the nightmare impossibility of getting DC into any local school. Anyone know if Cambridge is just as bad?

[RubyGates]

This is interesting:
www.constructionenquirer.com/2012/10/17/enfield-to-spend-22m-on-school-expansion-programme/

[MerryCouthyMows]

If the place is halfway across the county, what is classed as a 'reasonable' travel time in the provided transport?

30 minutes? 45 minutes? An hour? There's no way most people would want their 4yo to have a journey time of more than an hour to get to school, and rush hour traffic has to be accounted for.

Would the LA send them halfway across the county irrespective of the journey time, or is there any regulations on what is classed as an 'acceptable' and 'reasonable' journey time for a 4yo?

[MerryCouthyMows]

I'm asking because one of the solutions my LA is currently mooring is to send 4yo's in minibuses or hired school buses to the next town over, 30+ miles away, to a school in Special Measures, that during rush hour would take 90 mins+ to get to...

I personally don't think that that is a viable solution - I wouldn't want my 11yo DS1 to have a journey time to Secondary school of more than an hour, much less a 4yo.

[MerryCouthyMows]

Mooring = mooting. Autocorrect.

[MerryCouthyMows]

My 1.998 mile journey takes me 25 minutes in morning rush hour...

There's no way they could get to the town 30 miles away, in morning rush hour, in less than 90 mins, IMO.

But all the village schools in between the two towns are too oversubscribed too. So they can't send them there. And NONE of the local schools have ANY more expansion room!

[CouthySaysEatChoccyEggs]

Oh, we KNOW they aren't going to come in time - the 'new' Primary school that opened 3 years ago was opened a full 10 YEARS after it was desperately needed. It was full before it opened...

Then the school we are waiting for was meant to be opened 6 YEARS ago. It will (hopefully) be open September 2016 - but only for Reception. Which means that DS3 will be a year too old.

Then again, that's how they intended to open the 'new' Primary too - and were swept away with the demand for places (Can't see how, they KNEW they had built 3 full housing estates in that area...) that they HAD to open it up to all year groups.

The same thing will happen with this one.

We might be slightly luckier with the extra Secondary places needed - but that's because they are going to build an 'additional site' for a pre-existing Secondary, rather than a 'new' school. I don't see it being open for September 2015 when it is needed, mind you. They are being wildly optimistic in that, in my view, when you consider that they haven't even decided on the exact site yet...

So I could be facing DS2 without a Secondary place AND DS3 without a Primary place AT THE SAME TIME.