Education

Pupils wanting places in Battle Primary School outnumber the spaces available by two to one
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Labour battle for primary school places

By Linda Fort
July 06, 2012

Reading's Labour administration faced some tough questioning about the “unprecedented” demand for primary school places from its own side.

Battle councillor Sarah Hacker told the council on Tuesday the pressure on school places had caused “upset and uncertainty at what is an already stressful time for parents”.

She wanted to know if all children due to start school in September had places, why so many children, especially in the Battle ward area, were not offered places in the first wave of allocations and what lessons had been learned.

She also asked what was being done to prevent it happening next year and what was being done to help parents whose children have to travel long distances.

Conservative councillor Sandra Vickers raised the same concern, pointing out some children would have a 1.5-mile walk to school.

Cllr Rob White also asked a question about the “unexpected demand” for primary school places which has been “stressful for everyone involved”.

Lead councillor for education and children’s services John Ennis said there were 2,144 applications for reception year places – 200 more than last year.

He said all children had been offered places but in West Reading the youngsters wanting places in Battle, Oxford Road and Wilson primary schools outnumbers the spaces available by two to one.

He said the council was working on its forecasting which suggested these levels are likely to continue for the next four years. The council now has child benefit data and is seeking NHS GP registration data to ensure accurate information.

Cllr Ennis said: “We have met with officers and have asked them to look at options to assist those families who, through no fault of their own, face long journeys to school and, in some cases, have older children in other schools. We will be communicating with parents as soon as possible to resolve this situation.”

He added: “I [would] like to acknowledge the difficult and stressful time families have experienced in waiting for a school placement of their choice.”

Have you had problems getting a school place for your child? Contact Linda Fort at lindafort@trinitysouth.co.uk or call (0118) 918 3021.

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Not just in Reading Primary school place demand set to rise http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18996216

NotJohn, Reading
26/07/2012 at 10:23

RH3 said "Oh and one other thing - I'm not sure but wouldn't the period of planning for capacity for the 12/13 school year have been done when the Con/Lib coalition were running RBC?"

So were they supposed to magic up 100s of millions of pounds to suddenly build a bunch of new schools to fix the previous decades of Labour mis-management?

Fred Bloggs
10/07/2012 at 13:28

Perhaps if the previous Labour government had controlled immigration properly we wouldn't now be facing the problems with school places,what goes around comes around as they say!

Dustybin, Reading
09/07/2012 at 23:59

P*** planning is what it is. How long have the Council known that school place numbers were going to spike in this area. They are building an entire village on the Battle Hospital site. Once those flats are finished the numbers are just going to go up again, I know some will say that families want houses, but if they cannot afford a house they will move to a flat instead. If the council does not already have one it needs to create a cross-department research team to look at trends across the borough (and beyond). If it does already have such a research team they should be fired

JamesR
07/07/2012 at 17:12

DK74, it's all a left wing plot - they plant double agents whose views are so extreme they discredit the right.

I expect.

N Tropy
06/07/2012 at 16:58

DK74 - on the face of it yes although that is a very precise and well documented strategy for when forming a dictatorship.

You will need to read [something like] "From Dictatorship to Democracy" by Gene Sharp of the Albert Einstein Institution to see how to counter and reverse this strategy.

Now, the brunette is out on the town tonight so the youngling and I have to make our own dinner ... chips I think

GeorgeR, RG30
06/07/2012 at 16:45

"That's just silly."DK74

Labour's core-votership is made up of benefit claimants, public sector, and union types. That's why the benefits bill (and thus tax) goes up during a Labour administration, and it's why the public sector non-jobs similarly increase during their reign of terror. I also hear they're quite close to that bunch of red flag waving strike-mongers.

Thus, once you see the truth above, you can then understand why Labour want everyone to be reliant on the state. It's their main source of votes, and their main argument against those nasty Tories who try and wean the benefit junkies off their Labour pushed fix.

IB Fudger
06/07/2012 at 16:00

"They want to dumb everyone down so that they have to rely on the state for survival"

That's just silly.

DK74
06/07/2012 at 15:49

Rh3,

How do you explain the deliberate race to the bottom that Labour engaged in nationally? They want to dumb everyone down so that they have to rely on the state for survival. Go brush up on the Frankfurt School and then compare that to the period when Labour were in government nationally.

Dong-Ding, 3rd world slum
06/07/2012 at 15:12

I have just attended a meeting with Rob Wilson, regarding the green space that there is a proposed further temporary building to provide an annex to Oxford Rd. Primary School. It is on the back of Great Knollys Street adjacent to George Street. The current 'temporary' community centre has been standing for around 13 years. It still looks like it is caged in. The proposal is that another one be built in front of it. There are plenty more viable options for this annex that have not been considered or have been disregarded, for some reason we are unaware of.

We had a great celebration on this site over the jubilee weekend. What happens after the five year period of the temporary structure ends. Will the developers want to build flats?

Encroaching upon the ever decreasing green spaces for our recreational uses by developers leads us to suspect that profit rather than education are the main priority. There is a viable space just across the road by the ambulance station. Only 41 residents around the area have been informed by the council of these plans.

blobbin
06/07/2012 at 13:58

"Labour don't believe in unlocking potential, they believe in dumbing everyone down so that they don't know any better. Instead of raising the standards they are hell bent on dropping them to the lowest common denominator."

I've read some drivel on here in the past but nothing to top this. I'm not a member or supporter of any political party and can be fairly cyncial about politicians at times but even I don't believe that people enter politics in order to drop standards to the lowest common denominator. Comments like that just show your one eyed bias and hence invalidate anything else you have to say.

Oh and one other thing - I'm not sure but wouldn't the period of planning for capacity for the 12/13 school year have been done when the Con/Lib coalition were running RBC?

Rh3, Reading
06/07/2012 at 13:04

The usual suspects showing an interest after the event again, and if only there was some reason for councillors to be proactive about these things, or a way for them to discuss concerns with council employees that didn’t mean suggesting incompetence at public meetings.

“...why so many children, especially in the Battle ward area, were not offered places in the first wave of allocations...”

“Pupils wanting places in Battle Primary School outnumber the spaces available by two to one”

If only there was some obvious relationship there that people could comprehend.

Face it – they should create temporary classrooms that will float above the playgrounds for the next four years, at no cost to the public. Much simpler than children using a bus or bikes for that massive thirty to forty minute trip a small number of them might otherwise face.

Nowtas, West Berkshire
06/07/2012 at 12:59

The tories want to close police stations, hospitals and schools will be next.

Makes sense I mean who needs them? So long as it is perceived that money is being saved, there's no problem.

That means even more billions of taxpayers pounds can be given to the banks, who can either lend it back to the taxpayer at a high interest rate or just sit on it, as they are doing at the moment.

It's clearly the way forward, nothing to worry about here.

rogerjolly, reading
06/07/2012 at 12:36

Cllr Ennis is one of the few half decent councillors we have and he has inherited an horrendous issue which should have been tackled by his predecessors, and by planners.

I am not going to say I told you so, but I have. You cannot grow the town without considering its basic needs like education, like care and like hospital beds. The developments such as Kennet Island, the influx of huge swathes of migrants, the upturn of births are all indicative signs that we need more schools, not buses! These signs were ignored. Take the JMA my records show that from the outset they were concerned that they would have difficulty in filling places. They needed Kennet Island and the closure of Ryish Green to come close to their quota. RBH has seen a huge increase in births.

So let us put the blame where it belongs with this cabinet who by and large have been responsible for the towns decline in services and provisions.

Where does the Cabinets focus its power today - on the same old same old - buses and the station area where more people means a greater burden on our town's resources.

The Labour Manifesto promises a new school. The Cabinet has promised quality social housing. Now deliver. I see Labour as a capitalist society of secrets, pretending to be of the people for the people and by the people. What I see is that the Council cannot now hide the problems of this town as it used to through spin. Labour's track record of the Shinfield Road the Civic Office and a whole range of fiascos is the tip of their incompetence.

Damocles, Reading
06/07/2012 at 12:20

Thanks Caffeine you make a very useful point.

I see Wilson school had the forethought to plan and provision for providing an additional 30 spaces for Septembers increased intake. Well done Wilson School

Thats what I say.