Parents battle for Stoke-on-Trent reception class places
ALMOST 100 parents whose children lost out on reception class places in Stoke-on-Trent have taken their cases to appeal this year.
The dramatic increase in the number of people battling to get their children into over-subscribed schools is linked to rising birth rates across the city.
It has meant that an extra 223 places have been needed for four and five-year-olds starting primary education this month.
Yet despite 98 appeals being lodged – compared with 35 cases the previous year – just five families were successful in overturning the original admissions decision.
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The main reason for the disappointment was they lived outside a school's catchment area.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council said some parents left little room for manoeuvre as they only named one school on their form, instead of listing their top three preferences.
Paul Gerrard, strategic manager for school support, said: "They put all their eggs in one basket.
"Another factor is that some parents choose to place their children in a nursery class at a school that is not really their local school.
"Sometimes, that's because it is near grandparents or work. The child then settles in there.
"But we cannot give them preference for a reception place at the same school because it would prejudice people from the local area who didn't want to access the nursery provision."
The city council is now planning to introduce catchment areas for nursery classes to help prevent families falling into the same trap next year.
Another factor driving the appeals is that some families submitted their applications after the January 15 deadline.
Demand for reception places has increased by seven per cent, with 3,326 children starting school in the city this month.
In recent years, the council has created more than 200 extra places per year group to help ease this pressure.
Mr Gerrard stressed that 88 per cent of parents have still managed to get their children into top-choice primary schools this year.
Jennifer Rowley, from Trent Vale, is one of the disappointed parents who went to appeal. Her four-year-old son Logan McCambridge was in the nursery at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary, in Stoke, last year, but lost out on a reception place because he lived outside the catchment area.
Ms Rowley, aged 27, said: "We got turned down for all the three schools we chose.
"I'm a practising Catholic and they said the nearest Catholic school with a place was in Longton.
"The appeal for St Thomas' was heard just two days before they broke up for the end of term. I was absolutely devastated when we weren't successful."
She finally managed to get Logan into St Teresa's Catholic Primary, in Trent Vale. The school had originally turned Logan down because it was full, but a place became available.
Comments
by sharon1959
Monday, September 17 2012, 7:08PM
“Hi I would like to comment on the above complaints about what is happening in schools having gone to appeal with my daughter who found it distressing and got upset while we were sitting in front of people that in my opinion don't know anything about what these familys are going threw!!!!! this also upsets me as a parent and a grandmother....as my children were together at school and automatically followed each other while in education!!!! WHY AS THIS CHANGED????....Not following other sibling into the same school!!!The appeal went ahead on the grounds that they new their were no spaces, but put family's through this!!! IT IS DIABOLICAL!!! I as a grandmother have been to hell and back and so as myself grandson SISTER AND MUM!! resorting in him going to school to take his sister and crying and getting distressed which then upsets Mum as he watches his friends who he had spent a year with, going into school and saying!!"mum I want to go with my friends" HOW DO YOU TELL A FOUR YEAR OLD that you cannot go in with your friends or with your sister, and you have to go to another school!!! THIS DOES NOT MAKE SENSE THAT THESE SIBLINGS ARE BEING SPLIT UP AND FAMILY'S ARE HAVING TO GO THROUGH THIS!!!. He was refused a place at a school where he was already in nursery, which was part of the school where his sister goes to. My daughter had his name down to go to the school but because she moved to the other side off the roundabout she as been penalized and was told that one child will have to go to another school nearly two miles away as she is now not in catchment area!!! As a one parent who gets no support from the father AND DOES NOT DRIVE!! and has no one who can help her!! she as held him from going to school in hope that a place comes up in the school were her daughter goes!!! so at the moment he is in Pre-School which as to be paid for between us!!She would have to give her job up if this was to happen!!! WHY DID THEY CLOSE THE SCHOOLS IN STOKE-ON-TRENT??? CAUSING ALL THESE PROBLEMS FOR CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILY'S PLEASE TELL ME WHERE" EVERY CHILD MATTERS COMES INTO THE EQUATION"!!!!.... THIS IS SO WRONG!!!! AND SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT IT SOONER THAN LATER TO PREVENT THIS GETTING ANY WORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!.....”
by Matt_Bennett
Monday, September 10 2012, 10:14AM
“This is utter tripe, i would very much like to speak to Paul Gerrard, my youngest son WAS due to start Nursery this year & due to the fact of only having one school in our catchment area, we moved house to an area with THREE primary schools all under 1 mile from our front door!!
My son was still refused a place, he is not even near the top of the waiting list, so Paul Gerrard is full of hot air!!
We have been forced to send our son to a Private Nursery for 3hrs a day, to enable him to get some grasp of school life before reception classes next year, has Stoke on Trent Council refuse to hear appeals for Nursery places.
I would glady go on record & speak to any reporter about the farce that is Stoke on Trent Council & their staff, like, Mr Gerrard!!”