There are already worrying signs that Bristol's debacle over primary school places will be repeated again in the coming year.

Just look at the case of Bishop Road School.

The council's admissions booklet tells parents that 30 extra reception places at a planned new 210-place primary near the cricket ground are "likely to be part of an expanded Bishop Road school".

But it seems this was never agreed with the school, which has consequently had to deal with a great deal of concern from its staff and parents of existing pupils.

Since Bishop Road has already come under fire from some parents after agreeing to help out the council this year by taking a fourth reception class, it is hardly surprising that its governors have said "enough is enough".

What a shambles – especially after the council promised to learn lessons from last year's chaos.

But none of this helps the parents of children due to start school next year, who were pinning their hopes on the cricket ground school.

The planning application has not even been considered yet, so let's be realistic: it will be 18 months before any school is built.

Parents are being invited to apply for places at a school that does not exist and cannot have its own head and governors in place in time.

Is it any wonder they are confused?

They are being left in the dark and being asked to base the application for their children's first school on little more than an educated guess.

And that is not good enough.

Regardless of which political party is in power, Bristol City Council has a job to organise and provide schools for the children in this city.

That requirement is always there. So why is the council so apparently hopeless at planning ahead and making sure it has sufficient places at schools in the neighbourhoods that need them?

We cannot have another year where hundreds of families are left not knowing for months where their children will be starting school.