Primary schools crisis group calls for action over admissions
Parents across Bristol who have not got their children into their local schools are being invited to join a new campaign group.
Its aim is to lobby the city council to ensure that all children can be educated within their own communities.
The group, called Bristol Primary Admissions Crisis (B PAC), is against any children being bussed to primaries outside their areas.
It wants to see temporary classrooms put in at school sites where there is heavy demand and suggests that staff from undersubscribed schools could be brought in to the more popular ones to enable them to take more pupils.
"We want to wave our children off on their first day at the school gates, not at a bus stop," the group said in a statement.
B PAC was formed at a meeting in Bishopston, one of the worst affected areas, on Tuesday night.
Liz Haydon-Turner, one of the campaigners, said: "We want to involve parents from across the city and perhaps be a forum to help them with working out local solutions in their areas."
More than 300 families are still waiting to be allocated reception class places for their four-year-olds for September.
They unsuccessfully applied for their three preferred schools and are concerned because all the others within a reasonable distance of their homes are also oversubscribed.
B PAC believes about 200 families in north Bristol are affected, both on the west side of Gloucester Road, where members knows of 41 children who failed to get into the three schools Bishop Road, Westbury Park and Henleaze, and on the east side, with Sefton Park and Ashley Down infants especially oversubscribed.
Schools in the central and inner city are also oversubscribed, with excessive demand, and there are pockets of families affected elsewhere.
Sixteen families attended Tuesday's meeting and half-a-dozen more are interested in becoming involved.
Mrs Haydon-Turner said: "We want the council to revive its plan to build a primary school at the Brunel field (next to City of Bristol College). In the meantime, we'd like to see the old Fairfield secondary school used as a temporary primary school and extra classes put in at other schools, such as Henleaze, where necessary.
"The council's own documents in support of its Primary Review last year said 'young people are put at a disadvantage as they are required to attend primary school outside their community'."
The group is seeking representation on the council's admissions forum. It has already won the backing of Bristol West Lib Dem Stephen Williams and will be writing to other city MPs and councillors. It has also started an e-petition on the Downing Street website.
Anyone interested in joining the group should email bristolprimaryadmissionscrisis@yahoo.co.uk
12 Comments
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by Natalie, Bishopston
Monday, February 23 2009, 10:05AM
“Hi Merriel,
In repsonse to you plot thickens statement - catch the bristolblogger website and read the real story of Glos. CCC and it's 'unusual' dealings with BCC.
Very interesting stuff indeed.”
by Dominic Turner, Ashley Down
Friday, February 20 2009, 11:24PM
“Like many others, my son was refused a place at all 3 local schools. We are still in limbo waiting to hear what crumbs we can expect from the Council's table. Bus Passes? Mini-busses? 2 hour round trip on foot when your are 2 feet tall? Not to mention his 2 younger brothers that will endure a gruelling commute twice a day to get him there?
This is all made worse by the fact that the council scrapped the existing plan to build a new primary school at the top of his road - in favour of 300 new houses.
"Budgets are tight... Sites are constrained" they said.
So you can imagine my total disbelief when I read today's story on the Evening Post.
Bristol Council is planning to purchase 200 acres of parkland next to the M32. What for? To farm for beef,
Cows or Education. Get a grip, Bristol Council. Stop frittering away our taxes on ridiculous schemes and start addressing the crisis you have created in Primary Education in this city!!!
You should be totally ashamed of yourselves. Budgets of every single department in the council should be immediately frozen until this mess is resolved. It is an absolute insult to every parent that like me is worried sick about the future for their children.
BCC, please remember that these are four year old children you are doing this to, barely out of toddler years.”
by Shelly, westbury on trym
Friday, February 20 2009, 10:08PM
“Can I believe my eyes .... local government wanting to ship off our four and five year olds on buses just to get them to school??!!!
What are they doing to address this? Apologies and sincere concern does not bring about results. Only action and an understanding of the value of community can harvest results. Sadly it seems, local government are lacking in both these areas. Children feel supported if schooled in their local communities- Children are known to other parents, helping create a caring and safer environment, parents have a social network in which they can constructively build bridges with fellow parents and teachers, allowing parents to also feel more in control of their parenting skills. If children live nearby to their fellow class mates, they can play with their peers in a non-school environment, but an environment in which they feel comfortable, welcome and safe in. Perhaps government would care to look at the Swedish care system for children, which does a much more satisfactory job of encouraging this environment.
It is a sad state of affairs when the only ones who seem interested in this issue- is the opposition. And possibly more sadly, is that this problem in the Bishopston area is the tip of a very large and imposing iceberg. If government stopped channelling all their efforts into creating ¿citizenship¿ classes in senior school ¿ and addressed the schooling issues at primary level- all our children would reach secondary school with a comprehensive understanding of what being a citizen in a local community was! No need for all those expensive citizenship teachers then ... and free cash to spend on more schools!
With the economic downturn come disaster arriving on our door steps, what is the government going to prioritise. Their sandwiches, biscuits and tea for their meetings , sure. Allowances for second homes, BMWs, bonuses for good work, sure. Our children .... ? Makes you wonder...”
by Nicole, stoke bishop
Friday, February 20 2009, 9:37PM
“I have a grandson who is six months old. We are talking now about schools for him. I feel very sorry for all the families who have not got in to the local schools. Some thing must be done soon as this will only get worse year after year. Good luck B PAC- keep fighting you have my support.”
by nikki, stoke bishop
Friday, February 20 2009, 9:35PM
“I have a grandson who is six months old, and we are talking now about schools for him. I feel very sorry for all the families who have not got in to the local schools. Some thing must be done soon as this will only get worse year after year. Good luck B PAC, keep fighting, you have my support.”
by Bob Edwards, Horfield
Thursday, February 19 2009, 11:55PM
“As a parent of a three year old who did not get into his three local schools (and in trepidation of my two year old's applications next year), I await with fear a council solution in April which may involve an inhumanely long bus journey. I wonder if Bristol City Council will put its money where its mouth is (and its asserted commitments in its own Primary Review) and not only provide a workable temporary solution which will allow our children to be educated locally but also give us the 60 reception place new school desperately needed in our community. If they're looking for a temporary fix, a number of local independent schools appear to be able to put on extra reception classes to cope with demand - perhaps the council can meet the cost until the permanent solution
(which they knew was required at least as far back as 2003) is put in place.
Bristol City Council claims to have green credentials and to want to engage the local community with local education solutions. Their failure to back up these commitments is horrifying and the people who pay the price are our children.
Meanwhile Gloucester County Cricket Club are utilising the land earmarked for our community primary school as additional parking for an Elton John concert. Is it just me or are priorities skewed here. 'Education! Education! Education!' stormed Blair in 1997 not 'Over the hill popstars! Over the hill popstars! Over the hill popstars!' '”
by fran, Ashley Down
Thursday, February 19 2009, 11:08PM
“I keep hearing comments from the council along the lines of "this has come as a complete surprise".
Lets see what the report to the council said in 2007:
BRISTOL CITY COUNCIL, Cabinet, 22nd February 2007
Report of: Director of Children and Young People¿s Services
Title: Bishopston Ward Primary School (AGENDA ITEM NO 7)
Consequences of not building the school at Bishopston: If the school were not be provided at the Brunel site there would
continue to be an oversubscription of schools within the area with
the result that some children will be forced to attend schools
outside their community.
So they knew the consequences in 2007 and cancelled it anyway - with no viable alternative in its place and 300 new houses to boot.”
by Austin, Bishopston
Thursday, February 19 2009, 10:51PM
“The council's stated objectives in its current primary school review & corporate plan?
'...ensuring there are places where the need is greatest';
'bringing together people ... in schools and within local neighbourhoods';
'tackling climate change by reducing CO2 emissions from schools';
'we will deliver the best possible outcomes for Bristol's children... including... rebuilding and refurbishing schools';
'contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of the city's population...'.
One of the reasons for having a review of primary schools in the first place was 'the need for places ... to ensure children of primary school age can attend a local school.'
'Associated objectives' include: 'providing new and better schools'; and 'Support community cohesion.'
So, given all that, how can the council now seriously be proposing a 'solution' of taking children across town in a minibus, when it doesn't satisfy any of their own objectives, much less those of Bristol parents?
Their risk assessment on school closures makes great reading too - incredibly, 'negative media coverage for the city council' has been assessed at the same level of impact in assessing the decisions as 'young people are put at a disadvantage as they are required to attend primary school outside of their local community' and 'economic pressures on families who have to pay for public transport to take their children further away from home to attend primary school.'
Please, please, let's get our priorities straight.”
by Andrew, Ashley Down
Thursday, February 19 2009, 1:02PM
“We have been campaigning for over a year for the Council to see sense and build the school at Brunel instead of wasting time on a flawed consultation and damaging unworkable expansion proposals for Sefton Park. B PAC are invited to join forces with Ashley Grange Residents Organisation google ag-ro
Send a statement to the Cabinet meeting at the Council House on Thurs 26 Feb at 4:00pm. Deadline for questions is 5:00pm Fri 20 Feb and deadline for statements is 12 noon Wed 25 Feb”
by Ian, Westbury Park
Thursday, February 19 2009, 12:52PM
“It's not just the people affected this year who should contact this group straight away.
Unless this problem is dealt with now it will come back year after year after year.
If you're a parent with children under 4, now is the time to add your voice to this protest. Don't let BCC get away with neglecting their responsibility to give us all local primary school places for our kids.”