This is somewhat ironic as so far all the Local Authority have quoted to us is the fact they achieved the statutory minimum standard regards placing our children, never the less we worked to get our appeals in ahead of the statutory deadline as requested.

Over the last few weeks we have held several meetings attended by parents. One meeting was attended by two Councillors and a journalist from Worcester News.

That resulted in a further two pieces being published in the Worcester News (three stories in total so far, we think there are a few more issues that may be of interest to Worcester News going forward).

Tomorrow some of the parents will feature on BBC Hereford and Worcester with a representative from the Local Authority.

There is also the possibility that some parents will appear on a National Television program which would also help highlight our issue. It has to be said that none of us are particularly keen on the idea of having to appear on television, but for us it comes back to doing our best for our children, other members of our community with younger pre school children.

Some of us will be attending a surgery with our local MP in the near future and hopefully get an opportunity to meet with representatives from Red Hill School.

We all plan to write an individual letter to every councellor in the next few days.

Regards the appeals process it is actually quite a complicated process. We are seeking legal advice. We have already found a number of mistakes were made by the admissions team. Apparently this means the intake for this years class at Red Hill is now 31 (over the 30 limit).

Clearly that has shaken our confidence in the process and we are going to be scrutinising every aspect of the admissions process.

One benefit of being at the appeals stages is that we have the ability to ask for more information, and we have a whole raft of questions to ask!

Our hope is that a resolution can be found ahead of the appeal, saving us and the Local Authority a lot of time and expense. Failing that we will go to appeal, and if we lose the appeal will continue our campaign.

To be clear, this does not end in September. The presentation given by the Local Authority relating to PAN increases in the area indicates the problem is going to get worse over the next few years.

Almost every parent involved has younger children who will face the same issue in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

If our appeal fails we will reach out to every other pre-school parent in the area and continue our campaign to ensure this does not happen again in 2013.

We will leave no stone un turned in our effort to find a resolution to the issue at hand. As we have already stated, we expect the Local Authority to match that level of effort and commitment to finding a solution, after all, that is what they are paid for.

Regards a solution one comment was:

The LA cannot expand individual school buildings in the short term, as you will appreciate, it requires much long term planning and may ultimately leave the school with excess places in year groups and affect other schools.  Worcestershire has to take a strategic view and ensure that there are enough places within an area to meet the needs of the intake cohort.  This has to be achieved within the resources available.

Regards long term planning, our children are over four years old, all are registered as living in the area, most were born in the area and their births registered at County Hall. They were not born yesterday, nor for that matter were their parents!

Still we are where we are, so here are a couple of things that the Local Authority could look at which are deliverable within a short timeframe and would not break the bank:

1. Red Hill Primary has a spare classroom. Given the fact the Local Authority spent (our) tax payers money building that classroom would it not make sense to put it to use?
2. Red Hill Primary still has temporary classrooms on site which are not in use.

Clearly the first option would make the most sense. The Local Authority have already spent the money building that classroom.

Sitting back and watching such valuable resource go to waste when it is so badly needed is reprehensible.

None of us are perfect, we all make mistakes, errors of judgement, get things wrong from time to time. We understand and accept that.

What we do not accept is the failure to accept any responsibility or make any attempt to rectify those mistakes. This is very much what we are seeing from the Local Authority at the moment, a complete lack of accountability regarding the situation we now find ourselves in.

The first quote derived from the Admissions Handbook is as follows:

The law says that the Local Authority (LA) must give parents the chance to state their preference for the school they wish their child to attend.  The law does not give parents/carers an absolute right to “choose” the school for their child.

We are not asking for entry to a specific school. We just want our children to be able to go to one / any of the schools within our community. We do not think that is unreasonable / overly demanding.

Another quote was:

The number of children eligible to apply each year can vary widely, and there may be occasions where some schools may not be able to take all of its catchment area in a particular year.

Again the issue is not that there are not enough places at Red Hill, the issue is that there are not enough places across the entire area. Whilst there may be places elsewhere in the city, they are not being provided where they are needed.

It is clear from the consultation documents mentioned in previous posts the Local Authority have been aware of this looming problem, and so far have not done anything to resolve it.

Another quote given by the Local Authority:

In the few cases where it may not be possible to offer a place at any of the preferences nominated on the application form, a place will be offered at the nearest school with available places for pupils who live in Worcestershire.

It is possible to offer a place at a local school, the fact is no one has even tried.

We would ask the Local Authority to

• Try to find a solution
• Genuinely look for a solution
• Apply yourselves
• Give your best effort
• Show you care

Is that really too much to ask?

There are some solutions available that are both affordable and deliverable which you can read about here.

Whilst the Local Authority may have:

Complied with the School Admission Code and Key Stage One infant class legislation

For us the entire application process was a sham as we were advised to apply for school places that did not exist.

What is the point in going through an applications process when there is nothing to apply for?

We were given some statistics from previous years on the number of children in catchment who were refused entry to Red Hill Primary to illustrate the fact that numbers fluctuate, and that not every child is offered a place:

2008 – 0
2009 – 9
2010 – 0
2011 – 5
2012 -15

However, our issue has never been that we were not refused entry to Red Hill Primary, it is that we were refused entry to all schools in the area.

In previous years children were offered places at other local schools

In short the LA makes the point they have delivered the statutory minimum they are required to.

One comment mentioned that the situation is worse in other parts of the country, Manchester for example.

This is all very disheartening, we had hoped the Local Authority would set its sights a little higher than scraping through with the “bare statutory minimum”.

We had hoped that they would be benchmarking against the best authorities in the country not the worst.

We had hoped they would be a little more aspirational in terms of the service they deliver, a little more caring, take some ownership of and responsibility for the problem.

We do not expect miracles, we do expect the Local Authority to commit to do their very best to resolve the issue.

Sitting back and saying “we did nothing illegal” falls well short of doing your very best.

Furthermore parents who did attend have told us they were against the proposals during the meeting  they attended focus shifted from existing pre-school children within catchment to potential expansion of the catchment area to accommodate new build housing.

Presentation Document

Let us begin by looking at this document (click here). This is a presentation regarding expansion the PAN at local schools.

Page 2 Background

• There is a rising demand for primary school places in the east of Worcester City
• The Local Authority is looking to provide additional places in existing schools
• This situation has been identified by using data from Worcestershire PCT about numbers of pre-school children in each of the catchment areas and the annual October census of schools.

Page 4 shows numbers of known children are predicted to rise year on year until 2015.

Pages 5, 6 and  7 discuss the topic of “new build” which compounds the problem.

What is missing from this document is any reference to the recent “baby boom” which is the reason behind the growth shown on page 4.

This creates a confusing picture blurring two distinct issues which may or may not share a common solution:

1. Provision for existing children within catchment (baby boom)
2. Additional provision based on potential new build (page 6 refers to “consulted but not yet adopted”)

Meeting Notes

We do not have notes from the first two meetings, but the third (apparently final) notes are available here.

Question: Why is the LA looking at developing Red Hill in relation to Kilbury Drive Housing development when Whittington is closer?

LA Answer: The current proposed increase is based on the increase in known pre school numbers. The housing growth will impact later…

Question: Why was Red Hill chosen as potential development?

LA Answer: We know the pressure is in this part of the city and we know which schools are over subscribed. We then looked to see which school sites could physically take additional pupils

Question:  Are there surplus places elsewhere in Worcester City? – Where is the evidence, can’t there be any alternatives?

LA Answer: We had very few spare places in reception classes last year and pre-school numbers are rising.

Question: Are there any places available in the surrounding schools?

LA Answer: There are very few places left in current reception classes and pre school numbers are rising across the area not just in one specific catchment area.

Question: Why did we get the school built at PAN 30 and now the LA is looking at an increase to 45?

LA Answer: When the rebuild of the school was agreed back in 2004 the numbers were lower and a PAN of 30 was sufficient. The demographics have now changed

Conclusions Drawn

1. The LA were clearly aware of the looming problem at Red Hill
2. The LA were clearly aware surrounding schools could not accommodate these children

Having spoken to a parent present at that meeting it appears objections largely centred around new build. At least some of the parents  present were not clear on the current existing and growing need within the area. They certainly did not realise failure to provide additional places could be exclude their own children or those of their neighbors from getting a place anywhere in the local area.

Again, let us stress this is not only a “Red Hill Problem” every school in the area is over subscribed:

1. We are all in Red Hill Catchment
2. Red Hill was our preferred school
3. The LA identified Red Hill as a school which could (and should) be developed further

On the basis of this our proposed solution is that additional places be provided at Red Hill in 2012 either through a “bulge class” or a PAN increase, with a PAN increase put in place for 2013 and 2014.

We will be putting this case forward through the appeals process and a wider community campaign.

Redhill Primary School – 30 Published Admisson Number

• 59 as 1st choice
• 55 as 2nd choice
• 35 as 3rd choice
• 139 Total applications for 30 places

• Allocated 17 in catchment with siblings
• Allocated 13 in catchment without siblings (last child living 0.5miles away)
• Rejected 15 in catchment

Cherry Orchard Primary School – 90 Published Admission Number

• 111 as 1st choice
• 67 as 2nd choice
• 28 as 3rd choice
• 206 Total applications for 90 places

• Allocated 35 in catchment with siblings
• Allocated 55 in catchment without siblings
• Rejected 2 in catchment (distance)
• Rejected 7 out of catchment with siblings
• Rejected 55 living out catchment without siblings

Stanley Road Primary School – 45 Published Admission Number

• 45 as 1st choice
• 6 as 2nd choice
• 13 as 3rd choice
• 64 Total applications for 45 places

• Allocated 14 in catchment with siblings
• Allocated 22 in catchment without siblings
• Allocated 9 outside of catchment with siblings
• Rejected 3 with siblings out of catchment

Rejected all others out of catchment on distance

Everyone in catchment got place plus 9 out of catchment with siblings

If you are a parent of young children you may well be next. This situation is predicted to worsen over the next few years due to a recent “baby boom”.

If you are a homeowner in the local area then you will be aware that this was once a desirable place to live with regards local schools. As of 23rd April that has been turned on its head. This is now one of the worst possible areas you could be in regards school placements. We want to stress that we are only worried about our children and at this point in time could not care less about that particular issue, but it does illustrate how the problem in hand has implications reaching far beyond the 15 families whose children are currently affected.

We understand this is the route being used by the Local Authority to calculate the distance between the affected part of the Red Hill catchment in WR5 (Battenhall Worcester) and Pitmaston Primary.

It has been suggested that the footbridge would be quicker and a better route. We do not know the distance taking this route, and again this is not the route the LA are using, however in answer to questions as to why we do not use the footbridge there are two issues:

• Safety (lighting, isolated route etc)
• Weather (rain, snow ice)

One of our number walked the route to see how long it would take and took some pictures on the way some of which are included below.

Footpath from Diglis Lane to Diglis bridge - note no lighting

Footpath from Diglis Lane to Diglis bridge - note no lighting and shrubbery

Flood across footpath on the approach to Diglis bridge - There was no way around this as all surrounding area was wet

Flood across footpath on the approach to Diglis bridge - There was no way around this as all surrounding area was wet

Another photo taken from the bridge on the St John's side of the river by the entrance/exit of footpath leading to Weir Lane

Taken walking down the bridge on the St John's side of the river - The river has crossed over the footpath

So, whilst a walk across the footbridge offers a pleasant walk along the river on a sunny Sunday afternoon, it is not practical to use this route for the school run.

Therefore the route both ourselves and the LA (or so we believe) are referring to is the route via the city centre, the same route shown on our homepage.