Parents who are concerned about not being allocated the primary school of their choice are welcome to contact me. But it is important to recognnise that the Government has in effect abolished the appeals system by prohibiting classes in excess of 30. In St Albans, there are a number of areas in the city centre which are in effect a black hole. We continue to lobby the County Council to provide an additional school – and continue to get no sensible answers.
We issued this press release last week.
Figures out last week showed that 581 children in Hertfordshire were left
without a primary school place of their choice for September 09. The
majority of schools received more applications than there were spaces for
their child to attend.
Children most affected live in the districts council areas of Dacorum, East
Hertfordshire, Hertsmere, St Albans, Stevenage, Three Rivers, Watford and
Welwyn Hatfield.
County Councillor Aislinn Lee, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson said:
‘This is appalling – nearly 600 families wondering where their pre-school
child is going to start their school life, often in a school they have not
chosen that is too far from home. Starting school aged 4 is one of the most
stressful experiences that parents face in raising children.
‘The County Council is reviewing this currently, but this years figures show
that this must be done urgently and in areas like St Albans and Watford new
schools must be delivered.’
Of the 581 children that have not been offered a school of their choice 55
children have been offered school places that are more than 2 miles from
their homes. This means they are entitled to free home school transport.