Thirty children in the St Margarets area look set to start their school life four months late due to the council’s failure to provide enough places in time for the start of the school year in September.
There are currently 43 children living in the St Margarets area who have yet to be offered a place for a reception class this September. After months of inaction and complacency, the Conservative council is finally in talks with Orleans Infants School and with parents to determine if an extra class can be provided at the school from January 2012: a four month delay in the start of children’s education.
Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Malcolm Eady said: “This was always going to be a very difficult year because of the exceptionally high birth rate in 2007. The new Conservative administration cut the expansion programme we had in place for the St Margarets area, and for the last 9 months we have been demanding that they put in extra classes.”
“The planned expansion at Orleans Infants, which we proposed in Febuary 2010 and which the new Conservative administration put on hold, has still not got the go ahead.
“The Conservatives seem to lack any sense of urgency to solve the problem. The birth rate has not dropped significantly, and we know we will need more new sites. None have been forthcoming. We have reports and press statements, but no positive action. The administration’s hope is that “something will turn up”. If they are waiting for money from the government, then they may have a very long time to wait.”
– Press Release from Cllr Malcolm Eady, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson - 10th June 2011
Comments
A very balanced piece. Congratulations.
James on 2011-06-16 10:12:31 +0000What do you expect from a political party press release? I still think it is worth posting.
Peter @ stmgrts.org.uk on 2011-06-16 12:04:40 +0000If "not got the go ahead" means "construction is set to start next month when the holidays begin", then Eady is right (sigh).
Missing from the story is the fact that the Governors refused to take the bulge class and the Council over-rode them. Meaning that all years in Orleans now have bulges, thus expanding the "sibling base" (already over 50% of entries) such that unless you have a sibling in Orleans, you are virtually going to have to live in Hartington Road to get a place. Will such a crowded Orleans Infants be able to maintain its just-won 'outstanding' status, bursting at the seams?
And if the Liberals are so smart, how come they didn't see this coming 4 years ago when the babies who are now entering Orleans were born - and do something? The Tories have been in power for just a year! Very easy to be wise after the event but a bit transparent, to put it mildly!
David bertram on 2011-06-16 13:59:27 +0000This lack of primary school provision has been an issue for five years, the Conservatives have been in power for what ? 1 year now. I love how politicians choose their position and language by the nature of their needs, rather than the needs of the community and those they are employed to serve.
Simon on 2011-06-17 10:21:29 +0000www.stmgrts.org.uk/archives/2010/02/council_purchase_of_site_for_new_primary_school.html
From the archives of this website, a press release dated October 2010: 'St Margarets and East Twickenham 4 year olds face shortage of school places: 4-year-old children from St Margarets and East Twickenham could face a shortage of school places next September, after the Conservative Council has halved the previous Liberal Democrat plans for school expansion in the area.
At the recent Council meeting, following questions put down by Liberal Democrat councillors, it was announced that plans to provide more primary school places in the area had been halved, because of the Council's unwillingness to provide funds. 50% of the planned extra places are to be put on hold until and unless the Government funds them.
The previous Lib Dem council had consulted parents on plans to provide an extra 60 places a year (420 across all years) at St Mary's Primary, Orleans Infants and the new St John's site. These plans have now been scaled back to provide just 30 extra places a year (210 across all years) at St Mary's, with no expansion of Orleans Infants. Delays in making progress means that even this expansion will now not be available until September 2012 . . ' www.stmgrts.org.uk/archives/2010/10/press_release_liberal_democrats_on_st_margarets_sc.html and tinyurl.com/69dwdc9
Chris Squire on 2011-06-17 12:36:44 +0000Malcolm: "the exceptionally high birth rate in 2007?" What?? This avoidable situation has little to do with one year's birth rate. Read the history. Simon: I agree with the thrust of your point, but can assure you that the poor ie zero provision in Primary education for those of us living North of the A316 has been an "issue" for rather longer than five years. It spikes every so often, but has provided local newspapers and internet sites like this one with similar news stories ever since we moved into St Margarets in 1997. What we need is what anyone in the several previous Council administrations (of whatever colour) with any understanding of how the local population is changing should have been able to predict and have the bottle/nous/energy to see through: a new school in North St Margarets.
I am not a Tory but can't help observing that the present Council administration are at least providing a long overdue new Primary site in addition to all these bulge year groups, even if it is in the wrong location! They and the hard working Education team deserve credit for that much.
Ben Driver on 2011-06-17 23:49:32 +0000I am embarrassed for the Lib Dems, who failed to deal with this recurrent, increasing and entirely predictable problem for several years running. There was a missed opportunity to put a portion of the sold-off Brunel site, earmarked for educational use, aside for a primary school in 2002. This would have directly addressed the problem of insufficient places for families in North St. Margarets. Now we have another political party in charge, cramming more students into Orleans just as the last party did. The much touted scheme to widen access to Orleans and St. Mary's, as I keep pointing out whenever a forum like this one arises, still does not meet the current demand for places, much less the future, growing demand. Just look at the numbers: 43 children in St. Margaret's alone without offers, only 30 of which will gain them AFTER both Orleans and St. Mary's put on the extra classes. This is the same number of classes that are proposed to be in place in the proposed "expansion".
The obvious difficulties for our excellent, overstretched local schools are only exceeded by the excruciating situation for parents as they wait all the summer for news of places possibly opening up in various corners of the borough. (So much for the council's "green" policy of walking and cycling to school - this is made farcical for St. Margarets' families having to schlep their children to Teddington every morning). I guess we should be grateful this nightmare is now only happening to 13 families in north St. Margaret's, as opposed to 43.
Dr Heather Bryan on 2011-06-18 00:28:52 +0000The 'missed opportunity' to use the Brunel site for a school actually occurred in the previous Tory period in office [2002 - 06]. Neither party would have built a new school there as it would have filled up with children from across the boundary, i.e. Hounslow LB. Naturally this fact of life has never been baldly stated to residents there.
The solution for N St Margarets families must lie in one or other of the Hounslow LB schools in easy walking distance across the Crane - or going private - or moving house.
Chris Squire on 2011-06-18 01:55:30 +0000" the Conservative Council has halved the previous Liberal Democrat plans for school expansion in the area."
Plans! Plans (not spades in the ground) in 2010 to accommodate children born in 2007? Oh yes, the Liberal Councillors had lost no time in acting, had they?
Sigh.
David bertram on 2011-06-20 10:47:05 +0000"Neither party would have built a new school there as it would have filled up with children from across the boundary, i.e. Hounslow LB."
I've heard this argument trotted out on a number of occasions by politicians of both colours, and frankly it doesn't cut it, the true extent of the deceit is exposed in the next paragraph:
"The solution for N St Margarets families must lie in one or other of the Hounslow LB schools in easy walking distance across the Crane"
So it's OK for us to take places from their schools but not OK for them to take places from us - not really a very christian attitude. And if there really ARE places available in Hounslow's schools that we can fill, that rather blows the whole argument.
Politics is the art of the possible. It's up to our political masters to come up with a solution to this - it's their job. If providing places for children from out-of-borough is such a problem, find a way to collaborate with the adjoining council to fund the school on a shared funding basis. Both would benefit, both would contribute. I'm sure there'll be some further bureacratic nightmare reason why this is not possible, so I'm saying, you are the bureaucrats, it is your responsibility to find a solution, take a step back, change things and make it possible.
Ed on 2011-06-28 12:38:58 +0000