16 March 2010
Parents and governors at All Saints Infants School in Reading, who are continuing their campaign to expand the school to take pupils upto year 6 and double the school roll to 120 pupils, had disappointing news regarding allocation of school places for children leaving All Saints at the end of the summer term.
School parent and Chair of Friends of All Saints, Marie Groucott said: “Of the 18 set of parents with children in year 2 at All Saints who applied for transfer to other Reading primary schools into year 6, the majority are facing distress and concern as they have not been offered a place for their children at any of the schools on their application preference list.”
Marie continued: “Traditionally the school has fed into Churchend Primary, St. Mary’s, Southcote Primary and Oxford Road Primary. Unfortunately no one has been offered a place at Churchend, not even those with siblings, or St Mary's, or Southcote Primary, or Oxford Road Primary. Children this year face distress and uncertainty about where they are moving onto and anxiety about whether any of their peers will move with them. Several children are unable to attend school with siblings or continue their education in a Church of England School. This problem is not isolated to this year but will continue to be a problem as numbers outweigh available resources. The Council plans to expand foundation places in September 2010 but this will not address this school’s problems. There is concern about future places for all September 2010 children in Reading.”
Marie concluded: “There is an opportunity to accommodate all these children by expanding All Saints into a vacant council property opposite this school. Friends of All Saints and governors are working very hard to realise the feasibility of this and to realise a fantastic opportunity of expanding a treasured school. The campaign is looking for support from the local council, particularly as the LEA advocates,'Increasing user participations in decisions'. We understand that one of the LEA's key visions and priorities for children is that they '.....are happy, healthy safe and coping with change and challenge.'”
Alok Sharma, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Reading West, who is supporting All Saints’s expansion plans said: “Parents are understandably frustrated and concerned that many of their children have not be allocated places at any of their preferred schools. If All Saints receives support from Reading Borough Council and is allowed to expand, not only will overall pressure on school places be eased but parents at All Saints will not face the same uncertainty about school places in future years. This is a win-win situation, it just needs the Council to think and act with some imagination and support a really motivated set of parents and governors.”
School parent and Chair of Friends of All Saints, Marie Groucott said: “Of the 18 set of parents with children in year 2 at All Saints who applied for transfer to other Reading primary schools into year 6, the majority are facing distress and concern as they have not been offered a place for their children at any of the schools on their application preference list.”
Marie continued: “Traditionally the school has fed into Churchend Primary, St. Mary’s, Southcote Primary and Oxford Road Primary. Unfortunately no one has been offered a place at Churchend, not even those with siblings, or St Mary's, or Southcote Primary, or Oxford Road Primary. Children this year face distress and uncertainty about where they are moving onto and anxiety about whether any of their peers will move with them. Several children are unable to attend school with siblings or continue their education in a Church of England School. This problem is not isolated to this year but will continue to be a problem as numbers outweigh available resources. The Council plans to expand foundation places in September 2010 but this will not address this school’s problems. There is concern about future places for all September 2010 children in Reading.”
Marie concluded: “There is an opportunity to accommodate all these children by expanding All Saints into a vacant council property opposite this school. Friends of All Saints and governors are working very hard to realise the feasibility of this and to realise a fantastic opportunity of expanding a treasured school. The campaign is looking for support from the local council, particularly as the LEA advocates,'Increasing user participations in decisions'. We understand that one of the LEA's key visions and priorities for children is that they '.....are happy, healthy safe and coping with change and challenge.'”
Alok Sharma, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Reading West, who is supporting All Saints’s expansion plans said: “Parents are understandably frustrated and concerned that many of their children have not be allocated places at any of their preferred schools. If All Saints receives support from Reading Borough Council and is allowed to expand, not only will overall pressure on school places be eased but parents at All Saints will not face the same uncertainty about school places in future years. This is a win-win situation, it just needs the Council to think and act with some imagination and support a really motivated set of parents and governors.”
