Primary school places: thousands miss out on first choice school

Thousands of children have missed out on their first choice place at primary school, according to initial figures released by some councils.

Around 600,000 children will today learn which primary school they will be attending next September, as the number of classes with more than 30 pupils reaches a 15-year high.

Initial figures released by local authorities across England show some councils have granted fewer places for first choices this year compared to last year.

Data from Solihull showed fewer allocations of first choice places for primary schools, down 1 per cent from 88 per cent last year to 87 per cent this year.

Fewer children achieved their first choice in East Sussex, the lowest figures so far: 86 per cent last year versus 84.68 per cent in 2015.

Herefordshire also saw a drop in first choice place allocations, falling from 94.9 per cent last year to 93.6 per cent in 2015.

Some areas achieved over 90 per cent of first choice in primary school allocations.

In Lincolnshire 93 per cent of children got their first choice of primary school and in Kirklees 90.4 per cent of children achieved their first choice.

But Milton Keynes saw roughly the same number of children getting their first choice primary school at 88 per cent

Results from Birmingham show that 84.7 per cent of children starting Reception have got their first preference, while 94.8 per cent got one of their listed choices. Around 5.2 per cent – 826 children – were given a school that was not one of their preferred options, while a further 3.3 per cent – 532 youngsters – have been offered a school outside the city.

In Kent the figure was 85.81 per cent, up from 84.9 per cent last year.

Patrick Leeson of Kent County Council said: "Our schools admissions team has been working hard, as usual, to ensure that as many pupils as possible get a school from among their preferred choices and we are pleased to see that the number of both first and second choices has increased.

"However, we will not lose sight of the fact that 4 per cent of pupils have not been given a school from their preferences. While many will secure places through waiting lists and reallocation, I am aware that this will be a difficult time and we will do what we can to offer a good outcome.

"Local authorities across England face significant challenges because of a lack of primary school places. In Kent, however, the combination of good forecasting, careful planning, and close working with schools means we are able to sustain a high proportion of children starting at a school of their preference.

"We are also creating hundreds of additional places – both for the start of the academic year 2015/16 and from September 2016."

Anxious parents across England turned to social media in the early hours of Thursday following for what was, for many, a sleepless night.

According to government estimates, 200,000 more primary school places will be required by 2020. Higher birth rates, rising immigration, government policy and a lack of national planning for school places have been blamed for the growing pressure.

Concerns were raised as new figures published by Labour revealed that the number of young children taught in classes of more than 30 pupils is at its highest for 15 years.

Freedom of Information requests to local councils by the party revealed that 102,615 pupils aged between five and seven (from a total of between 500,000 and 600,000 pupils) are being taught in classes with at least 31 children, up from 93,345 last year.

Labour blamed the rise on the Conservatives, saying that the party had spent millions on setting up free schools rather than focusing funding on areas in need of more places.

Source: telegraph.co.uk