Leamington councillor raises concerns about lack of school reception places in the town

Councillor Sarah Boad (Lib Dem, Leamington North raised the issue during a discussion of Warwickshire County Council’s Education Sufficiency Strategy at a meeting for all councillors this week.

The strategy sets out how the authority will ensure that there are enough school places over the next five years.

Children do not have to attend reception but many do, smoothing the path into year one which kicks in immediately after their fifth birthday.

Cllr Boad noted that places are available in the north of Leamington but not the south, leading parents to either skip that opening year or travel across town.

“The north of Leamington where I represent is green belt so there are no new houses in the north, or very few, they are all being built in the south,” she said.

“At the moment, the only schools with reception places are in the north and in Cubbington.

"Any children moving into the south of Leamington and Warwick are potentially having to go to schools in north and north-east Leamington or Cubbington.

“Children are getting places in those schools and subsequently getting places somewhere else. Having accepted a place, they are then withdrawing from that place and going somewhere else.

“What I fear is that you will see many families driving from the south, across the town centre to get to Cubbington and north-east Leamington to put their children in school.

“They are then probably waiting for a place to become available in the south, withdrawing their children, so trying to plan is difficult.

"As everyone knows, the key date is in October when the (per pupil school) funding for the following year comes from, so I just see a recipe for a bit of chaos, not massive chaos, because the provision is not necessarily where the children are.”

She noted the potential for schools to be hit financially by the recent drop in reception numbers, adding: “It isn’t just about sufficiency, it is about keeping schools going with healthy budgets.”

The council’s strategy explains that reception numbers are calculated based on NHS GP registration data with “allowance made within the forecast for the expected additional pre-school aged children who will move into housing development approved in the county”.

As part of the wider debate, portfolio holder for education Councillor Kam Kaur (Con, Bilton & Hillside) highlighted that an independent consultant had looked at the council’s overall methodology and said it had been “one of the best he had seen”.

On the issue of primary places, she added: “What you’re experiencing is what we have already experienced in Rugby, it has been going on for years in Rugby.

“I am not saying that is right, I am saying it is very difficult to manage and I am being open and honest about that.

“We will always work with providers to try, if they are willing and wanting, to open a facility in those areas where there isn’t one.”