'Bulge' classes created to try and ease the increased demand
More than a 100 children across Ealing are still waiting to hear where they will be going to school this year.
Although the situation is changing on a daily basis - there are 25 unplaced children in the Acton area and 113 across the borough as a whole (as of Wednesday 7th September).
The Council say
everyone who applied on time has a place and 22 of the 113 unplaced children applied for their places in the last two weeks of August.
In total they received 600 late applications for school places.
Like most parts of London, Ealing is experiencing a big shortage of primary school places.
270 new primary school places have been created in the bororough through 'bulge' classes for the start of the 2011/2012 school year.
Two new primary schools are planned for Acton.
Planning permission has been granted for a Catholic primary school to be built on the site of the Holy Family Community Centre in West Acton. And, subject to planning permission, another school is planned for the site of the Priory Community Centre in Acton.
Together, both schools will create an additional 840 places when full.
Existing schools that have been temporarily expanded for this academic year with a bulge class of 30 additional pupils are: · Berrymede Infant School, Acton · Derwentwater Primary School, Acton · Gifford Primary School, Greenford · Grange Primary School, Ealing · Greenwood Primary School, Northolt · St Raphael's Catholic Primary School, Northolt · St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, Acton · Southfield Primary School, Acton · West Acton Primary School, Acton
A number of the borough’s primary schools that had previously taken temporary bulge classes have now been expanded on a permanent basis with their new build extensions opening to pupils for the first time this month.
Councillor Patricia Walker, cabinet member for Children and Young People, said:
“Like so many other London boroughs, Ealing is having to deal with a huge increase in demand for school places, especially in the east of the borough.
“Expansions of existing schools are not always popular with parents who already have secured a school place, but they are often the only way to ensure that we give children a place at their local primary school.
“Everyone who applied on time this year has been offered a place and, so far, we have received around 600 late applications. We are expecting this demand for places to keep rising for the next few years and are looking at a number of options to make sure that we are planning properly for this growth.”
Has your child got a place? Discuss on the forum.
8th September 2011