Email to Bill Mcentee re Sibling Rule.doc
North Somerset are currently consulting (open to all) on the 2010 admission arrangements. This gives us a great opportunity to express our opinion about the newly amended sibling link rule.
Just to remind you…
The sibling link rule used to give preference within the over-subscripti…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on February 2, 2009 at 9:55pm —
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Thank you to everyone who supported our objection to the Council’s amendment to the Sibling Link rule. We had a great response from you all but unfortunately not such a great response from the Adjudicator.
We actually received the Adjudicator’s decision last week and I apologise for not updating you sooner – I think we were all just a bit too depressed.
As you will have gathered, we were unsuccessful in getting an amendment. If you want to read up on his reasoning please click the link (…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on July 18, 2008 at 8:30pm —
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A number of us have placed an objection to the Schools Adjudicator regarding the removal of the Sibling Link Rule for admissions from September 2009.
In the past, siblings have been given priority when allocating places at over-subscribed schools. Part of the reason that N. Somerset Council propose to change this rule is because children from Long Ashton have not been able to obtain a place at the local schools because priority has been given to children outside of the village with siblings at…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on June 20, 2008 at 8:56pm —
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The Council’s Scrutiny Panel met on Wednesday 23rd April to report back their recommendations regarding the Long Ashton schools situation. The
minutes and the
scrutiny report can be accessed here.
Bottom line (I think) is that the panel has concluded that extending Birdwell is too costly at the present time and alternatives are not acceptable. The recommendation…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on April 25, 2008 at 8:49pm —
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For anyone who has put in a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman (see my blog dated 9th April), I have received a summary of my complaint from the investigator today which is as follows:
"that the Council failed to increase school capacity as required specifically by section 106 agreements related to housing developments in the local area over the past few years."
This is inaccurate (which I've raised with the investigator) as the Council
has increased net capacity at both school…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on April 23, 2008 at 9:16pm —
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I'm very sorry to have to tell you that the Executive Member for Children and Young People (Cllr Blatchford) has signed off the admission arrangements for 2009 and the sibling link rule remains unchanged. In other words, everyone allocated a school other than their closest will not qualify for a sibling link when applying for younger children in the future.
I have already written to Cllr Blatchford, who I can only conclude is completely spineless and ineffective. I'll also enquire to whom we ne…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on April 21, 2008 at 3:28pm —
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The petition is up to about 500 signatures (between the online and various paper copies drifting about). I do think that we could do better though and should be aiming for 1,000 signatures in a village this size. I personally would feel fairly comfortable going door to door for a couple of hours next weekend if it helps. Would anyone else be willing? If so, please commit to covering a single road/part road to avoid duplication. If everyone on this blog got another 10 signatures, we'd be there an…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on April 12, 2008 at 9:06pm —
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I spoke to the helpline for the Local Government Ombudsman yesterday and they have agreed to investigate my complaint further. This is in two parts:
1. That section 106 contributions were collected to create additional school places within our village but that any resulting increase was insufficient (although 'net capacity' at both schools has increased, the number of admission places at Northleaze and Birdwell hasn't changed in the past 5 years).
2. A general concern over the level of competenc…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on April 9, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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Laurence has done some more stirling work on publicity, please click
here to read the latest Clevedon Mercury article (3rd April 2008). If you can, please also post comments on the Mercury's website and help to keep the campaign alive.
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on April 4, 2008 at 10:57pm —
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As posted elsewhere on this blog, it has been recommended by the Council that the Sibling Link Rule should continue as originally amended (ie applying only where it is the child's closest school). If the Council do not take action to increase places at our local schools (for the next four years), this is likely to affect loads of us with more than one child, each one potentially allocated to a different school. A complete nightmare for any family.
The Executive Member for Children and Young Peo…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on April 3, 2008 at 9:47pm —
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So depressed following our meeting this evening. Two and a half hours and nothing positive to report at all.
We have been told that
nothing can be done within the next four years. This will undoubtedly result in our children being transported to ever more distant schools outside of our community. The Council have confirmed that a journey time of up to an hour (each way) is acceptable.
Also, despite indications to suggest otherwise, the Council is recommending continuing with their amend…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on March 27, 2008 at 9:40pm —
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Been meaning to post this for a while (mainly for completeness). Links below are to relevant press articles in the Clevedon Mercury in case you missed them:
Fury at "inhumane" buses for toddlers - 31st Jan 2008…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on March 26, 2008 at 9:30pm —
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As many of you are aware, the Admission Authority is considering a change to the sibling link rule for admissions to reception from 2009. This will mean that if you already have an older child attending school, any younger siblings will not automatically qualify for a place at that school. The exception is where the school is your closest school, in which case younger siblings will qualify for a ‘rural sibling link’.
Ironically, the amendment is being considered to help families who have been u…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on March 20, 2008 at 8:03pm —
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A number of people have asked why additional accommodation (eg port cabins) cannot be built on our existing school sites.
The Council says, “Both school sites are only large enough for one-class entry. There are strict Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) regulations that regulate the minimum size for school sites and regrettably there is not room on either school site to expand class sizes any further, even if this was practical in cost terms. Looking forward, it is not just a c…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on March 19, 2008 at 9:57pm —
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A number of us will be meeting with key councillors on Thursday 27th March. It is our opportunity to get our questions answered and hopefully discuss a possible solution.
It is our intention to issue the councillors with a number of prepared questions in advance of the meeting, their answers to which will be issued to the local press. If you would like to submit a question or would like to see what we have prepared, please let me know via this site.
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on March 15, 2008 at 9:41pm —
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It began on 18th January 2008 when North Somerset Council sent out confirmation of school allocations for reception year admissions, starting school September 2008.
23 Long Ashton families failed to secure a place at either of the two village schools. Of those, 3 families had chosen a school outside of the village and 10 were offered a place at one of the schools listed within their 3 preferences (in most cases Flax Bourton). The remaining 10 did not secure a place at any of their preferred sch…
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Added by Hannah Mainstone on March 15, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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