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County Councillor David
Parsons Summer 2011 Life Magazine
A number of parents have contacted me concerning school catchment
areas following the closure of Holmfield Primary School. At
present, the boundary runs down the motorway and I think parents
should have the right to send their children to Stafford Leys
Primary School if they so wish. This also of course has implications
for post-primary education. I should be grateful to hear from
residents of LFE who are affected by these catchment area boundaries.
Contact Business. email: david.parsons@leics.gov.uk
or Phone: 0116 239 0869 Ward Issues Only
Spring LiFE 2011 Letters
Dear LFE Council
I have lived on Packer Avenue for over 40 years, first with
my parents and now with my own young family. Most parents are
aware of the catchments for local schools when moving into an
area. As I have grown up in LFE, I was well aware of the two
LFE primary schools – Holmfield and Stafford Leys.
The M1 bridge is the school catchment
boundary. I now have a young son coming up to school age, and
as I live in LFE, I assumed his school would be Stafford Leys,
as Holmfield has now gone.
However, to my amazement, I am told by
County Hall that we are in the catchment area for three schools in Braunstone – Kingsway, Ravenhurst,
and Millfield.
Stafford Leys is within a few minutes
walking distance, but I am expected to walk my four-year-old
to one of these other schools – the nearest being 1.5
miles away and about a 30 minute walk, the furthest 2.6 miles
away, about a 55 minute walk.
I find it hard to understand the reasoning
for making primary school children trek all this way when there
is a primary school within a few minutes walking distance, and
in the parish where we live.
The parish boundary begins at Park Drive.
Why not move the school catchment boundary to the parish boundary?
This would allow all LFE children to go to school without having
a near 5.5 mile walk to school each day in all weathers. As a working mum, this causes many problems in my daily routine.
And not everyone has a car!
Mrs K. Gilbert
LiFE Editor replies:
This appears to be a knock-on effect of closing Holmfield
school that had not been realised. The matter has been referred
by your Parish Council to Cllr. D. Parsons for investigation.
It would also do no harm to make your own representations.
Summer 2011 LiFE Letters
Dear LFE Council,
In response to Mrs K Gilberts letter in the spring edition of
LiFE, I would like to point out the fact that; very young children
have to travel so far to their catchment schools isn’t
“a knock on effect of closing Holmfield school that had
not been realised”.
It was a point raised by myself and many
other families in a similar position to Mrs Gilbert. Our concerns
didn’t appear to be taken very seriously by the county council,
who seemed to have an agenda from the beginning of the consultation
process.
I used to have a 5 minute walk with my children to school, I now
have a 5 mile round trip 3 times a day - my younger son is doing
half days in nursery. Not only is this time consuming, unenvironmental
and costly, but we don’t have the same sense of community
that you get from attending a local school.
Of course, families in LFE can still apply to Stafford Leys, but
it should be made clear that as Stafford Leys doesn’t have
a year 6, so children out of the current catchment area will then
have to hope for a place at South Charnwood, or transfer to one
of the Braunstone town schools for a year.
If they were to get a place at South
Charnwood I believe the family would then have to pay the transport
costs to get them there. It is also worth mentioning that any
primary school child who has to travel more than 2 miles to
school is entitled to travel expenses, whether that be taxi
or bus fare or fuel allowance for those who do drive their children
to school.
I agree that the catchment areas should
be looked at again, but it seems too little too late - all of
the local schools are oversubscribed, and with new housing developments
being proposed it seems inevitable that our children’s
education will suffer.
J Miller
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