23/4/2009 - Primary numbers boost for Cumbrian schools : Cumbria County Council

More than 96 per cent of Cumbrian families have been allocated their first preference primary schools.

Parents applying for their children to start school in September 2009 should have been informed by letter today (Friday) whether they have been successful in their application, and Cumbria County Council can now reveal that out of 4,768 applications throughout the county 4,614 were offered their first preference –giving a success rate of 96.77 per cent.

Cumbria also scored extremely highly in the number of families getting one of their top three preferences of schools, with 99.81 per cent of families successful.

99.64 per cent were allocated either their first or second choice. Only nine applicants in the whole county were offered a school which was not one of their top three preference schools.

In Carlisle 99.73 per cent of families received one of their first three preference of schools –only five families throughout the city did not, with three of these living north of the river Eden in Carlisle. 92.18 per cent were allocated their first preference and 97.67 percent were given either their first or second preference schools.

Overall, the city has 92 surplus primary school places –which represents more than 11 per cent of all available places in Carlisle primary schools. The recommended surplus levels from the Department for Children, Schools and Families are 5 to 8 per cent.

A review of primary school places in north Carlisle in summer 2007 which resulted in the closure of Belah Primary School has helped to address the issue of surplus places, but has meant that demand is high for places at Stanwix Primary and Kingmoor Infants Schools. Some of the unsuccessful applicants will be offered places at Caldew Lea Primary School, which was described in its last Ofsted inspection as a good school with strong, enthusiastic leadership and good teaching where pupils achieve well in their personal development.

When Belah's closure was agreed in January last year pupil numbers had dropped from more than 320 to around 45 in a decade.

80 per cent of a primary aged pupils in the catchment area went to other schools.

Education standards had been in decline for several years. It's final Ofsted inspection graded the school as only satisfactory and carrying a growing budget defecit.

Work is underway to review primary school provision north of the river to ensure there are appropriate levels of available places.

Moira Swann, Director of children’s services, Cumbria County Council, said:

"We are very pleased that this year so many families in Cumbria have been allocated a place at one of their three preferred schools. With nearly five thousand applications to place, almost all of them have been offered at least one of their preferred schools. This is an achievement in itself and also demonstrates our commitment to providing parents with appropriate choices for their children’s education.

Parental choice means there will often be pressure for places in certain schools, our aim is to ensure that all schools offer a high quality education so parents feel that they have even more suitable alternatives. It is always unfortunate that some families, no matter how few, do not receive a place at one of their preferred schools and advice and support is available to each of those families."

Where parents are refused a place, they have the right of appeal to an independent admission appeal panel. Details of how to submit an appeal will be included with the refusal letter.

The school admissions team is once again stressing the importance of not submitting late applications. Almost a third of this year's refusals were down to applications received after the advertised closing date.