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| Primary school places: fewer parents get first choice | Primary school places: fewer parents get first choice |
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| England's first national offer day for primary school places has been marked by fewer parents receiving their first choice, as councils race to open new classrooms to accommodate swelling school rolls. | England's first national offer day for primary school places has been marked by fewer parents receiving their first choice, as councils race to open new classrooms to accommodate swelling school rolls. |
| More than 600,000 children are chasing reception class spots in thousands of state primaries across the country – with some cities and boroughs under greater pressure from population flux and the highest birth rate since the postwar baby boom of the 1950s. | |
| The worst-affected part of the country appears to be the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where just 61% of families received their first preference, and more than one in five did not receive any of their choices. London applicants may name up to six schools, while families outside of London may name up to three. | |
| Outside of the capital one of the country's hotspots was Reading, where the city council received 2,210 applications for reception class places, up from 2,138 in 2013. Only around three out of every four families received their first choice of school: 75.7% compared with 77.4% last year. | |
| Other parts of the country with high rates of growth included Brighton and Hove, where the proportion of families receiving their first preference fell to 82.5% from 84% last year, despite a programme of classroom building that saw the number of children going to their first choice of school rising from 2,763 to 2,933. | Other parts of the country with high rates of growth included Brighton and Hove, where the proportion of families receiving their first preference fell to 82.5% from 84% last year, despite a programme of classroom building that saw the number of children going to their first choice of school rising from 2,763 to 2,933. |
| Many local authorities will email offers later on Wednesday afternoon to parents who applied online, while for others it will be a nervous wait for the post on Thursday. | Many local authorities will email offers later on Wednesday afternoon to parents who applied online, while for others it will be a nervous wait for the post on Thursday. |
| One of the first local authorities to report its results was Essex, where nearly 87% of families got places in their first choice of school, a slight decrease from last year after the council received nearly 500 more applications for 2014 entry. | One of the first local authorities to report its results was Essex, where nearly 87% of families got places in their first choice of school, a slight decrease from last year after the council received nearly 500 more applications for 2014 entry. |
| "The fact that, despite pressures on primary school places, we have maintained high numbers of parents being offered their first preference school highlights the council's work to create the necessary places," said Ray Gooding, Essex county council's member for education and learning. | "The fact that, despite pressures on primary school places, we have maintained high numbers of parents being offered their first preference school highlights the council's work to create the necessary places," said Ray Gooding, Essex county council's member for education and learning. |
| "To respond to the challenge of population increases we have commissioned almost 600 more reception places for September 2014 and are committed to delivering another 300 primary places by September 2015." | "To respond to the challenge of population increases we have commissioned almost 600 more reception places for September 2014 and are committed to delivering another 300 primary places by September 2015." |
| Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, said the government was to blame for failing to provide enough good places for every child, and was instead promoting a free schools policy that diverted new places away from areas most in need of them. | Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, said the government was to blame for failing to provide enough good places for every child, and was instead promoting a free schools policy that diverted new places away from areas most in need of them. |
| "Before the 2010 general election, David Cameron promised us small schools and smaller class sizes. The reality is there are more than double the number of infants in class sizes of more than 30 and three times as many 'titan' primary schools with more than 800 children than in 2010," Hunt said. | "Before the 2010 general election, David Cameron promised us small schools and smaller class sizes. The reality is there are more than double the number of infants in class sizes of more than 30 and three times as many 'titan' primary schools with more than 800 children than in 2010," Hunt said. |
| Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, told her union's national conference in Manchester that the breakdown in national planning was behind the shortages. | Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, told her union's national conference in Manchester that the breakdown in national planning was behind the shortages. |
| "We know that there is a growing crisis in primary school places, and we know that the government, for all the money that they say they are throwing at it – £5.8bn – they simply do not have the mechanisms or ability to plan school provision to cope with an increase in demand where it is needed," Bousted said. "It's no surprise that there's a crisis in primary school places because Michael Gove has divested himself of his key responsibilities, to provide school places for children, and of his second responsibility – to put qualified teachers in front of those children." | "We know that there is a growing crisis in primary school places, and we know that the government, for all the money that they say they are throwing at it – £5.8bn – they simply do not have the mechanisms or ability to plan school provision to cope with an increase in demand where it is needed," Bousted said. "It's no surprise that there's a crisis in primary school places because Michael Gove has divested himself of his key responsibilities, to provide school places for children, and of his second responsibility – to put qualified teachers in front of those children." |
| In Kent, more children applied for reception class places this year, with around 85% receiving their first choice, a decrease compared with the 86.5% who received a place last year. | In Kent, more children applied for reception class places this year, with around 85% receiving their first choice, a decrease compared with the 86.5% who received a place last year. |
| Roger Gough, Kent's cabinet member for education and health reform, said: "I said last year that I knew it would be challenging to keep going with such a high proportion of children and families getting their first-choice school. So the figures for this year show again that the effort and planning that goes into school admissions is very effective and gives families the best chance of getting a school of their choice." | Roger Gough, Kent's cabinet member for education and health reform, said: "I said last year that I knew it would be challenging to keep going with such a high proportion of children and families getting their first-choice school. So the figures for this year show again that the effort and planning that goes into school admissions is very effective and gives families the best chance of getting a school of their choice." |
| Did your family fail to gain a place in any of the schools named in your primary school application? Contact Richard Adams, the Guardian's education editor. |