BLYTH CHILDREN MATTER

As you may know, many parents were left disappointed over Easter when letters were received by many families informing them that their child did not receive a place in the Reception class of the school in their catchment area. Many families in Blyth, including mine, were unaware that schools are already oversubscribed due to the increased pressure placed on school places by new housing developments. I now know this has been a problem for years for those living in the Bede catchment area, however this year Newsham has been grossly oversubscribed.

Unfortunately for some families they received 3 letters that day stating that their child had no offers of a place in any of their 3 choices. This happened to my niece. Her parents were left extremely distressed and had to wait until the Easter holiday period had passed so that they could speak to someone about this. My niece was put on the waiting list for 6 schools in Blyth and had no offer of a place. They were left having to look outside of Blyth for a school for my niece. As Seaton Sluice was full due to many families from Blyth having to take places, they have had to look at schools in Cramlington (luckily Cramlington has been unusually undersubscribed this year). I am sure families in Newsham will have experienced the same distressing situation. Children are being denied the opportunity to walk to their local school, form stronger friendships outside of school because they live in a different town. More shockingly many children attended the nursery of their catchment school but were not offered a place due to oversubscription. How can their parents tell their child that they will not be moving to reception with their school friends?

We should not have to rely on surrounding towns to educate OUR children. The government has proposed £10 million budget cuts to schools in Northumberland of which £2 million cuts will be made in Blyth. This will only make the existing problem worse. Please sign my petition if Blyth children matter to you. I propose that our local county council, along with the housing developers such as Persimmon and Miller Homes take accountability for this and together build schools for our children. Not only do they deserve to feel part of their local community but they deserve to feel part of our town.

Please state on the petition if you applied for a school place for your child in their catchment area but were not offered a place in either Primary or Secondary school.