Waiting for funding to ease school place shortage
Funding to ease a shortage of school spaces for a growing estate has yet to come through, it emerged this week.
Families in Moreton Hall, Bury St Edmunds, have accused Suffolk County Council of dragging its heels on the issue, saying it was known the estate's schools were oversubscribed 18 months ago.
Last week, Suffolk County Council defended the progress of expansion plans for Abbots Green Primary School, saying its policy was to build 'as we need it'.
But it emerged this week that extra money for primary schools had not yet been handed over by developers, because not enough of the new houses had been occupied.
The revelation comes after a masterplan for Moreton Hall, drawn up by St Edmundsbury Borough Council in December 2007, said all the estate's schools were already oversubscribed, with plans for another 150 homes in the offing.
At the time, the county council was seeking an extra 6,373 per home towards education funding from developers – but a spokesman said this week the funding, which is to go towards primary school places, would not be received until a certain number of the houses were occupied.
Last month, two parents said their four-year-old children had missed out on going to Abbots Green and Sebert Wood primary schools, and were allocated places at Guildhall Feoffment instead.
Beatriz Dominguez, of Russet Close, said she would have to change her work and childcare arrangements and was considering moving to Cambridge, where she and her husband work.
"My childminder would have been able to drop Javier at school and collect him but that's not possible now," she said.
"I will have to work fewer hours, but it will be my employers and my family suffering as a consequence.
"I would tell people who want to move to Moreton Hall to think twice about it, even though it's a wonderful community to be in."
The county council's spokesman said only two applications from Abbots Green and Sebert Wood's catchment areas were unsuccessful, with all others coming from outside the area or after the deadline.
"There are sufficient primary school places across the local area and therefore to build extra classrooms at this point and create surplus places would mean money would not be available for teaching and learning," he said.
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Friday 25 May 2012
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