Archive for January 28th, 2008

Salford School Admission Arrangements

Published on January 28, 2008 in Salford. 0 Comments

There was a “consultation” meeting earlier this evening at Buile Hill about the future of primary to secondary school transfer. I would have posted it on this website to let local residents know, but despite being both a Councillor and a Primary School Governor no-one thought to let me know about it. I found out late this afternoon after a parent rang a Council colleague to ask about it. Typical of the Council’s lax attitude to consultation - if I didn’t know how many other interested parties were ignored?

You can find out more about this particular consultation by visiting the Council website here. Essentially, at the moment each Primary School in Salford is “associated” with a nearby secondary school. The Council’s preferred proposal is to abolish the associations. As I see it, this is a real problem for parents and children in Salford for two reasons:

  • Firstly, it removes the continuity that most Salford children currently have in their education. Most secondary schools work very closely with their associated primary schools and this co-operation would be weakened or lost completely if associated status was abolished. Also many parents would have no indication as to which secondary school their primary-age child would be attending.
  • Secondly, the geographical location of Salford’s secondary schools means that parents in some parts of the City will end up with no choice whatsoever for their children. Children in areas like Boothstown, Pendlebury and Broughton Park will be particularly badly affected. Salford already has a very high proportion of children educated in the independent sector or in other authorities and this change will only drive more parents to send their children out of the borough for their education.

Local parents can have their say on these proposals by using the comment form on the Council website or by writing to Admission Arrangements Consultation, Lesley Taylor, Admissions & Exclusions, Minerva House, Pendlebury Road, Swinton, M27 4EQ.

I would urge local residents to ignore the Council’s recommendation, which takes power and choice away from parents, and instead recommend option one.