Yahoo News Dad demands answers after child denied school place with sibling
A young child has been denied a school place where her older sibling goes and her dumbfounded father is asking "how could this happen?". Alex Price said he applied in plenty of time for his daughter, who will be turning four in August, to attend New Lubbesthorpe Primary school with her older sister this September.
The 38-year-old, who lives in Leicester Forest East, said they were told this week that his daughter had not been successful in securing a place at the school in Tay Road, Lubbesthorpe, and had been offered their second choice. He said she was ninth on the waiting list of 60 for the school.
The local authority for the school, Leicestershire County Council, said anyone can appeal if they have had a school place refused. They are also offered an alternative place if they are unsatisfied with the lower preference they have been allocated, the council added.
Mr Price, who lives just out of the catchment of New Lubbesthorpe, told LeicestershireLive he now faces the prospect of taking - and picking up - two children to separate schools at the same time; potentially, one child will have to leave early and miss out on education, he added. He said siblings are part of the criteria that gives them preference over other children for the school but lower in priority than being in the catchment area.
He also said he was confused after becoming aware of another parent who had New Lubbesthorpe as their third choice, but they had got in, and he did not understand how this could happen either. He said he would appeal but felt his chances of being successful, were "slim to nothing".
He said: "Yesterday we were advised that our youngest daughter was not successful in securing a place at the school, leaving us with the prospect of having to pick up and drop off two children to two different schools at the same time. Obviously an impossibility.
"I understand that this is a big issue at this school this year with many parents not receiving a place. My daughter is number nine on the waiting list out of 60 children trying to get their place at that school.
"It wasn’t that long ago that Michael Gove visited the New Lubbesthorpe estate as it was seen as a flagship for other developments in the country, clearly they have not put the infrastructure in place to support this development, so I have to ask why it has received this representation."
A spokesperson for the local authority said: “Leicestershire County Council doesn’t comment on individual cases. New Lubbesthorpe Primary School has been successfully established as a popular school and can take a maximum of 60 children per year group from reception class upwards.
“Anyone who has had a school place refused has a right to appeal and is offered an alternative place if they are unsatisfied with the lower preference they have been allocated.”
The planning authority for the school, Blaby District Council, has also been contacted for a comment.
