Parents in protest at feeder schools ruling

PARENTS protested outside a meeting of Cardiff council’s ruling body as it axed a proposal for a major change to how secondary school admissions are decided.

The parents accused the Labour cabinet of ignoring their views in deciding against giving children at “feeder” primary schools priority access to oversubscribed secondaries in their areas. At the moment priority is given to those who live closest to the school in question.

More than 79% of those who responded to a council consultation backed introducing feeder schools on the grounds they gave parents more certainty about their children’s destination after primary school.

But the Labour ruling group has instead chosen to simplify the current oversubscribed schools’ admissions criteria.

A recommendation that went to the cabinet said other children would be negatively affected by feeder schools and “there is not a sufficiently compelling case that making such a change at this time would achieve the aim of introducing more suitable admission arrangements”.

Critics of the feeder schools option said it would disadvantage less well-off pupils and those at religious schools or from BME backgrounds.

The council said its policy should seek to benefit all parents in the city, not just those who responded to the consultation.

But parents at Roath Park Primary and Marlborough Primary schools are among those who say the new policy will lead to children’s friendship groups being broken up.

Parents and children from the Marlborough Children’s Action Group protested against the decision outside the council’s offices.

Speaking before the meeting, Louise Westlake, who has two children at Marlborough Primary, said: “We consider this to be absolutely farcical. What is the point of having a consultation if you ignore the public majority view?”

She said many children in the city are not getting into their catchment area secondary school.

She added: “This is breaking up peer communities, it’s breaking up community groups and it is causing an incredible amount of stress to kids and their families.”

Councillor Sarah Merry, cabinet member for education, employment and skills, said the admissions policy should benefit all the city’s parents – including those who did not respond to the consultation.

The cabinet passed the recommended changes unanimously.