Council ‘failing to find school places for our children’
WORRIED parents have told of their gruelling battle to find school places for their children since they moved house.
Jennifer Gilbert, 38 and husband Gary, 39, say they have been forced to keep two of their children out of class for a number of weeks.
The couple, who moved from Clayton to Wythenshawe on September 27, fear their kids are falling “further and further behind”.
Almost two weeks earlier they submitted application forms for Bradley, 13 and Charlotte, four, for places at The Kingsway School in Cheadle and Ringway Primary School in Wythenshawe. Their son Thomas, nine, has special educational needs and the council applies for schools on his behalf.
Charlotte was given a spot at Ringway Primary on October 18 but former Droylsden Academy pupil Bradley and Thomas, ex -Seymour Road Academy, are still waiting for places.
Jennifer said Ringway Primary School was approached, but they were told the school ‘could not meet his needs.’
She told the Manchester Evening News: “Everytime we ring to chase up the application we hear different excuses and are told to call back in two weeks time.
“I have made phone call after phone call and complaint after complaint.
“We have been told the delay is because of Covid, needing to give places to refugees and even that they have new software that is not working.”
The worried mum says it is a crucial time for Bradley as he has just picked his options for his GCSEs and she says he is falling “further and further behind”.
She added: “My children have been out of school for almost two months due to Manchester city council failing to place them in a school after we have moved address.
“My eldest son was getting ready to do his school GCSE options which has now been ruined. My youngest son has special needs and needs a special school programme which has been totally ignored. I’m at the end of my rope with all this.”
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “It can sometimes take a bit of time to find school places that meet both children’s needs and parental preferences when families move into or around the city mid-academic year. In this case we’ve been in continued discussions around a school place for Thomas that meets his specific needs since mid-September and we expect an offer of a place to be made to him this week that we think should be acceptable to his parents.
“We have only received a fully completed application form for a school place for Bradley, who remains on roll at his previous school in Tameside, this week.
“The school requested is not a Manchester school and has therefore been passed to the relevant local authority for them to consider. We would always encourage parents to continue to send their children to their existing school until they have the offer of a place at a new school.”
PARENTS ARE CONCERNED KIDS ARE FALLING ‘FURTHER AND FURTHER BEHIND’