To receive a report by the Chief Executive Education Leeds which provides an indication of the key issues arising out of the allocation of places for September 2009 (This report is designated as exempt under Access to information Procedure Rule 10.4 (1) and (2)
(Report attached)
Minutes:
The Chief Executive Education Leeds submitted a report which highlighted the key issues arising out of the allocation of places for September 2009.
Mrs Buckland said that the information contained within the report should remain confidential until March 1st 2009 had passed. Parents would receive their offer letter on this date and it would be inappropriate to release the information earlier.
Addressing the main issues Mrs Buckland said there was demographic decline in young people entering secondary school. Demand at a number of schools has fallen as a result. It is expected the decline to continue in the secondary sector for a number of years, however there has been an increase in the birth rate over recent years. That increase has already begun to affect entry into primary schools and will ultimately filter through to secondary.
Mrs Buckland said the birth rate has been rising for the last couple of years and there was a very small, but increasing number of primary schools who are unable to accommodate their nearest children. The number of primary schools oversubscribed on first preferences is increasing with 69 schools to date, but we still have plenty of surplus places in the primary sector.
Primary
There are slightly more schools this year where nearest children are unlikely to be offered places. At present there are 15 schools where it may be difficult to offer nearest children a place. The situation is being monitored to ensure that children who would be unable to access a school within a reasonable distance are identified.
Secondary
There are a small number of schools who will be oversubscribed, although there a number of the neighbouring schools who are experiencing a decline in preferences and therefore there should be sufficient places in the area. One significant change in the east of Leeds is that one school is currently oversubscribed on first preferences with more than double the number of first preferences than those two years ago. In south Leeds the position is easing significantly although there still remains a pressure at one school.
There has again been a significant demand for one school in the West of the City this year with 324 first preferences for 195 places. Clearly the school cannot meet this demand, however the additional children do not have the school as their nearest.
The majority of schools have either retained a similar level of first preferences to last year or have seen a fall in the number of applications. The demographic decline has been projected for some time and it is expected this pattern will continue for a few more years in the secondary sector.
CONCLUSION
The early indications with Reception preferences is that there an increasing number of hotspots however there continue to be more than sufficient primary places available within the City. With secondary applications the hotspots are significantly reducing and whilst demand remains high for some schools the issue of accessing a nearest school is continuing to fall. There are fewer pressure points in terms of nearest children although it is expected that some popular schools would remain oversubscribed leading to unmet demand. This is a natural consequence of an equal preference system whereby parents are encouraged to be aspirational in expressing their preferences.
RESOLVED – That the contents of the report be noted