Ian Nimmo-Smith

The Governors of Milton Road Primary School have decide after lengthy consideration to agree to a request from the Local Education Authority (Cambridgeshire LEA) to create a third class for Reception entry to the school in September 2008.

In order to accommodate applications for school places from families living within the designated catchment area, up to 90 children will be admitted in the reception year rather than the 60 that the school was originally planning for.

The LEA is responsible for admissions to the school and had approached the governors with this request because of demand for places from within the school’s catchment area, which was excessively high this year, and across the City as a whole.

This means that there could be up to 90 children starting at the school later this year. According to a letter sent to parents jointly by the governors and the LEA

“the decision was not taken lightly because we know that it will affect the school for the next 7 years as those children move up through the school. Careful consideration was given to the best educational interests of current pupils as well as the needs of the incoming pupils and of our community.

“A factor also taken into account was the Local Authority’s confirmation that this would be a one-off arrangement.”

“The Local Authority realised that an extra class would need to be created somewhere in the city and one of the reasons that they approached Milton Road is because an extra classroom exists in our new building.

“It was created to accommodate the extra class that we had when we moved from the old site.

“However, the school was not designed to take more than 60 children in the Foundation Stage classrooms. So we are currently making plans to relocate the staff room to the “Blue Room” and to create the extra Foundation Stage classroom in the room that is currently used as the staff room.

“This will ensure that all of the children in the Foundation Stage will be in the same part of the building and will be able to share the same resources and the same open space.

“The plan for 2009 will be to move the staffroom back to its original location and to use the Blue Room as the extra classroom that will then be needed in the main building. “

The school’s maximum pupil admission number remains 60 and the school building does not have space for any further additional classes.

The governors have made clear to the LEA that they were very disappointed that not more had been done to anticipate this problem.

The LEA has given its assurance that action will be taken to ensure that it does not happen again in future years.

The LEA has confirmed that funding for an additional teacher and an additional teaching assistant and the resources required for the extra class will be made available to the school.

They will also fund all of the building work that will be needed and this will be completed during the summer holidays.

Governors state that they intend to work with the LEA to ensure that the educational provision for everyone at Milton Road Primary remains the highest possible.

Milton Road Primary School has a long tradition of strong ties with its surrounding community.

Given the school’s resources and its desire to do what is best for our community, the staff and governors felt that making an exception to the intake numbers for 2008 is the right decision.

Senior staff at the school have made it clear that they are confident that they can manage the increased numbers without compromising on the high standards of education they provide.

Governors will be very busy in the coming months recruiting extra staff and getting the school ready for September.