Parents urged to have their say on school admissions consultation

 

Suffolk County Council is seeking views on its proposed admissions policy for the 2019/2020 school year; ensuring school places are offered to children in a fair way.

 

The consultation, which started on Monday 2 October, will run until Monday 13 November 2017.

 

There are proposals to make some minor changes to the admission arrangements and co-ordinated admissions scheme for schools in Suffolk for the 2019/2020 school year.

 

The governing bodies of voluntary aided, foundation, free schools and academies are responsible for admissions to their schools. If you want to view the arrangements for these schools you should contact the school directly.

 

Councillor Gordon Jones, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills, said: “I encourage parents and carers to go online and take a look at the proposed admissions procedures and tell us what they think.

 

“Whilst we are only proposing some minor changes to our policy for 2019/2020, school admissions are a very sensitive subject and so we must listen to what our residents, parents and schools are telling us about the current process and what we are proposing before making any decision.” 

 

To view the consultation documents and to have your say on the proposals, please visit www.suffolk.gov.uk/consultations.

 

ENDS

 

 

Notes to editors

 

The following amendments are being proposed:

1.     The sibling criterion to make it clear that it does not apply to children of extended families from different family units. This is because it may have the unintended consequence of displacing some siblings or local children and, whilst this would be more likely to occur in the larger towns, there is still a risk that it could impact on school travel arrangements and costs. This can be found on page 5

2.     The definition of ordinarily resident to clarify which address should be used for the child on the application. This can be found on page 7

3.     The offer of a school place when preferences cannot be met. Some schools, such as Catholic and free schools, do not have catchment areas and therefore offering the catchment school as an alternative when parental preferences cannot be met is unfair. This can be found in paragraphs 34 and 94 in the Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme

4.     The procedure for dealing with late applications as set out in paragraphs 41 to 51 in the Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme.

 

Councillor contacts

Councillor Gordon Jones (Con), Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills, 07860 208760, gordon.jones@suffolk.gov.uk 

Councillor Jack Abbott (Lab), Opposition Spokesperson for Education and Skills, 07590 627739, jack.abbott@suffolk.gov.uk

Councillor Helen Armitage (Lab), Opposition Spokesperson for Children’s Services, 07714 597971, helen.armitage@suffolk.gov.uk  

Councillor David Wood (Lib Dem), Leader of the Liberal Democrat, Green and Independent Group, 01473 328269, 07545 423831, david.wood@suffolk.gov.uk  

 

 

 

Ryan De’ath

Senior Press Officer

Communications

Suffolk County Council

Endeavour House

8 Russell Road, Ipswich

IP1 2BX

01473 264389

07725062209

 

 

Yaxley Allotments:

There are some allotments available for rent from Yaxley Parish Council.  Here is a great opportunity for you to grow your own food, and while doing so take exercise, for less than £1 per week (£30 per year).  This is much cheaper than the cost of gym membership and you will also have fresh produce for the dinner table as a result.  If you are interested, please contact the Clerk to the Parish Council - philip.c.freeman@btinternet.com .

 

 

 

Yaxley Emergency Plan:

The Emergency Plan for Yaxley will be active by the end of 2017. If you would like more information on it please contact the Clerk to the Parish Council -philip.c.freeman@btinternet.com .

 

 

Private Pumping Stations

We may have some good news for those of your parishioners who have a private pumping station on their property, and have not yet registered it with Anglian Water.

Currently, homeowners spend hundreds of pounds every year for electricity running costs, maintenance and repairs to look after these private pumping stations. They may even have been flooded if it’s broken down in the past.  

As of 1 October 2016, many of these private pumping stations automatically transferred over to Anglian Water and became our responsibility. We have taken over all of the maintenance and the running costs too, saving customers hassle, worry and money.

We’d like to ask for your support in letting local residents know about this, and asking them to get in touch with us if they think they have a private pumping station. 

To help customers identify and report the pumping stations, further information can be found: www.anglianwater.co.uk/privatepumpingstation

We have also produced some posters which you can download here, that can be published in your parish magazines and newsletters, or placed on your parish noticeboards. 

If you have any questions about this campaign, please reply to privatepumpingstations@anglianwater.co.uk.

For any other queries, please contact our Public Affairs Team on public.affairs@anglianwater.co.uk.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Small gas fired power station at Eye

See PPL update on the left.

Yaxley Allotments:

There are some allotments available for rent from Yaxley Parish Council.  Here is a great opportunity for you to grow your own food, and while doing so take exercise, for less than £1 per week.  This is much cheaper than the cost of gym membership and you will also have fresh produce for the dinner table as a result.  If you are interested, please contact the Clerk to the Parish Council - philip.c.freeman@btinternet.com .

---

For all general enquiries please contact the Parish Clerk (but please avoid phoning in the late evening or at weekends unless the matter is particularly urgent). If you have a particular question or comment for a parish councillor please use the list below. Meetings are held in the village hall and begin at 7:30 pm. Members of the community are always welcome.

Parish Councillors

Our County Councillor is: Jessica Fleming
The Limetrees, All Saints Road, Creeting St Mary, IP6 8PJ
tel: 01449 711065, mobile: 07872 673 958
e-mail: Jessica Fleming

Our District Councillor is: David Burn
Sunnyside Cottage, Church Lane, Yaxley, IP23 8BU
tel: 01379 788712, mobile: 07889 301 414
e-mail: David Burn

Our Member of Parliament is: Dr Daniel Poulter
House of Commons, London, SW1A 1AA
e-mail: Dr Dan Poulter MP

Yaxley Allotments

Most people in the village will know that the parish council administers land in the north of the parish, some of which is given over to an area of 30 allotment plots that can be accessed by car from the end of Old Norwich Road.

Currently there are a several vacant plots that are available for rent. Plot holders sign up to an annual rental agreement and pay £30 per year, which goes towards maintenance of the site, provision of water, insurance and general administration costs.

If anyone is interested in taking a plot for the current year, which runs from 1st October to 30th September, please contact the parish clerk. If demand exceeds supply, preference will be given to Yaxley residents and then to parishes with which Yaxley shares a boundary before granting tenancies to those from further afield.

MINUTES FILES PROVIDED ON THIS PAGE

Please note that the minutes files provided in PDF format in the panel to the left are in draft form and are not necessarily as agreed by the council. They are subject to possible amendment and correction at the subsequent parish council meeting. To establish the accuracy of any minute item, therefore, it is necessary to check the minutes of the meeting after the one in question to see if any changes were approved.