29th April 2015 4:00
By Blue Tutors
A recent rise in birth rates in England has led to a shortage of primary school places. Parents and carers are have received the results of their primary school place applications and more than ever have been disappointed as the numbers receiving their first choice has fallen again. Parents of four and five year olds seeking places in Birmingham are among the worst affected, with fewer than 85% of families being offered their first choice of primary school for their children. This constitutes a three-point drop compared with the figures for the same region last year.
A growing number of parents around the country are also facing the prospect of their children attending schools a significant distance from their houses. In Birmingham, more than 5% of applicants were assigned school places in schools outside the city boundaries. This year this means that over 800 families in Birmingham will have to contend with their children attending schools outside of the city. Hertfordshire has also reported a significant shortfall in school places this year, having received 700 more applications this year than last. 20% of applicants in the Hertfordshire area have not been offered their first preference school.
The pressure on local authorities has been increasing steadily for some time, as the birth rate in the UK has been rising steadily for several years. The number of live births in the UK has risen by over 200,000 over a ten year period. The result of the rising birth rate is increased pressure on schools to offer places, with more and more schools unable to provide places for all the applicants they receive. In many parts of the country less than half of parents can expect their child to be offered a place at their first choice school, putting addition school places at the top of the agenda for local government.