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Act now to tackle shortage of primary places
• YOUR article (No places at school for 133 children, May 14) highlighted a shocking problem: the shortage of primary school places in the borough.
At present 133 Camden children do not have a primary school place allocated to them for this coming September. At a meeting last Thursday, organised by my colleague Councillor Andrew Mennear, a map was produced making it clear that this problem is most acute in Belsize Park, Swiss Cottage and Kilburn.
This is obviously very worrying indeed for the parents concerned. It is terrible not to know where you child will be educated in just a few months time. While I am helping with some specific cases, we also need more general solutions.
First, urgent action is needed to provide extra places in existing primary schools in the north of the borough in time for this September, whether this is installing temporary classrooms or rapidly converting other space. It is essential that places are found for the borough’s children, and this is the only way it can be done in time for this coming September.
In the longer term, more profound reform is needed. At present, it is very difficult to set up new schools, especially if there are “surplus” places elsewhere in the borough. When the Conservative education spokesman, Michael Gove MP, came to Belsize Park a few weeks ago, he made it clear that he wanted to scrap these restrictive rules so that small groups of parents, teachers, a charity or any other organisation could set up a new school and receive government money, if they could attract pupils.
This would enable parents or the council to take the initiative in areas like Belsize. This reform is urgently needed, to give local people more control over their own destiny. It will lead to a more flexible and responsive system, rather than the bureaucratic top-down one we have now.
Our children’s education depends on this reform.
Cllr Chris Philp
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Hampstead & Kilburn
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