Primary School Places in North Swindon - ORA Committee Decision taken on 7th November 2012

Oakhurst Residents’ Association recently requested the following information from Swindon Borough Council (SBC) under a Freedom of Information request: 

“Copies of correspondence received by Swindon Borough Councillors or Officers in support of/or requesting either, additional primary places, or a new primary school in North Swindon for September 2011, 2012 or beyond. Please also provide the year groups to which these letters or emails refer.” The Council responded: “None”.

ORA are surprised to hear that SBC are not offering any new reception places but are still only able to cater for our children already in the system.  Our children would have been on the radar of SBC for many years through the PCT numbers.  Any new reception places will not be provided for under this consultation. 
We are concerned that the school being proposed for Mouldon Hill does not provide convenient or safe access for parents and children who live in Oakhurst, especially the parts of the estate near Tadpole Lane such as Mayfly Road, Voyager Drive, Ulysses Road and Cassini Drive. 

In the SBC Cabinet papers for 11th July 2012 it was made clear that the pressure for primary school places in North Swindon is “focussed particularly in the Oakhurst and Redhouse areas”. In this case, it is incumbent on ORA to ask why the new school is being proposed for the Taw Hill/Mouldon Hill area.  Our own school, Oakhurst Community Primary School, has supplied 43 out of the 60 reception places to children who live within 300 metres of the school.  So what chance will there be of Oakhurst children getting into school places at Mouldon Hill/Taw Hill or Orchid Vale? 

ORA believe that the community of Oakhurst want their children educated locally within Oakhurst.  Residents have told us that they want to ensure that Oakhurst, as a community, is attractive and continues to thrive.  A new school in Oakhurst is vital for the welfare of our community and our children. 

It would also seem obvious to some people that the Tadpole Farm money for primary school provision, if we ever get any, may be redirected to the SBC’s proposed sites which are well away from both Tadpole Farm and Oakhurst.  As was seen with the s.106 money for Moredon Bridge, which was massively reduced, the money promised by the developer to offset the impact of a development is not always used for the purpose it was negotiated for. 

ORA ask Oakhurst residents to fill in the consultation questionnaire that is online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/school/places.  Please tell SBC what you think about the proposed site of the new school and its appropriateness for meeting the year-on-year growth in school place demand for Oakhurst families.  Please offer Oakhurst as an alternative site to the all the other options listed.