Last year, I joined an
exclusive group; I joined the group of families who failed to secure any of
their three school place preferences for their reception-age-children. Instead, the members of this group were
allocated a school place miles from their homes.
Unless you are a member of
this exclusive group it may be difficult to understand what this means to a
family and the impact it has. I want to
tell you what it is like:
1.
I spend a lot of time each day transporting my
child to and from school.
2.
There is a financial cost; I was anticipating
walking to school but, instead, I am paying for petrol and bus fares which are
having an impact on the family purse.
3.
My child loses the health benefits associated
with walking to school.
4.
My child loses the social interaction with
the friends he/she may walk with.
5.
My child will not be able to do after school
activities or go to tea with friends as the transport logistics make it
difficult to fetch my child at any other time than school leaving time.
