Following the detailed publication of the council’s proposals for education reform, a number of parents and carers have been contacting the council’s School Admissions Office. Many are requesting details of how they can change their preferred choices of schools for September 2008. Parents and carers had to fill out their top three preferences for their child or children by the end of November 2007.
The council is advising that all parents and carers should wait until after a decision on which of the three options is made on 19 March. By this date, they will have received legal offer letters for a school and will also know which option is being taken forward and the role their preferred school site will have.
If a parent or carer still wishes to request a change of their preferred school after the offer, they can put in a written request to the School Admissions Office.
However, anyone who does this before the offer is being warned they will be negating their first application. This may place them at a disadvantage as under government legislation, this new written request will be treated as a late submission because it will be received after the 30 November 2007 deadline. This could mean parents or carers may miss out on their preferred choices as applications sent in on time will be considered first. Written requests made before offer letters are sent out at the beginning of March will still be considered as late submissions.
Isle of Wight Council Cabinet member for Children & Young People Cllr Alan Wells said “There is no ideal time to announce the detailed proposals for the three options for educational reforms. It is understandable that parents and carers who are waiting for their offer letters want to change their preferred school choice. However, I would ask they wait until a final decision is made in March so they know in which direction the council is going and how individual school sites will be managed. I would also say we are still at least two years from seeing any of the major changes brought in, and that should also be considered”
All parents, education staff and school governing bodies are being sent consultation booklets ahead of the first public meeting on 24 January at Osborne Middle School. Copies of the booklet can be downloaded via the council’s website at www.iwight.com and full details of how each option affects every school on the Island can also be found via the site. Public consultation on the education reforms is underway and lasts until 22 February. A final decision will be made by councillors on 19 March.
