The proposal to expand Highdown Infant and Junior schools continues to be a hot topic amongst Portishead parents. Tanya Slatters letter highlighted many of these issues. The council have issued a detailed response to the points raised at the link below.
https://practicallyperfectmums.co.uk/storage/ltr-from-council-2.pdf
If you have an opinion they would like to hear from you,
public opinion in this process is vital.
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Is there an update following your comments below about the expansion of High Down? We are looking at houses at the moment & my daughter will start school in 2015. We are completely confused about whether there are some areas where we’d fall into the catchment area & have more chance of her attending a school in Portishead? We like the Village Quarter but I’ve seen articles about a child 500 yards away not getting a place, so should we be looking at the High Down catchment instead? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you in advance
Well, my son has been taken to school for 3 years in a taxi.
At first I was scared. But he made good friends and there were a group of 5 of them in the same
Class. Now he is being taken into school in clevedon with foster
Children, who have bullied him terribly. He is the only child left in the taxi from his school. The system in Portishead is failing children and families. They knew that when they passed plans for the thousands of new homes in Portishead they would need more primary schools than they currently have. My 6 year old is being bullied by a lad who has already been moved from school transport 3 times. It would be fantastic to walk him to school and back. The council will only pay mileage to parents if there is a problem. There seems to be a process for digging 45p a mile out of them. The dilemma I have is my son is in year 2 and to move him would upset him alot. I’m trying not to move schools. But to be sat in a taxi from 7.45 in the morn while he gets shouted at and sworn at. Enough is enough. I’m so going to complain about the whole sad fact of poor children having to be taken to village schools often an hour journey each way and being put in transport with foster children that are troubled. I do understand that the poor foster children obviously have it bad at home etc. but they should not be mixing bullies with school children who are just being transported because of lack of school space in Portishead.
I am Pro Highdown. Many of the families are complaining about not having enough school places in Portishead for future places. Well i think that people should be grateful that Highdown are increasing places and not being shipping out to Clevedon or Pill. Yes Highdown is not within walking distance with the Marina, but i really dont think that 1.0 miles is far away to go to Primary School. People are aware of the issues with Primary School places in Portishead. Be thankful that atleast the council has done something and get over the fact that you will go to School a mile away. It could be a lot worse… I do feel sorry for children currently there as this may be quite disruptive to them. Also people are commenting on traffic. Im afraid there is lots of traffic everywhere nowadays!!
Actually, High Down is at least 2 miles away from the majority of the new developments in the Village Quarter, up an extremely long, steep hill. Imagine walking that, in the Winter (or the Summer we seem to be having!), with a 4 year old, and possibly more children, and maybe a pram or a buggy. The council are proposing that these children are either driven to school 2 + miles away, causing more traffic and parking problems, in an already congested area, potentially leading to serious accidents occuring, or sending them in a taxi, with no details of how this will work and how much this will cost (us). How is this any better than sending these young children anywhere else in a taxi? Do you really think that a school nearer the new development is not a better idea? Really?….. As for being “quite” disruptive to the children at the existing school, try “extremely” disruptive, to their education, personal, social and emotional development, particularly those, as mentioned by another parent who are in the current or imminent YrR. 5 years of being the oldest in the school, with no interaction with older children is more than “quite” disruptive.
Hi just thought i would let everyone know the petition is available online http://tinyurl.com/HDPetition please sign it and encourage all members of the portishead community to sign this as it effects a large number of people.
I am one of the many parents effected by the proposed changes to High Down School and have just read the response to the points raised. It is completely laughable to say that the expansion of the town is only partly to blame for the need for additional school places. Residents voiced their concerns during the planning of the Village Quarter that a strain would be put on the town’s resources, we were told on a number of occasions that the appropriate resources would be built alongside the residential building. We were clearly misled as the catchment area for Trinity is 0.3 of a mile which doesn’t nearly cover the additional area built down there. Yes the birth rate has increased but if marina development had not taken place I sincerely doubt we would be in this position now as the expansion of all of the schools in the last few years (including an increase in intake in High Down this September) would have covered the birth rate rise. How can thousands upon thousands of houses be built and the council feel the building of a school that takes 420 children (Trinity) adequately meets the demand needed for school places??? Is there a petition agaist what is clearly another poor planning decision in Portishead?
Hi Jane, the infants and junior schools will become two completely separate primary schools taking years R-6. The plan is for the children currently in reception or starting reception in Sept to split their year groups and move half of the children into what is now the Junior school. However they will not be moving any children from the junior school over to the infants school. So whilst the current junior school will begin sept 2013 having both infants and juniors. The infants school will just have 60 2nd year children (who are currently in reception), 60 1st year children (those starting reception this September) and 60 reception children.
I attended the consultation meeting at High Down Infants school on Monday 16th July. It was alarming how this can be at the point of consultation when little thought seems to have been given to the impact on the children’s education, how the schools will accommodate the additional children and the increase in traffic. My daughter starts High Down this September in Reception class. If the plans go ahead and she stays in what is currently the infants school, she will spend her entire primary education being the oldest year group in the school. She will have no experience of mixing with older year groups as the school is going to gradually expand by bringing in an additional reception class each year, so it will take 6years before the school has all 7 year groups (R-y6). I fear that this will be at the cost of my daughter and her classmates social development. There will be no natural progression through the year groups and so how will they be prepared for Gordano in Year 7, when they have never experienced anything other than being the oldest children in the school. The council says in the consultation document that one of the benefits of a primary school rather than separate infant & junior schools is younger children being able to mix with older children, learning from them & experiencing outstanding role models and yet this is the very thing they will be depriving our children of. I understand we need more school places in Portishead but there must be a better way. It is scary to think this idea could be agreed and implemented within a year when there are so many important factors, which just dont seem to have been considered.
Hello Leigh Ann
Thank you for commenting on the latest Highdown events. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the consultation meetings, so please bear with me here.
I’m not clear as to why your daughter would be in the highest year if she is only about to enter reception. The suggestion, as I understood it, was to add an additional class to a already large school. Is it possible that I have completely misunderstood the plans?
Would somebody please be kind enough to give an outline of what was discussed?
There could be chocolate in it for you (well actually that’s probably not true, but I would be very grateful).
Thanks
Jane
I have recently moved into the Redcliffe bay area of Portishead with a 6 and 3 yr old,my 6 yr old has been offered a place 6 miles away with transport, the points that are highlighted above welfare,no pick up from breakfast/afterschool club are of a great concern to me, my 3 yr old also will be going into the school system and has a nursery place in portishead. This situation for me has had a big knock on effect i have had to give a job of 8 years up and claim benefits and cannot return to work untill this is resolved, I would be in favour of making all schools in Portishead bigger this may help my 3 yr old in the future but as for the 6 yr old he has no place and i will not accept the offer of a school 6 miles away, for now we are commuting to bristol but will not be doing this in september as it is costing to much, the only hope we have is that someone moves out of Highdown as he is first on waiting list but 5th for all other Portishead Schools.
Hi Lisa
That’s a really tricky one. So what is the alternative for you in September if you’re not happy with the available options? Will you consider home-schooling rather than accept a place at a non-Portishead school? What else can you do?
Hi Jane,
Thanks for reply we have 3 options, send 6 yr old to Yeo Moor at clevedon 6 miles away and go on waiting list for Portishead, Appeal which would get no where as the law states class size this law i think was set in the 1940s, i would like to no how much public money has been wasted with regards to the appeal proceedure. Home school which you get no support an does not help with returning to work. I have spoken to education and transport teams countless times and get nowhere. If we take Yeo moor I cannot return to work. The transport is a concern for me i have been told they are often late, winter conditions could cause problems, no car seats and my child traveling alone all put my child at risk.
regards
lisa
I am undecided on the expansion at the moment and the reason for this is due to the fact two years ago we were in a position whereby our four year old son was going to be sent in a taxi to a school in Clevedon. This was because we moved into the town after the application process has gone through. I was absolutely devastated with the decision North Somerset council had made due to lack of primary school places in the town. I appreciate the concerns with regards to the expansion of the school and agree with them however if it is you and your child being faced with having them educated out of the town and being sent in a taxi every day the decision may be looked on differently. I believe that we should be concerned with the welfare and happiness of the child and to elongate the school day with taxi journeys, not being educated in a town where they can make friends and play with after school, not being able to go to after school clubs, parents never meeting their childs school friends as they are not doing the school run, for me was not acceptable. Driving him to school every day would have put extra pressure on the family budget especially with petrol prices being so high. If the council really have exhausted all options and absolutely believe that High Down is their only option then it should possibly go ahead. And the council whilst they are restructuring High Down should also look into stopping building any more family properties. Fortunately for us we had a last minute reprieve and I am now able to walk him to High Down School every day.
Hi Helen
Some interesting points raised here. I had been thinking of the potential costs and logistical problems of sending children in a taxi, but you’ve highlighted a number of issues which haven’t occured to me i.e. how the parent and child will miss out, potentially both socially and with extracurrricular activities. I’m really glad that it worked out for you in the end and you and your son have the ideal scenario of a school so local that you can easily walk to it.
Thanks for your input to the debate
Thanks for your comments Dave. Another objection to the location of the new school places. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who is in favour of expanding Highdown Infant and Junior Schools. Anyone??
Dave Haseldine posted on Practically Perfect Mums – Portishead’s Wall
“Regarding the expansion of Highdown School, the council have really lost the plot on this one. They have approved the development of thousands of new homes in Portishead and have not managed to work out if they build big houses families might actually move in to them! The school places are needed on the other side of Portishead where the new development is, not at Highdown on the other side of town (up a very big hill!) The council are planning to taxi around twenty pupils from the village quarter to Highdown daily rather than look at getting these pupils in to Trinity school that is not filled to capacity and is on their doorstep! Totally illogical but I am sure the council know best!”