Tuesday 31st May 2011

Parents in Chesterfield are expressing concerns today after they say that many children have been refused places at the primary school of their choice.

Many of these children though already have siblings who currently attend their first choice school and campaigners say that two children at different schools will seriously affect their lives.

They are now calling on parents to sign an online petition that they hope will force Derbyshire County Council to address the issue in a full council hearing. 3,500 signatures are needed.

One affected parent says that "no parent can be split in two" and says that "parental support in signing the petition would be greatly appreciated".

The Online petition, to be found on Derbyshire County Council's website here at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/council/have_your_say was started by Emma Agutter and argues that many parents now have many considerations to make when choosing a school for their children and it is no longer simply a case of choosing the school nearest.

The petition states that the "Current economic circumstances have forced many parents to move areas but chose to keep their existing children at that school to ensure continuity."

It goes on to express concern over the "Practicalities of how a parent can collect children from 2 different schools at the same time."

The purpose of the petition is "To request that Derbyshire County Council re- evaluate the existing primary school admissions procedure to give parents with existing siblings at any given school equal priority to live in catchment area places".

Derbyshire County Council says that parents have a legal right to express a preference for which school they want their child to attend but that the law says that there is no automatic right at present to place a child at any particular school and that places may not always be available at their preferred school.

They also say that, if you are unable to obtain a place for your child in the school of your choice an appeal can be made against the decision and that appeal will be heard by an appeal panel independent of the school and the council.

Details of how to apply for places and appeal against any decisions can be found on the Derbyshire County Council website www.derbyshire.gov.uk

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