School catchment changes concerns

Proposed changes to secondary school catchment areas have provoked concern amongst parents and residents living in and around a Monmouthshire village.

Many pupils leaving Usk Church in Wales Primary School go to Caerleon Comprehensive School in Newport through arrangements that have remained unchanged since at least 1996.

Monmouthshire council is now consulting on plans to bring the school within reach of one of its own secondaries, Monmouth Comprehensive School, from September 2020.

The authority says some children have been turned away from oversubscribed places at Monmouth because they fall within Caerleon’s catchment area.

But some have expressed fears about children being split apart from siblings and friends, while others asked if senior councillors making the final decision had ‘vested interests’.

Around 40 people attended a public meeting on Monday chaired by Councillor Richard John, Monmouthshire council’s cabinet member for children and young people.

Cllr John said: “Monmouth has been oversubscribed for many years and parents are frustrated that they can’t access those places.

“We are inadvertently splitting peer groups as some people want to send their children to Monmouth but can’t because of a lack of places and because they sit outside the catchment.”

Since September 2014, a total of 91 pupils from Usk have moved to Caerleon compared to 48 moving to Monmouth – but the council says this fails to reflect failed applications to the latter.

Parents would still be able to apply for Caerleon if the proposals are approved, and would have a place at Monmouth reserved if their application is unsuccessful.

Newport council’s admission criteria ranks out-of-catchment siblings above distance when allocating school places, with talks ongoing between the two authorities to give siblings further priority if the catchment area changes.

“We don’t want to split siblings up or stop people from sending their children to Caerleon, we just want to give parents a choice,” said Cllr John.

But the proposals were criticised, with one parent saying their daughter was ‘frightened’ about missing out on a place at Caerleon having already attending open days.

Another parent said the chance to send their children to Caerleon, a ‘top school’, was one of the main reasons they moved to Usk.

Some were supportive, with one parent saying: “Having this realignment is important because I currently can’t hold councillors to account because Caerleon is in Newport.”

Questions were also asked of the those making the decision in April, with chief officer Will McLean admitting some cabinet members lived in the Usk area and had children.

Some parents argued that there was a prejudicial interest if a cabinet member wanted to have their child go to Monmouth.

One parent said: “I hope they will vote for what is best for the community and not what’s right for them.”

But Mr McLean said: “We’ve taken legal advice and we’ve been told they would not have a prejudicial interest.

“Every single response to this consultation will be presented to cabinet in a report and that report will form the basis of their view.”

Three other catchment area reviews are also being considered in the county, though the Usk proposal would be the only option to cost the authority.

The council has committed to providing free home-to-school transport for children living more than two miles from their nearest school, including Caerleon.

The consultation ends at 5pm on March 1.