Council opposes "destabilising" Tudor Grange plan

SOLIHULL Metropolitan Borough Council is set to object to “destabilising” plans to change Tudor Grange Academy’s admission policy.

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The authority is to oppose the school’s plans to give priority to children from two primary schools over catchment area children.

The school can set its own admission policy after becoming an academy in 2010, removing it from council control.

The council is also set to object to a plan by Arden school – also an academy – to give priority to children of staff over catchment area children.

A report expected to beapproved by cabinet member for children & young people Joe Tildesley on Monday February 11 spells out the objections to the Tudor Grange plan.

It says: “Admissions arrangements in Solihull have worked very successfully for many years without complaint from schools or the local community.

“The system of catchment areas presently provides a safety net that ensures that all children have a high priority to attend their local catchment school.

“The proposal by Tudor Grange unilaterally moves away from this by introducing the feeder school arrangement ahead of children living within the catchment area.

“The council is concerned that this could destabilise the present arrangements, and could ultimately result in some children in the future being unable to secure a place in a local school.

“Children living in the Hockley Heath, Blythe and Tidbury Green areas should be noted as particularly at risk.”

The school wants pupils at St Alphege C E Infant and Junior Schools and Tudor Grange Primary Academy St James in Shirley to get preference. It has a partnership with St Alphege and is the sponsor of Tudor Grange Primary.

The report says the council is concerned the change could be replicated by other secondary schools.

The school has said concerns about children not being able to get a place are “groundless” as there are currently more than enough places for catchment area children.

A further 50 children attend the primaries but do not live in the catchment area and the school said it will able “comfortably accommodate every catchment area child” to at least 2019.

The council accepted this but said problems for catchment area “cannot be ruled out” in the future.

The report says: “In the longer term, as the catchment cohorts increase, there is a risk that siblings could not be offered places.

“There could also be a risk to those catchment children living furthest away from the school. This could affect, in particular, the areas of Hockley Heath and Tidbury Green.”

Any preference for the two primaries must come after catchment area places are allocated, it said.

And it said of the Arden plan: “The addition of children of school staff as a priority is unlikely to have a significant impact on the availability of places at the school, the local authority would suggest that such children should only be a priority after catchment children.”

Both plans are being consulted on here (Tudor Grange) and here (Arden).