Moray Council insists Buckie High School is safe after concerns
Stephen Birtwistle has a son at the school - as well as a son and daughter who will be moving up soon. He told BBC Scotland News: "Nobody wants to stress about their kids having to go into a school which is unsafe. "From the look of the pictures and the stories I am being told it is a massive concern as a parent, you just do not want that phone call saying something has happened to your child. "Our kids deserve better, it is not acceptable to have them at a school in that condition." Parents have long campaigned for an improved school to be built in its place but Moray Council said "work towards a long-term solution" was ongoing. Council leader Ms Robertson said: "We are aware of recent posts and photographs circulating online about the condition of Buckie High School and understand that parents, carers, and members of the community may feel concerned and upset by what they are seeing and reading online."While some current concerns have already been identified by both the council and the school, our maintenance teams are addressing them where appropriate."Any urgent matters are responded to as a priority."
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The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
Parents of summer-born children face ‘unfair' postcode lottery in admissions
Families who want to delay their summer-born child from starting primary school are facing an 'unfair' postcode lottery, with some councils refusing more than half of parents' requests, it has been suggested. Parents who ask for a delayed start in Reception for a child born between April and August have varying success depending on where they live, an analysis has found. Figures – obtained by the PA news agency using freedom of information (FoI) requests – show some councils have turned down the majority of parents' requests to defer their children starting school. Meanwhile, many councils approved 100% of requests for delayed entry over a three-year period. Campaigners and parents are calling for greater consistency across England for families who do not want their child to start primary school almost a year younger than some of their classmates – as some families worry their child is not ready emotionally or physically. It comes amid concerns about a decline in school readiness among children starting Reception, with some arguing Covid-19 lockdowns have exacerbated developmental delays. Children in England usually start primary school in the September after they turn four, but parents of children born between April 1 and August 31 can request to delay entry to Reception by a year. A child does not reach 'compulsory school age' until the term following their fifth birthday. Department for Education (DfE) guidance, which was updated in 2023, says admissions authorities are expected to decide whether a summer-born child can be admitted out of their normal age group – to Reception rather than Year 1 – based on 'the child's best interests'. It should be 'rare' for a council to refuse a parent's request, and the Government believes it is 'rarely in a child's best interests' to miss a year of education by starting in Year 1 instead of Reception, it adds. Nearly three in five councils in England – 91 out of 153 – provided full data to PA on the total number of requests from parents of summer-born children to delay Reception over three years: from September 2022 to September 2023, September 2023 to September 2024, and September 2024 to September 2025. Of these, 86 councils provided a full breakdown of the requests which were refused over the three years. The figures show: – Lambeth Council in London refused more than two in three requests from parents to delay Reception entry from September 2024 to September this year. Seventeen requests were made for summer-born children and 12 were refused. A spokesman for the council said all decisions are 'carefully considered on a case-by-case basis, with the child's best interests at the centre of the process'. But he said evidence suggests remaining within their chronological age group 'generally supports better long-term outcomes'. – Lincolnshire County Council refused nearly two in three (64%) of requests from parents to delay the start of school in a year. They received 87 requests to delay Reception from 2023 to 2024, and 56 were refused. But in the following year, only 13 out of 89 requests for a delayed school start from 2024 to 2025 were declined. Matthew Clayton, head of education support at the council, said it had 'altered' the way it deals with requests for a delayed school start for summer-born children following a change in guidance from the DfE in 2023. He added: 'As a result, the likelihood of requests being granted for 2024/25 onwards have been more aligned to the national picture.' – Southampton City Council refused more than half of requests from parents to delay the start of school in a year. They received 23 requests to delay Reception from September 2022 to September 2023, and 13 were refused. Councillor Amanda Barnes-Andrews, cabinet member for children and learning at the council, said the DfE's process for education outside of the normal age group is followed which 'requires reviewing every request individually to consider the impact to the child'. – More than two in five (45%) of the councils which provided data on the number of refusals – 39 out of 86 – said they did not turn down any requests from parents of summer-born children to delay entry to Reception over the three years. This includes Leicestershire County Council, which neighbours Lincolnshire, where 139 applications were received during the period and none of them were refused. – Hertfordshire County Council – which automatically processes summer-born applications – received 766 requests over the three years, and West Sussex County Council recorded 293 requests over the same period and none of them were turned down. The figures are only based on requests to councils so the numbers could vary as they do not include all requests made directly to academies and voluntary-aided schools, which are their own admission authorities. Bianca Sumpter applied to Lambeth Council to request a delay in her son Rumo starting Reception in September 2024 as she did not feel he was ready for school as he had speech delay, separation anxiety and was still napping in the daytime, but the request was refused. Rumo was born on August 26 in 2020 – two weeks before his due date – with a kidney condition which led to two operations in the first year of his life, and Mrs Sumpter said Rumo did not have much 'socialisation' due to his illness and the Covid-19 pandemic. The 43-year-old from London told PA: 'You are making the decision because it's best for your child, and you just feel so helpless that they're just taking this decision out of your hands when they do not know your child. 'It has been really awful. It has been really stressful. 'I don't want Rumo to go through school thinking this is awful. I want him to enjoy education. I want him to come out of it feeling that he can achieve whatever he wants to achieve. 'But this thing is putting barriers in place to say 'well because you're born on this day, you are probably always going to be an underachiever'.' Mrs Sumpter said the family faced a year of uncertainty after their request was refused by the council and they decided to keep Rumo in nursery last September instead of enrolling him in Reception at a local authority school. In the summer term, Rumo was offered some settling in sessions in Reception at their preferred school and the teachers concluded he was not ready to enter Year 1 in September. The council has now finally agreed to let the school hold Rumo back so he starts in Reception next month. Mrs Sumpter added: 'There is this massive disparity between councils and boroughs. You're just in the lap of the gods in terms of what that specific council says.' Southwark Council, which neighbours Lambeth, told PA it approves all requests from parents who want their summer-born child to be admitted to Reception a year later in their community schools. The mother-of-three said: 'I could literally walk there [to Southwark] in seven minutes. It's ridiculous that we've had to fight. 'Surely we want the outcome to be that children are achieving better educationally, but also they're achieving better socially and emotionally. That's where we should be getting our children to. 'Not just saying 'well this is a cut-off day and there's no choice and your child has to be in school' because then we just have generations of children who are unhappy and uneducated because they feel emotionally out of control.' Pauline McDonagh Hull, spokeswoman for The Summer Born Campaign, told PA: 'Based on current legislation, what's happening with this postcode lottery is completely unfair. 'It's unfair because some parents have more knowledge about the law and their rights, and some parents have greater capacity to fight if a fight is needed. 'Some parents are lucky and they're in an area where it just happens naturally, or the school advises them about it so that they can have the choice. 'I just don't know how, year after year after year, the Government stands by and does nothing about it.' The campaign group has called on the DfE to update the School Admissions Code – which is statutory guidance which schools and local authorities in England must follow – to give parents of summer-born children a 'legal right' to enrol their children in Reception at the age of five. Ms McDonagh Hull added: 'The Government has not followed through on its promise to make sure that the School Admissions Code gives all summer-born children the automatic right to an uninterrupted full education, if or when their parents decide to enrol them in school at compulsory school age. 'Other parents might go the private route if they can afford it. Other parents will choose homeschooling. 'Other parents will just cave – their child either enters Reception class at age four, or they enter Year 1 at age five if there's a space available.' Tammy Campbell, visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said the FoI results show accessing deferred entry for summer-born children is 'far from equitable'. She told PA: 'The 'right to request' policy is playing out inequitably according to both local area and family background factors. 'This is not effective in ensuring that the children most likely to benefit from deferred entry are accessing the option.' Dr Campbell said her research has shown it is potentially more 'advantaged' families who are most likely to have their summer-born children start Reception a year later. 'Children not registered for free school meals and those from families with English as a first language are more likely to defer,' she added. Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'The Government guidance is pretty clear that it should be rare for admissions authorities to refuse a parent's request but in practice the rules don't appear to be applied consistently. 'Our view is that decisions should always be in the best interests of children – and that may be a matter of ensuring there is the right support in place rather than delaying the child's entry to school. 'However, whatever approach is taken it does need a clear set of expectations that support those interests to be consistently applied so that families know exactly what to expect and it isn't a postcode lottery.' A DfE spokeswoman said: 'High and rising standards are at the heart of this Government's mission to break down barriers to opportunity so every child can achieve and thrive. 'The Government's guidance is clear that it's rarely in a child's best interests to miss a year of their education, and so it should be rare for a deferral request to be refused. 'We recognise parents' experiences can still vary and continue to support individual admissions authorities with their decision making.'
The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
Why parents of summer-born children face ‘unfair' postcode lottery in school admissions
Families who want to delay their summer-born child from starting primary school are facing an 'unfair' postcode lottery, it has been claimed. Parents who ask for a delayed start in Reception for a child born between April and August have varying success depending on where they live, an analysis has found, with some councils refusing more than half of parents' requests. Figures – obtained using freedom of information (FoI) requests – show some councils have turned down the majority of parents' requests to defer their children starting school. Meanwhile, many councils approved 100 per cent of requests for delayed entry over a three-year period. Campaigners and parents are calling for greater consistency across England for families who do not want their child to start primary school almost a year younger than some of their classmates – as some families worry their child is not ready emotionally or physically. It comes amid concerns about a decline in school readiness among children starting Reception, with some arguing Covid-19 lockdowns have exacerbated developmental delays. Children in England usually start primary school in the September after they turn four, but parents of children born between April 1 and August 31 can request to delay entry to Reception by a year. A child does not reach 'compulsory school age' until the term following their fifth birthday. Department for Education (DfE) guidance, which was updated in 2023, says admissions authorities are expected to decide whether a summer-born child can be admitted out of their normal age group – to Reception rather than Year 1 – based on 'the child's best interests'. It should be 'rare' for a council to refuse a parent's request, and the government believes it is 'rarely in a child's best interests' to miss a year of education by starting in Year 1 instead of Reception, it adds. Nearly three in five councils in England – 91 out of 153 – provided full data to PA on the total number of requests from parents of summer-born children to delay Reception over three years: from September 2022 to September 2023, September 2023 to September 2024, and September 2024 to September 2025. Of these, 86 councils provided a full breakdown of the requests which were refused over the three years. The figures show: Lambeth Council in London refused more than two in three requests from parents to delay Reception entry from September 2024 to September this year. Seventeen requests were made for summer-born children and 12 were refused. A spokesman for the council said all decisions are 'carefully considered on a case-by-case basis, with the child's best interests at the centre of the process'. But he said evidence suggests remaining within their chronological age group 'generally supports better long-term outcomes'. Lincolnshire County Council refused nearly two in three (64 per cent) of requests from parents to delay the start of school in a year. They received 87 requests to delay Reception from 2023 to 2024, and 56 were refused. But in the following year, only 13 out of 89 requests for a delayed school start from 2024 to 2025 were declined. Matthew Clayton, head of education support at the council, said it had 'altered' the way it deals with requests for a delayed school start for summer-born children following a change in guidance from the DfE in 2023. He added: 'As a result, the likelihood of requests being granted for 2024/25 onwards have been more aligned to the national picture.' Southampton City Council refused more than half of requests from parents to delay the start of school in a year. They received 23 requests to delay Reception from September 2022 to September 2023, and 13 were refused. Councillor Amanda Barnes-Andrews, cabinet member for children and learning at the council, said the DfE's process for education outside of the normal age group is followed which 'requires reviewing every request individually to consider the impact to the child'. More than two in five (45 per cent) of the councils which provided data on the number of refusals – 39 out of 86 – said they did not turn down any requests from parents of summer-born children to delay entry to Reception over the three years. This includes Leicestershire County Council, which neighbours Lincolnshire, where 139 applications were received during the period and none of them were refused. Hertfordshire County Council – which automatically processes summer-born applications – received 766 requests over the three years, and West Sussex County Council recorded 293 requests over the same period and none of them were turned down. The figures are only based on requests to councils so the numbers could vary as they do not include all requests made directly to academies and voluntary-aided schools, which are their own admission authorities. Bianca Sumpter applied to Lambeth Council to request a delay in her son Rumo starting Reception in September 2024 as she did not feel he was ready for school as he had speech delay, separation anxiety and was still napping in the daytime, but the request was refused. Rumo was born on August 26 in 2020 – two weeks before his due date – with a kidney condition which led to two operations in the first year of his life, and Mrs Sumpter said Rumo did not have much 'socialisation' due to his illness and the Covid-19 pandemic. The 43-year-old from London said: 'You are making the decision because it's best for your child, and you just feel so helpless that they're just taking this decision out of your hands when they do not know your child. 'It has been really awful. It has been really stressful. 'I don't want Rumo to go through school thinking this is awful. I want him to enjoy education. I want him to come out of it feeling that he can achieve whatever he wants to achieve. 'But this thing is putting barriers in place to say 'well because you're born on this day, you are probably always going to be an underachiever'.' Mrs Sumpter said the family faced a year of uncertainty after their request was refused by the council and they decided to keep Rumo in nursery last September instead of enrolling him in Reception at a local authority school. In the summer term, Rumo was offered some settling in sessions in Reception at their preferred school and the teachers concluded he was not ready to enter Year 1 in September. The council has now finally agreed to let the school hold Rumo back so he starts in Reception next month. Mrs Sumpter added: 'There is this massive disparity between councils and boroughs. You're just in the lap of the gods in terms of what that specific council says.' Southwark Council, which neighbours Lambeth, told PA it approves all requests from parents who want their summer-born child to be admitted to Reception a year later in their community schools. The mother-of-three said: 'I could literally walk there [to Southwark] in seven minutes. It's ridiculous that we've had to fight. 'Surely we want the outcome to be that children are achieving better educationally, but also they're achieving better socially and emotionally. That's where we should be getting our children to. 'Not just saying 'well this is a cut-off day and there's no choice and your child has to be in school' because then we just have generations of children who are unhappy and uneducated because they feel emotionally out of control.' Pauline McDonagh Hull, spokeswoman for The Summer Born Campaign, told PA: 'Based on current legislation, what's happening with this postcode lottery is completely unfair. 'It's unfair because some parents have more knowledge about the law and their rights, and some parents have greater capacity to fight if a fight is needed. 'Some parents are lucky and they're in an area where it just happens naturally, or the school advises them about it so that they can have the choice. 'I just don't know how, year after year after year, the government stands by and does nothing about it.' The campaign group has called on the DfE to update the School Admissions Code – which is statutory guidance which schools and local authorities in England must follow – to give parents of summer-born children a 'legal right' to enrol their children in Reception at the age of five. Ms McDonagh Hull added: 'The government has not followed through on its promise to make sure that the School Admissions Code gives all summer-born children the automatic right to an uninterrupted full education, if or when their parents decide to enrol them in school at compulsory school age. 'Other parents might go the private route if they can afford it. Other parents will choose homeschooling. 'Other parents will just cave – their child either enters Reception class at age four, or they enter Year 1 at age five if there's a space available.' Tammy Campbell, visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said the FoI results show accessing deferred entry for summer-born children is 'far from equitable'. She told PA: 'The 'right to request' policy is playing out inequitably according to both local area and family background factors. 'This is not effective in ensuring that the children most likely to benefit from deferred entry are accessing the option.' Dr Campbell said her research has shown it is potentially more 'advantaged' families who are most likely to have their summer-born children start Reception a year later. 'Children not registered for free school meals and those from families with English as a first language are more likely to defer,' she added. Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'The government guidance is pretty clear that it should be rare for admissions authorities to refuse a parent's request but in practice the rules don't appear to be applied consistently. 'Our view is that decisions should always be in the best interests of children – and that may be a matter of ensuring there is the right support in place rather than delaying the child's entry to school. 'However, whatever approach is taken it does need a clear set of expectations that support those interests to be consistently applied so that families know exactly what to expect and it isn't a postcode lottery.' A DfE spokeswoman said: 'High and rising standards are at the heart of this government's mission to break down barriers to opportunity so every child can achieve and thrive. 'The government's guidance is clear that it's rarely in a child's best interests to miss a year of their education, and so it should be rare for a deferral request to be refused. 'We recognise parents' experiences can still vary and continue to support individual admissions authorities with their decision making.'
BBC News
7 hours ago
- BBC News
How the loss of a daughter inspire a lifeline for Dundee families
Freya Skene was seven years old when she died after getting into difficulty in the water at Dunkeld in July mother, Brooke Reid, was in the water with her and managed to survive the that day, she has carried the immense weight of losing who she calls her "beautiful little butterfly".Five years on, Brooke has channelled her grief into creating Freya's Wish - a Dundee-based community hub that has become a lifeline for local families. She told BBC Scotland News her perspective on life has changed completely since the loss of Freya."The things I once used to fret over and get stressed about, they're just not relevant anymore."Nobody is promised tomorrow so we need to live now and make the most of every single minute we have, and make it beautiful."Brooke recalled that Freya was a generous and compassionate child, who once donated all her toys to a charity that recycled them for kids who had less."She had such a big heart. Her spark, her character… she had it right to a T. We should all be like that." A day that changed everything The pain of losing Freya has not faded for Brooke."I definitely think it gets harder. People move on and start to focus on their own lives again, and they forget. But for me, it feels like yesterday."She remembers the day Freya died began as a warm, carefree summer outing during the 2020 lockdown. Nothing seemed dangerous and there were no signs warning visitors of risks."We were having a great day out, playing in the Fairy Pools. What we weren't aware of was that currents change at certain points of the day. "When we were in the water, out of nowhere, a current came and dragged me and Freya down, under the waterfall."She believes better education and resources about the dangers of natural waters could save lives."Especially in Scotland, we're known for our beautiful destinations and natural waters. But we are not taught much about water safety." Freya's Wish was founded in September 2020, just months after the tragedy, and Brooke threw herself into the work as a way to cope with her began as a personal tribute has grown into a community space where Brooke says "people can be who they want to be without judgement"."If somebody needs my support in any way, whether it's me helping them or passing them on to someone else who can, it's an open door."She says memories of good times with her daughter became her motivation and drove her desire for other families to have that same chance. Freystival - a way to remember It has even inspired Freystival. A family-friendly community festival that aims to be affordable."Things are expensive now and people have to work crazy hours to afford anything that feels like a luxury," she explains."There are financial barriers for families to create magical days. Most people don't have £400 to spend on a festival with their family."This year's event is taking place at Mains Castle in Dundee on Friday and Brooke says she can picture exactly how her daughter would react to it."I think Freya would be absolutely buzzing. She was stuck to me like glue."She always wanted to be involved and do what's right, so she would be in awe if she was here today." Living with loss For Brooke, Freya's Wish has become a place where Brooke can continue to be a mother to her daughter, even in a different way."You have to find the inner strength to share their soul and their love."Brooke believes love and community are at the heart of healing."Most people in life suffer in some way, but it's about looking at it differently. We're all suffering, but if we were in this together, sharing love and supporting each other, we would all win in life."Love is the core of everything we do."
