Education, education, education...

The headline on the Northants Telegraph 28th March made worrying reading - School Places Crisis.

I read Sarah Ward's report - there will be a shortage of secondary school places in Kettering, Corby and Northampton from September, and a deficit in the county as a whole for as long as projections are available.

The reasons given were a baby boom which is now hitting secondary school, migration to the county, the number of new homes being built, and the local education authority's reliance on academy trusts and free schools to provide additional spaces.

Then I read "Education levels are not at the level we would wish them to be", this from Cllr Fiona Baker, the county councillor responsible for education in Northamptonshire.

Shockingly, over a third of secondary schools in the county are ranked by school inspectors as 'requires improvement' or 'inadequate'.

Interestingly, 40 out of 42 schools in Northamptonshire offering mainstream secondary provision are run by academies or have free school status.

Therefore, although the county council is the local education authority and has ultimate responsibility for the education of the county's youngsters, most of the schools aren't actually under its direct control.

Apparently, as a minimum, extensions are needed to six existing schools, and two new secondaries are needed by 2023. 

But into this mix must be highlighted the fact that this crisis will be passed onto the two new proposed unitary authorities once NCC is disbanded in 2020.

Cllr Matt Golby is quoted as saying "Schools are going to be the big question as we move to unitary as well.  Whether we set up two local education authorities and how we are going to provide the infrastructure is a massive, massive ask and so that is another big strategic question that we need to be dealing with on this road to unitary."

As a concerned parent, could I please suggest that all relevant bodies urgently get together and sort this out.  The children of Northamptonshire deserve so much better.  So much for Tony Blair's clarion call of 'Education, education, education' and his legacy of academies.