South West Hertfordshire is very fortunate to have good schools, and parents often move into the local area so that their children have the possibility to send their children to the schools here.
Although schools are good where they exist, there's an ongoing issue with school capacity, particularly for Secondary school places. What do you think about the local schools? Any comments?
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posted 27 Jan 2012 07:15 by Maria Larkin
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updated 27 Jan 2012 07:16
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Hertfordshire
County Council is running a consultation on the proposed admissions arrangements
for the school year 2013/14 and is seeking responses from all parent/carers, schools and community groups.
The main change proposed is to allow an increase in
the number of preferences from three to four, i.e. parents will be able to
apply to four schools, as opposed to three at the moment.
Views are also being sought on:
- A rule to prioritise
children of school staff
- Amending the
priority area rules and “nearest” school definitions
- Other proposals
for the treatment of twins/multiple births, a single sex
priority area and in-year admissions
The consultation period runs
until 29 February 2012. Please visit www.hertsdirect.org/admissions2013 for
more information and to respond online or call Mini Harish on 01992 555840
for a copy of the consultation document.
Secondary School Places
Although many Christ Church
parents live in Chorleywood, all parents who live locally need to be aware that
in the not too distant future, there will be a real lack of secondary school
places in this area of South West Hertfordshire. Herts County Council are predicting
numbers of -97 for current Y4 in 2014 and increasing to -230 by 2020. This
will impact upon all children whether living in Chorleywood,
Rickmansworth or further afield.
Parents should be aware that:
1 - There is and will be
a significant shortfall in secondary school places and so provision
is needed for a new school and improved admission procedures.
2 - It is important for all parents
to submit their views regarding the County
Consultation re
admissions (see above) and respond by 29th February. 3 - Consultation about the
new school sites is due to be considered (not opening before Sept 2016). Three Rivers District Council website
will have details from 23rd January and will be open for response until 5th March.
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posted 6 Jan 2012 05:06 by Maria Larkin
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updated 6 Jan 2012 05:17
]
Hertfordshire County Council is running a consultation on the proposed admissions arrangements for the school year 2013/14 and is seeking response from parents/cares, schools and community groups. The main change proposed is to allow an increase in the number of preferences from three to four ie parents will be able to apply to four schools, as oppposed to only three currently. Views are being sought on: - A rule to prioritise children of school staff
- Amending the priority area rules and "nearest" school definitions
- Other proposals for the treatment of twins/multiple births, a single sec priority area and in year admissions.
The consultation period runs until 29 February 2012. Please visit www.hertsdirect.org/admissions2013 for more information and to respond online or call Mini Harish on 01992 555840 for a copy of the consultation document. |
posted 17 Nov 2011 14:29 by Tomo .
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updated 17 Nov 2011 14:30
]
Over the summer, HCC has undertaken detailed technical investigations into the suitability of 4 local sites for a new secondary school. Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) required notification of preferred sites by 28th September 2011. A further period of public consultation is planned for November but at the time of writing this does not yet appear to have been launched.
The consultation will be titled “Site Allocations Development Plan” and will be distributed to local households via Three Rivers Times, available on the TRDC website and in the library. You may have responded already but…. Please take time to read the documentation and respond to the consultation. It will be a different and more in depth consultation, and is a legal requirement for TRDC to complete. Frustratingly it appears that our local community are no closer to finding the pros and cons to each site than 12 months ago. However, HCC are due to recommend two sites are allocated for secondary school provision as a result of the feasibility studies.
A final selection will be made for inclusion in the Site Allocations Development Plan. This document must be submitted to the government in August 2012 for examination, and all being well, will be adopted in July 2013.
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posted 6 May 2011 04:38 by Maria Larkin
For results - click here
The WD3 Action Group has been established by Maple Cross and Mill End
parents concerned at the appalling situation facing them as they seek to
transfer their children from primary into secondary school. The
closure and transfer to independent status of secondary schools in the
area has resulted in parents having to send their children to the other
side of Watford to the worst three performing council-run schools in the
county. This problem has been exacerbated by:
1) Local, independent schools setting admissions criteria that end up disadvantaging Maple Cross and Mill End children.
2) Bordering councils offering their residents more application
choices than that offered by Hertfordshire County Council so that they
can compete with Hertfordshire children for Hertfordshire school places
without Hertfordshire children being able to compete on an equal
footing.
They are seeking to meet and organise ways in which they can place
pressure on the different parties involved in providing or auditing the
provision of fair and equal local school services across all of
Hertfordshire. This will include local school governors; national,
county and district councillors; the media; and adjudication and audit
bodies. If you wish to get involved by signing any petitions; writing
letters; attending action group, council or other meetings; helping with
research; or in any other way; please look at the next section below or contact them on wd3school@yahoo.co.uk
Thus, local parents are joining together to seek to place pressure
on all interested parties to seek a fair and equal access to all
Hertfordshire chuildren to local school services. To find out about their
objectives, click here. |
posted 24 Nov 2010 12:03 by Maria Larkin
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updated 2 Dec 2010 09:55 by Tomo .
]
We've received the following letter from Carolyn Venn from the WD3 School Action Group inviting residents to a public meeting on the 6th December at 8pm. We would encourage all residents to take the time review the options for a new secondary school in the South-West Herts area. However you should note that the options for choosing a site for a new school are only a part of a larger consultation exercise about other planning and development matters - but you do not need to have a view on all these other matters to respond to the consultation.
Dear All,
As local residents, I wanted to formally invite you to the
public meeting re potential school sites on Monday 6th December, 8pm at St
Peter's School.
Officers from Herts County Council and Three Rivers
District Council have been invited to attend to present the reasoning behind the
5 suggested sites and answer questions. I am sure you are keen to know why some
sites have been dismissed and others chosen. We will be urging all local
residents to respond to the Local Development Framework found on TRDC's
website.... http://www.threerivers.gov.uk/GetResource.aspx?file=Site
Allocations Issues And Options November 2010 for Printing.pdf
I hope you
can make it, but if not, please fill in TRDC's questionnaire in response to the
consultation. We need to demonstrate as much local support as possible for the
school for both the planning and funding applications. http://www.threerivers.gov.uk/GetResource.aspx?file=Questionnaire
Word Site Allocations Issues.doc
This is the start of a long battle to
secure a much needed school for the WD3 area. Please spread the word to all
local residents, regardless of whether they have school-age children, and come
along to show Herts County Council why we want a new community school more than
anywhere else in Hertfordshire.
Thank you for your support.
Carolyn Venn
Vice-Chair, WD3 School Action Group
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posted 15 Nov 2010 12:03 by Tomo .
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updated 15 Nov 2010 12:31
]
There are two separate but important local consultations underway that effect the provision of education for Chorleywood. A New School
As highlighted to us earlier by one of the local councilors, Three Rivers District council have launched a consultation regarding Development plans for the district. This covers a number of local planning issues but importantly one of them is allocation of land suitable for a new secondary school within the Three Rivers area. Basically the options are between two sites in Maple Cross and three sites in Croxley Green. For more information you should consult the WD3 School Action Group blog - a local action group that has been set up to campaign for additional secondary school capacity within the WD3 postcode area. For more information on the consultation and how to respond see our separate article on Three Rivers launches Site Options Development consultation in the Planning section of the website. The school land choices features on pages 3 to 8 of the Site Options document. School Transport
Don't forget that Herfordshire County Council have a consultation on changes to the provision of school transport which we've already written about. We have until the 26th January 2011 to make comments on this - read about it more in the article Herts County Council launch consultation on School Transport |
posted 8 Nov 2010 09:31 by Maria Larkin
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updated 10 Nov 2010 10:13 by Tomo .
]
A message from Councillor Harry Davies;
A formal public consultation on the siting of a new secondary school to serve our general area gets under way next Friday 12th November for a period running until 14th January 2011.
A working party of councillors has been considering 30 sites put forward by the County Council, these have been whittled down to five which we very much want to hear residents' views about. The consultation which form part of the Councils Local Development Framework programme also provides residents with an opportunity to comment on proposed employment sites, the designation of the type of use for shops in our shopping centres, open spaces and cemeteries.
Leaflets giving details of all the sites together with a questionnaire will be available in libraries and from the Council office from next Friday, you can also view the document and fill in the questionnaire on line at www.threerivers.gov.uk. Also planning officers will be on hand at Chorleywood library from 10am till 2pm on 24th November and 12th January to help answer any questions.
This is the first step to providing a new school for our area, please let Three Rivers know your views. |
posted 18 Oct 2010 10:58 by Tomo .
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updated 10 Nov 2010 10:36
]
Hertfordshire County Council have launched a consultation on proposed changes to the home to school transport policy for statutory school age pupils.
The foreward states that "the very considerable pressure on public spending will affect all public services including those delivered by the county council for the foreseeable future. Hertfordshire County Council is looking at every aspect of its work and how this can be delivered more efficiently and effectively."
But it goes onto state "Certain groups of children and young people have a right to free transport which is protected by law and these groups will remain unaffected by the review. We have already consulted young people about the SaverCard Concessionary Scheme and this has helped to inform our proposal to maintain the SaverCard. The views of children and young people will also be taken into account in this consultation.
In summary there are 4 proposals being put forward:
Proposal 1: It is proposed that the county council adopts a policy for free home to school transport based only on statutory entitlement with effect from 1 September 2012.
Proposal 2: It is proposed that concessions for faith transport and all other discretionary transport would discontinue with effect from 1 September 2012. Other changes relating to eligibility and arrangements for free transport are also proposed.
Proposal 3: It is proposed to rationalise the School Bus Network to become a closed network which is unavailable to the public, and self financing with effect from September 2012. This may include: • The reduction of Education ‘E’ and 800 Routes** as a result of applying a policy of providing transport only to those pupils for whom the county council has a statutory duty to provide transport. • The introduction of charging for places on transport at full cost recovery (see page 8) phased in over two years for pupils for whom the county council does not have a statutory duty to provide transport. • Schools or local communities managing their own home to school transport arrangements directly, for pupils for whom the county council does not have a duty to provide transport.
Proposal 4: It is proposed to retain the SaverCard concessionary scheme for use on the public bus network, and introduce an annual minimum charge of £20 per year for those of statutory school age applying for a card for use with effect from September 2012.
The consultation period runs until 26th January 2011. You can respond online by completing an online questionnaire available at the above address.
If you do not have access to the internet you can return a paper copy of the response form available at local libraries or by calling 01438 737350. Paper copies to be returned to Hertfordshire County Council Transport Review - Postal Point CHO 135 Hertford SG13 8DF.
Young people have the option of responding to the consultation via ChannelMogo, the Hertfordshire Youth portal.
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posted 15 Oct 2010 01:01 by Tomo .
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updated 15 Oct 2010 01:11
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posted 10 Aug 2010 11:59 by Tomo .
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updated 10 Aug 2010 12:14
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The Children's Centre will provide information and services for families with young children and aim to build on good existing services rather than starting new ones where it’s not necessary. Children’s Centres are being developed so that children under five and their families can benefit from a range of flexible services and support when they need it and in a convenient location, maybe at several centres within the local area.
Families may need to know about antenatal and post natal care, breastfeeding support, parent and toddler groups, child minders, pre-schools and other early year’s settings. You may have worries about your child’s sleeping patterns, feeding and behaviour problems. There will be services or activities supporting you in the everyday challenges that parents face in bringing up young children. The Children’s Centre should be a one-stop shop for information and support.
Further information about all the Children's Centres in Hertfordshire is available here.
The centre will be officially launched on Saturday 11th September from 10 am to 12 noon, with children’s activities from 10 am and the official opening facilitated by Jane Pitman, Lead Member for Children’s Services, Hertfordshire County Council at 11am. The proceedings concluding with light refreshments.
The Chorleywood & Loudwater Children’s Centre works in partnership with other organisations and professionals to support families, including: - Health professionals, especially local Health Visitors
- Local schools, pre-schools and nurseries
- The Extended School Consortium
- Hertfordshire County Council, Three Rivers District Council and the Parish Council
- JobCentre Plus
- Library staff
- Bookstart
- The National Childminding Association
- Police, especially local PCSOs
- Voluntary agencies, including HomeStart
The Residents' Association looks forward to working with Sandra and the rest of the team at the Children's Centre for the benefit of Chorleywood.
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