Council criticised for not delivering on nursery education

Labour Councillor and Assembly Candidate for Cardiff North Sophie Howe has criticised Cardiff Council for failing to meet the needs of parents an children in providing nursery education.  The Labour Councillor who represents Whitchurch and Tongwynlais has highlighted flaws in the nursery school admissions policy which does not take into account where other children in the family are going to school.  Sophie has taken up the case of three families in Whitchurch whose children have applied to go attend the nursery unit at Melin Gruffydd but have been told that it is full.  These children have been offered places at Munedd Bychan, almost two miles away but will not be able to take up the place because they have older brothers attending Ysgol Melin Gruffydd who need to be dropped off at school at the same time.  Councillor Howe has argued that it is a physical impossibility for parents to be at two places at the same time and that the result is that these three year olds will not be able to take up the nursery place to which they are entitled but officers have refused to take this into account.

Sophie said:

"The Council are not meeting the needs of families in their arrangements for nursery school admissions.  The fact that the current policy does not take into account where older brothers and sisters go to school is absurd and means that many children will not be able to attend nursery because their parents can't be in two places at the same time."

She continued:

"The way in which the Council are operating their admissions policy undermines the policies of the Welsh Assembly government who have pledged nursery places for all three year olds.  I will be raising this matter with Education Minister Jane Davidson as I don't believe that Cardiff Council is delivering on the Assembly's priorities for early years education"

Sophie has also raised concern about the policy which states that children will be offered places at nursery school up to two miles away from their home.

She said:

"It is completely unacceptable to expect a three year old to walk two miles to nursery and then the same distance back  just a couple of hours later .  In the cases that I have taken up three year olds are being expected to walk from Whitchurch, via the Gabalfa interchange down to Ysgol Mynedd Bychan on Whitchurch Road."

Comments

[Leela Attfield]

Very small typo - in Sophie's biography it gives the ages of her 2nd and 3rd child, but with Morgan it just says "aged,"