Latest news with #schoolplacement
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Romesh Ranganathan calls school placement process change
Comedian Romesh Ranganathan has called for his local council to make its school placement process less stressful for Ranganathan's appeal to get his youngest son into one of his preferred secondary schools was turned down by West Sussex County Council (WSCC).The TV presenter said: "Parents are struggling to make ends meet, they've got all sorts of other stresses in their lives, this being more stressful than it needs to, in my opinion, is not acceptable."WSCC said: "This year we were able to offer 87% of the 9,050 secondary school applicants a place at their first choice of school, while nearly 97% were offered a place at one of their three preferences." In April, the comedian said he had emailed WSCC six times after his son had been placed in a school "on the other side of town", and not at the same school as his two older talking about his concerns on social media, Mr Ranganathan said he had received messages from families who had been "messed around" by councils, "particularly" WSCC."What became clear from people getting in touch is that the system is letting people down and there's people whose kids have been allocated schools that are so far away they don't know how they're going to do the school run," he council said it understood the disappointment of parents who were not offered a place at a preferred school but explained that it was sometimes not possible "due to a number of factors relating to the selection criteria". WSCC explained: "Applications are considered by our admissions team on their priority according to the relevant oversubscription criteria for their preferred schools, which may include proximity of the school to home and whether other siblings attend the same school."Mr Ranganathan is calling on the council to look at the level of provision for children going into says the system "needs to get sorted out"."We need to feel like the education of our children is something that is being cared about by the people that are in control of these things."The comedian said trying to get your child into education was "one of the most stressful things". The comedian says although he understands the system "can't be perfect for everybody", he says it can come across "very faceless and quite cold" for some said: "It's one of the most important things you'll ever sort out, but from the other side it doesn't feel like that it's being treated with that level of reverence."
BBC News
09-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Autistic schoolboy left without a school in Slough
A boy with special educational needs has spent more than two years out of school because the council can't find him a 12, from Slough has autism and was supposed to start Year 7 of secondary school in September 2023 but he's now in Year 8 and still without a mother, Louise, said his time out of school has left him feeling "very confused about why everyone is going to school and he's not".A Slough Borough Council spokesperson said the council is taking "proactive steps" to find Leighton a place. Leighton was at Littledown Primary in Slough a specialist school and was supposed to continue in a specialist secondary Borough Council said it found him a place when he was due to transfer, but his mother said she felt the school "wasn't suitable". Louise said the time out of school has left him "without crucial social interaction" with other children and said "he's nervous around people".She said: "Leighton is very confused about why everyone else is going to school and he isn't."It's horrible watching him not interacting with other people."He holds my hand when we go out, squeezes my hand and asks to go home. During the holiday I wanted to take him to Windsor, but he didn't want to get out of the house.""He is my permanent shadow," she spent a lot of time out of school during the coronavirus explained that his education health and care plan (EHCP) which sets out what the council needs to do to provide for a child's special educational needs, expired during the said the EHCP has been updated but the results of the reassessment haven't been given to her or any prospective schools.A Slough Borough Council spokesperson said: "While the council regrets that Leighton has not been in full-time education since Year 7. "We have throughout the process taken a number of proactive steps to find a suitable placement for him, including securing a secondary school at the point of transfer from primary to secondary that the council felt was an appropriate school." In October 2024 the council said it asked 10 schools if they could take Leighton, but none of them were able added that they consulted four more schools this year, and while one has said it can't take him, the other three are still considering the spokesperson said: "We remain committed to finding a suitable educational placement for Leighton and to working closely with his family to meet his needs." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
