Walthamstow faces a massive shortfall in school places which will get much worse by 2013 if urgent action is not taken, according to answers obtained by local Liberal Democrat councillors at a meeting of the Walthamstow West Community Council on Monday (1 March).

Council officers told the meeting that if nothing is done 162 reception-age children due to start school in the Walthamstow area will have no school place in September; equivalent to five-and-a-half classes. Currently local schools have capacity for 3090 reception-aged pupils but the projected intake is 3252 pupils.

By 2013 over 500 pupils will not have a school place to go to.

Reasons for the shortfall include increasing birth rates and the number of families with young children moving into the borough. This means many children face being educated in temporary classrooms.

Worryingly the portfolio holder in charge of schools, Cllr Liaquat Ali (Labour, High Street) was at the meeting but was unable to provide any details about how he proposed to deal with the problem.

Liberal Democrat councillors are demanding that the council gets a grip on the situation and produces a credible long-term plan to deliver the school places that local families need.

Liberal Democrat councillor James O Rourke, who chairs the Children and Young Peoples Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said:

“Cllr Ali couldn’t point to a single action he or his predecessor, the Council leader, had taken to ensure local people have somewhere to send their children. It’s time someone got a grip on the situation.”

Cllr Patrick Smith, Liberal Democrat councillor chair of the community council, said:

“The Liberal Democrats have been worried for some time about the increasing strain placed on local primary schools by the growing population. More and more children are being crammed into temporary classrooms. We know that teachers will do their best to deliver high quality teaching but it isn’t fair that children should be expected to learn in these conditions.

“Pressure for school places comes from numerous new developments in the Walthamstow area including an expected 1,000 new families in the Blackhorse Lane regeneration area.”

Waltham Forest Council have announced it is introducing a pilot scheme in schools in which students will be taught how to ‘spot’ extremists and report them to the appropriate authorities.

In a joint statement the Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr John Macklin, and Lib Dem Children and Young People spokesperson, Cllr James O’Rourke, said:

“We are deeply disappointed that Labour have not consulted fellow Councillors about this pilot before blindly following Gordon Brown’s policies.

“We’re also extremely uncomfortable with the notion of Labour implementing Orwellian policies in our schools potentially setting pupil against pupil.” 

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Walthamstow, Farid Ahmed said:

“Once again it seems that the Government is obsessed with setting up wacky and expensive schemes rather then deal with the issues at hand.

“It is vital that extremism is dealt with at the grass roots, though it is no surprise that the Government has cherry picked Walthamstow – an area with a very multicultural community - to launch this scheme.

“The sole purpose of this scheme seems to marginalise whole communities and is evidence once again of Labour’s failure to come up with realistic plans.

“In comparison, we will pump £2.5bn into schools so that students are equipped to join an increasingly tough jobs market.”

Fifty seven school children carrying placards and banners filled the Town Hall Council Chamber to meet with Liberal Democrat Cabinet member for Environment, Cllr Bob Belam, to discuss their concerns about the environment.

The children from Hillyfield School, in Higham Hill ward, used research carried out over many weeks to ask testing questions of Cllr Belam ranging from global warming to people dropping litter and car sharing. In return Cllr Belam told them how he has been tackling the issues raised over the last three years and what his plans are for the future including the new John Beanse Centre.

Cllr O’Rourke, Chair of the Children & Young People Scrutiny Committee, congratulated the children and staff for their hard work and enthusiasm saying:

“I was thrilled to hear how knowledgable the children were about their environment both locally and globally. It was great to hear the children sharing the same views with adults about littering and recycling.”

Last Saturday, in its 41st year, Suntrap Forest Education Centre at High Beach, Essex opened its doors to receive a record 1000 visitors.

Children, including Cllr O’Rourke’s nephew Matthew, and their parents thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the guided walks, clay modelling, handling creepy crawlies and the new pond and adventure course.

Cllr O’Rourke said: “Not long ago this fabulous centre was under threat of closure. I am proud to have been one of the Councillors who, through the Councils Overview and Scrutiny Committee, made recommendations on how this vital environmental resource can continue for a further forty years.”