Parents angry over Telford school boundaries changes

A consultation has been launched to allow parents to have their say on Telford & Wrekin Council's plans to change certain boundaries.

But parents in Muxton say they are unhappy with the proposals and have formed an action group to voice their concerns.

Youngsters in Muxton would most likely be assigned to Telford Priory School, in Wrockwardine Wood, rather than Burton Borough School, in Newport, under the plans.

A group of the parents met at Muxton Primary School to walk to the Telford Priory School, to highlight the risks they believe children will face travelling to the school.

Chairman of the new group, Lesley Galley of Elmhurst Coppice, said: "We walked the 45-minute route taking pictures of the dangerous route the council is expecting 11 and 12-year-old children to walk.

"This is a route along busy roads with very few crossings and a need to traverse dark underpasses."

The council claims the changes have been put forward because Burton Borough is under strain due to an increase in housing developments in Newport.

Dozens of parents turned out to the Donnington and Muxton Parish Council meeting in December to voice their concerns over the plans, where they were told by officers that the route would be reassessed.

But Lesley says there are still problems.

She said: "Council guidelines in making the assessment assume the child will have an adult walking with them.

"Who in this day and age has the luxury of spending three hours each day, the walk is 45 minutes each way, to walk their kids to school?

"Most of us are working parents."

The council says over the last few years many Telford and Wrekin schools had been rebuilt or remodelled to offer more pupil places but an increase in homes meant the authority had to look more carefully at the boundaries.

The council says parents could still chose to send pupils to Burton Borough School, but it would no longer have a statutory requirement to provide transport for pupils, and because it is within three miles of the Priory school, the council would have no requirement to provide transport there.

Currently it provides four buses at a cost of £40,000 each, so the change would mean a substantial saving for the council. The authority has already cut its budget by £80 million since 2010, but council bosses expect to have to find nearly £50 million more in savings by 2020.

The changes would be put in place in September 2018. Parents can have their say on the proposals by visiting www.telford.gov.uk/schoolcatchmentareas.