Poor families to lose out on best primary school places

Teach First has warned the most disadvantaged families are likely to lose out on places at the best primary schools in England.

Analysis from Teach First suggests the poorest families will have less than half the chance of the wealthiest of sending their child to a top-rated school. It also claims that children from poorer families are four times more likely to be at weaker schools.

The news comes as councils say they will need 336,000 more places by 2024, with some council leaders saying the scramble for places at good schools is becoming more intensified as the crunch in school provision intensifies.

Teach First’s study involved examining data on Ofsted rankings for all schools in England and mapping the figures against areas with the poorest children. The report found that schools serving poorer communities are less likely to be rated good or outstanding as they face more challenges because of the nature of their pupils.

The study comes as local authorities in charge of school admissions have informed parents what school their child will attend. The Local Government Association (LGA) has said it had created an extra 300,000 primary places since 2010, which had been achieved with the 85 per cent of primary schools that are council-maintained.

The extra places have been created by converting non-classroom areas, increasing class sizes and diverting money away from vital school repair programmes.

Commenting on the figures, Teach First’s CEO Brett Wigdortz said, “Every parent wants the best for their child, but as the costs of housing have soared over the years, parents from low-income backgrounds face an unequal choice to ensure that their children’s school offers what’s best for them. Outstanding schools are unfairly concentrated in areas of wealth.

“We know that primary teachers up and down the country are doing an incredible job of supporting their pupils from day one, by sparking their creativity and imaginations. But for children from poorer backgrounds, there are still challenges that must not be ignored.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: "Despite rising pupil numbers, 95.9 per cent of parents in England received an offer at one of their top three preferred primary schools in 2015. Our White Paper reforms will ensure we continue to spread excellence everywhere by putting control in the hands of the teachers and school leaders who know their pupils best, alongside new measures to more swiftly tackle failing and coasting schools.

He added: "As well as this we are backing schemes like Teach First and the National Teaching Service to get great teachers where they are most needed."