Parents in Haringey were aghast after hearing news that of 2,832 applications for places at primary schools, some 156 children, 84 of whom are Haringey residents, have received no offer at all of a place from any of the schools to which they applied. Most worrying of all, it appears that there are still many families who have yet to make an application.

The news comes after Lib Dem councillor Gail Engert requested the latest figures on applications from Haringey Council’s Children’s Service. The gap between applications and places looks set to worsen, as the Council explained: “We will receive many – perhaps several hundred – late applications between now and September, partly from out-borough residents whose authorities work on a later timetable, partly from new arrivals and partly from those who simply neglected to apply.”

Councillor Gail Engert, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education, comments:

“We voiced serious concerns over the shortfall of reception places in local primary schools in each of the last two years, and yet Haringey’s Children’s Service has still not taken enough action to address the problem properly. The possibility of yet more applications means that the figures we have at the moment are a best-case scenario in all likelihood, the problem will get worse. One of the most important tasks a local authority has is the provision of education, and it is clear that the Labour-led Haringey Council is just not up to the task. Our children deserve better.”