State Primary School Education Planning in West Ealing
There are three open entry State Primary Schools in West Ealing:
Current Capacity / Planned Cap Current Receipt Entry/ Planned Entry
Fielding 630 840 90 120
Drayton Green 216 216 30 30
Hathaway 420 420 60 60
There is also one State Primary School:
St John’s 297 420 45 60
Total 1,563 1896 225 270
WEST EALING STATE PRIMARY SCHOOLS TOTAL PLANNED RECEPTION ENTRY IN 2014: 270
Interestingly enough all four schools are located in the western half of W13.
WEN estimates that there are 32,000 people living in West Ealing. Based on 2001 census data there were around 7,500 children of ages 0 to 15 years old living in West Ealing in 2000. (There is no explicit census data on West Ealing itself or on the size of the 3/4 –11 year-old ‘Primary’ population in W13).
In the period 2004 to date around 800 new homes (mostly flats) have been built in West Ealing (such as the Lido, Sinclair House and Luminoscity) and on West Ealing borders (ie Cavalier House). On top, and at the latest count, additional homes (primarily flats) under construction along with the planned developments that WEN knows of such as around Drayton Green, and on the 10 acre Green Man Lane Estate site (over and above replacing the 456 homes there now) number around 450. Adding together the completed 800 homes and forecast 450 new ones gives a total of 1,250 new homes.
1,250 new West Ealing homes probably means 2,950 incomers of whom some 643 are likely to be children aged between 0 –15 years old. (The average home occupancy in SE England is 2.36 people/home. The number of 0 -15 years olds is extrapolated from the Cleveland Ward 2001 census date).
The projected 450 new homes will attract 1,062 incomers of which 232 will be 0 -15 year olds. So for planning purposes there will be 8,200 or so 0-15 year old children to be educated in West Ealing in five years time (the existing 7,500 children plus the anticipated 700 additional children).
Concentrating specifically on West Ealing, the 450 new homes will bring 1,062 incomers by 2014. (The average home occupancy in SE England is 2.36 people/home).
Birth rates in West Ealing are increasing. In the period 2002/3 to 2006/7 there was a rise of 17.4% in the birth rate. As most people stay in the area in which their children are born the Ealing Council quoted ‘retention’ rates are high too ie these children will attend Nursery/Reception classes in the locale in which they were born. In the three years from 2005 to 2008 the annual retention rate in Ealing was 79.1%. The estimated number of babies born every year in West Ealing in recent years is 500 – this is extrapolated from the 2001 Ealing-wide and W13 Ward census data. So based on current figures 396 four year olds (79.1% retention rate) will present themselves for Primary School entry this year – to exceed the current 225 Reception Class places at the four West Ealing State Primary Schools by 171 places.
In five years time with the West Ealing birth rate growing over this period at say (conservatively) 20% overall to 600 – 475 four year olds (79.1 retention rate) will present themselves to fill the 270 available Reception Class places at the four State Primary Schools in West Ealing. This will exceed the number of available places (270) by 205 places. (The number of incomers’ babies is derived from the annual birth rate data supplied by Ealing Council for the whole of Ealing).
Clearly more State Primary Schools need to be built in W13.
The proposed increase in capacity for Fielding up to 840 is way too high. This does not constitute human scale education .The Conservative Party themselves recently advocated class sizes of 15 maximum and at Fielding Ealing Council is proposing to double that to 30. Also the loss of playing field space is unacceptable.
Surely some creative thinking could be done at Drayton Green Primary School. The almost one acre next door at no: 51 could be purchased (CPO) and the land and the large Victorian mansion re-used to expand the school and to add to local community facilities.
St John’s School is situated in the Green Man Lane Estate – putatively the largest development site (10 acres) in West Ealing. The school could benefit from being expanded either by being re-modelled or rebuilt and re-located on the site. A very positive side benefit would be to re-model Alexandria and Felix Roads and significantly ameliorate the east/west traffic congestion and road rage along these roads.
Eric Leach
9th February, 2009