More than 20 families remain without Sheppey school places after reallocation day

More than 20 children are still facing the prospect of having to travel around 30 miles to school.

The Sheppey families who want their children to go to Island secondary schools will now have to wait until June to get a final answer after missing out for a second time after new spaces were reallocated.

They had hoped they would be offered a place at either the Leigh Academy Minster or EKC Sheppey Secondary on reallocation day on Monday, April 28.

But it is understood 22 children remain without a spot.

That number has fallen by more than half since allocation day on March 3, when 56 families were without places.

Some told KentOnline how they were “raging” that their children were allocated The Abbey School in Faversham, which is a 40-minute drive from the east of Sheppey, where some of the families are located.

The east of the Island has limited transport links, with the nearest railway station being in Sheerness – a 20-minute drive away – which connects to the mainland via Sittingbourne. Sheppey is also one of the poorest areas in the country, according to the government’s latest deprivation research.

Kent County Council (KCC) announced two weeks later that 30 new places were being opened at Leigh Academy Minster, the former Oasis Academy.

But it still left around 26 children without a Sheppey secondary.

The families met on April 9 at Warden Village Hall to discuss their options, with some saying that they will have to hire out halls and pay tutors to teach their children.

This reality is setting in for some parents following reallocation day, with some now on waiting lists for the Sheppey schools.

Minster parents Chanttel Norgate, 40, and Barney McCoy, 48, told KentOnline their daughter Ivy-Rose McCoy is now 14th on a waiting list for the Leigh Academy Minster.

The family live in Chequers Road just a stone’s throw away from the school but were given a place at The Abbey.

They both work full-time and would not be able to take Ivy-Rose to Faversham.

After being told her daughter had not been reallocated, Ms Carrington said: “We are all still upset and do not know what is going to happen.

“It has been on our minds 24/7 and has taken over our lives. But it is out of my hands now, and we are waiting for June for the result of our appeal. So it’s a waiting game.

“We want her to have a normal school life and not be home 24/7, but we can’t send her to school on a train as we fear for her safety.

“We are now waiting for the result of the appeal, which will come in June.”

Meanwhile, mum-of-three Lee-Anne Moore, who represents Swale council for Sheppey East and is chairman of Leysdown Parish Council, believes she and the other parents will be forced to homeschool their children.

Her 10-year-old was also given a place at The Abbey, but she says it would be “impossible” to get her daughter there.

She said: “It has been an absolute nightmare.

“It is looking like home education, as you can’t have the kids travel that far away. It is impossible.

“We have to wait until around June for the appeal but there are no spaces so I cannot see it, unless something drastically changes, that the situation is going to get any better.

“We have been put on a waiting list, but I have not been told where we are on that list.

“With more homes being built here, the problem is only going to be worse next year, as I am not aware of any plans for new school provisions.”

Kent County Council says it is aware of a “small number” of families across the county whose places have not been finalised yet.

A spokeswoman said: “But more offers will be made over the next few months as people accept or refuse extra offers made through appeals, or from waiting lists.

“Legally, KCC cannot tell schools what admissions decisions they should make.

“This year, KCC automatically enrolled parents on any waiting list they were eligible for, however, we would also encourage those families who only named one, or in some cases none of the schools on the Island, to now approach those schools to join their waiting lists.”