PRESS RELEASE
Don’t Squeeze Kings Heath Primary School will be holding a playground protest on Wednesday 16th June. Children, parents and carers will be putting on their football gear and showing the red card to Council’s proposal to build 8 class rooms on their playground.
Birmingham City Council is seeking to increase the population of Kings Heath Primary School by an additional 210 pupils. It is intending to do this by building a two-storey block on the infant playground. The school was built for 420 children; these proposals would double that number on the same size site. On the Council’s own figures the school is already in the top 5% most over crowded in the City. The Council now proposes removing much needed play space without any additional facilities or enhancement. Their own feasibility document acknowledges that ‘the proposed site is tightly planned and the extension reduces the play area significantly’. It accepts that it is undermining communal provision stating that ‘No additional hall provision has been included within the proposal and a shortfall in hall provision of 110sqm has been identified’. It also recognises that the current internal layout of the school is problematic and requires reconfiguration if the school is going to accommodate adequately the existing population, which includes children with special and additional needs.
Clare Bell, mum of three, says: “We fully appreciate the need to find school places for all children in Birmingham. But we strongly believe that it is no more in the interests of the additional 210 pupils than those in the current three-form intake to squeeze more children onto an already cramped site.
Parents, governors and staff are united in their opposition to the proposal. Don’t Squeeze Kings Heath Primary School (KPHS) is calling on the Council to kick out the proposal. The Council argument is that the school should accommodate 210 more children because it is popular and in the right location. However parents counteract this, pointing out that leaving the school team to manage a school that is not fit for purpose, with so little play space that the children would have to go to neighbouring schools for games is hardly a recipe for continuing popularity and quality staff retention.
Rezvana Shaheen mum of three says: “It is because we have excellent Teachers, a hugely supportive Senior Management Team that engages with children, parents and stakeholders that currently means we make the current site just about workable – any additional numbers will put this at risk.”
Don’t Squeeze KHPS understands the pressures that there are on school places but finds it difficult to understand why the children of Kings Heath Primary are to be put at risk when there are neighbouring one-form entry schools with much greater space that are not being considered for expansion
Lisa Trickett, mum of two, says: “Surely it makes more sense and is much more cost effective to make unpopular schools with capacity popular by investing in teachers and providing support than scoring an own goal by putting extra places into our already overcrowded school with no additional capacity. Over a 1000 parents, carers and stakeholders have signed our petition to date – surely the Council cannot ignore such overwhelming public opinion. I am sure we all would be happy to work with the Council and support it to find additional places but clearly we cannot support any proposal that takes away from any child, at any school, the right to play and safe space.”
To hear more about the campaign or event go to www.dontsquezzeKHPS.wordpress.com, call; Don’t Squeeze KHPS on 07970901903 or just turn up on the day – event kicks off at 8am with the red card being shown at 8.40.
