Frequently Asked Questions




  • Q: How are my children going to get to school – will transport be provided?
    Government guidelines stipulate that free transport must be made available to a primary aged child if their home address is more than two miles walking distance to the nearest school. A small percentage of children will have to travel further than this to their primary school and arrangements will be in place to provide home to school transport for them. In most cases where parents choose not to send their children to their local school but to a school further away they will be required to provide their own transport even if the school is more than two miles from their home. The corresponding qualifying distance for secondary pupils aged 11-16 is over three miles walking distance from their home address.

  • Q: Which school will my child be going to this September and next September (2011)?
    This September (2010) current Year 4 pupils will not transfer to middle schools but will remain in their primary schools as Year 5 pupils. Current Year 5, 6 & 7 Middle school pupils will stay at their middle schools in September 2010 as Year 6, 7 & 8 pupils – they will be the last to attend middle schools which will close in August 2011. Parents of current Year 8 pupils should have already received an offer of a Year 9 high school place for September 2010. In September 2011 the previous Year 5 pupils will again remain in their primary schools, now as Year 6 pupils. Pupils who were in middle school as Year 8 in 2010/11 will apply for a Year 9 place at the new secondary schools just as they would have done for a place at high school. Those pupils who were in Year 6 & 7 at middle school in 2010/11 will be allocated a place at a specified secondary school, now as year 7& 8 pupils. The allocated schools are shown in the table (Below). Parents always have the right to express a preference for other schools that have places available. Pupils at Christ the King are not affected by these changes, they will remain there and move up a year each September. The first new Year 7 entry to Christ the King will be September 2012.

  • Q: Why can’t the school tell me who my child’s year 5 teacher will be for September?
    Primary schools are taking part in the authority wide redeployment of staff from closing schools. This huge task is being managed by the council and, although it is well underway, will take a little longer to finish. Some primaries already know who will be joining their staff in September. If your school isn’t one of those, please be patient while we work with them to complete the redeployment process.

  • Q: How will information be communicated about the future changes?
    Regular updates on the structural changes and key building work will found on www.iwight.com, media releases and briefings and through other methods like this newsletter. Non – building related information for each school (For Example updates on staffing, uniforms etc) will be communicated by the school through its normal channels.

  • Q: Will my child’s education be disrupted by the reorganisation?
    We have decided on a transition which will minimise disruption for individual children. So no child, unless a parent chooses to change their school, will have any more transfers from one school to another than they would in the current system. Ensuring a smooth transition is essential for every child and we hope you will support and work with your schools in helping us to achieve this.

  • Q: Will uniforms be clarified?
    School uniform is a matter decided by individual governing bodies. When deciding on a uniform policy, all schools are expected to give high priority to cost considerations. No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling excluded. The cost of a uniform should not stop parents from sending their child to the school of their choice. Governing bodies should consult parents and pupils for their views and concerns before changing or deciding on a new uniform policy.

  • Q: How will the latest Government proposals on Schools wishing to become Academies work and how will it affect the Schools Reorganisation on the Island?
    In the first instance, only governing bodies of schools that have been rated outstanding by Ofsted in their most recent judgement can apply to become Academies. No Island school submitted an application to convert to an Academy by 30 June 2010 which was needed if they were to have opened as an Academy in September. So far three Island maintained schools have expressed an interest in converting to an academy, only one of which has been rated outstanding by Ofsted. Conversion to academy status will not affect the schools reorganisation on the Island to any great extent.

  • Q: Will schools have all the equipment they need to crater for the additional year group?
    Primary schools will receive the equipment needed to cater for the additional year group in a number of ways. The smaller classroom items along with curriculum consumables will be purchased by the primary schools from their year 5 pupil funding which they received in April. Many larger items will be transferred from their local middle schools during the summer holidays. Sharing key stage 2 project resources between middles and primaries during the year is another possibility that is being developed.

  • Q: Will my child have an appointed teacher in time for September?
    Redeployment of school staff, including to Primary Schools, as part of the reorganisation has been progressing successfully, A total of 181 staff have now had confirmation of being offered redeployment positions. The redeployment process is continuing and the council publishes a weekly list which includes all vacancies suitable for redeployment. We remain confident that all posts resulting from the reorganisation will be filled in time for September.

  • Q: How will certain schools manage with the larger intake of pupils as a result of the Schools Reorganisation (i.e., First Tier, Primary Schools now taking children 4 – 11)? Q: My child is being taught in a combined year group next year – how can I be ce
    After the reorganisation more children will be educated in schools of a sufficient size to ensure appropriate staffing levels and consistently good curriculum delivery. The admission numbers for primary schools are now based on form entry multiples (30 or 60). This should make it easier for schools to avoid combined year groups in the future. It will take some time, though, for this to work its way through our schools. During the transition our primary schools will continue to manage combined year groups as successfully as they have done for a number of years.

  • Q: How will the changes effect after school activities, breakfast clubs etc Q: There was a preschool and after school holiday club attached to the old school – how are the council going to ensure that they same services are provided at the new school a
    Extended school services are a strength of Isle of Wight schools and are often seen as amongst the best available nationally. The new and extending schools will be expected to continue to provide this access to extended services by maintaining and developing the current offer to meet the needs of both the pupils and the wider community.