Redbridge children under eight could have two-mile journey to school after controversial rule change

Redbridge’s Admissions Arrangements previously stated the council would “make every effort” to place children of “infant age” at a school within 1.5 miles of their home.

After a cabinet meeting on February 11, the arrangements now state the council “will make every effort to offer a child below the age of 8 a place within a distance of two miles”.

In an online consultation, more than half of those who responded said they “strongly disagreed” with the change.

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One parent said: “The rules on walking distance were devised in an era when few families had cars, fewer mothers worked, unaccompanied walking was safe for children, and in rural settings, many had to walk to school to another village.

“The rules are now being retrieved from the museum shelf by a London borough, where there should be school places near pupils' homes.

“This rule unfairly impacts working mothers, and poorer families, often single parents, without cars.

“The problem is that there aren't enough places in Wanstead and Chadwell, but there are more than enough further towards the centre.”

Another responder said: “Asking a child to walk this distance (possibly unsupervised) is unacceptable.

“With increases in crime in the area making children walk even further to school could put them at further risk.”

Another added: “Two miles is a very long way for little legs to walk. More likely the journey will involve private transport adding to the traffic issues the borough suffers from.”

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Children over the age of eight could be expected to travel up to three miles to school, which one responder claimed would “mean an hour’s walk in the dark” during winter and “would prevent most extra curricular activities, which is vitally important to a child's social development”.

The council also chose to amend its definition of “reasonable travel time” for primary school children to include journeys of up to five miles, if taken by bus, Tube or train.

Responders opposing this change highlighted the “very mediocre transport links within the borough” and government statutory guidance recommending primary school students shouldn’t travel more than 45 minutes to school.

One said: “This feels like an excuse to send children further afield because there aren't enough local school classrooms to support a child within Redbridge.”

In a report presented to cabinet, the council explained it was making the change in order to align with the statutory guidance for local authorities.

The report adds: “The local authority will continue to allocate places whenever possible to the nearest school to the applicant's home address with a vacancy.

“This decision does not limit allocations being made, when they are available, under a two mile distance to children under eight years of age.”

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