Youth Climate Summit 2020
05 November 2020
A virtual national youth climate summit involving pupils from Reading is taking place next week.
Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) is one of the organisations supporting the event which aims to bring children and young people together from across the UK to demonstrate their commitment to tackling climate change.
The summit, starting on Monday 9 November, will run over five days with each day focusing on a different theme.
Topics will include nature, oceans and water; travel, pollution and waste; food, farming and forests, and fashion and consumption.
Prof Dr Kate Reynolds, Director of Education at BFfC, said: “We are proud to be supporting the Youth Climate Summit which is a brilliant way of bringing children and young people together from across the country to discuss this important issue.
“Brighter Futures for Children is also committed to working with Headteachers to help them engage pupils in this vital topic in their schools.”
Cllr Ashley Pearce, Lead Councillor for Education, said: “The climate and ecological emergency facing the world is something many children and young people in Reading feel passionately about. I hope this summit helps unify the voices of young people across the UK to ensure their message is heard loud and clear.
“This week the council approved the Reading Climate Emergency Strategy 2020-25 and we need the support of the whole Reading community to help meet the ambitious targets set for the town.”
The Youth Climate Summit is co-ordinated by environmental charity Global Action Plan and more information about the week of webinars and activities can be found at: https://www.transform-our-world.org/youth-climate-summit-2020.
The summit coincides with Reading Climate Festival which is hosting many free events, including some aimed at Reading’s education community. Find more details at: http://www.readingculturelive.co.uk/genre/reading-climate-festival-genre/.
Equality - A poem by a young person in care
Equality we all want it but do we really want to live in a world that is forced upon us. Do we really want to live on a planet that has more segregation than a pizza but each slice bigger than the other, more powerful, bigger ego, higher pay?
I have a feeling many people don’t understand the meaning of fair, white girls complaining ‘’how is it you have better hair than us?’’
Athletes all constantly complaining ‘’ its unfair black people are faster’’
Fair is however not everyone getting the same, it is everybody getting what they need in order to succeed.
To be honest our modern society is like a car dealership, whatever car we like we are judged for it but with 0% APR no money down, we are forced to drive these cars for the rest of our lives. But why is it when I drive my car no one would ever mistake me for my car but when I drive my body people always confuse me for my body not me.
You see when a baby hears the cry of another it cries no matter the race, gender or religion but when we grow older we force feed the labels, black, white, African, Irish but the thing is we never doubt them. You know I am so proud to be a mixed race child, it means two races have come together. This maybe an unpopular opinion but I do believe its too late. We’ve reached an era where people are too stubborn to do what others ask of them.
The thing that worries me most is teachers, the comments I hear everyday and I know they hear the racist slurs but they do nothing about it, but when I speak up to say something all they gotta say is sorry or it was a joke and then its all sorted but it isn’t really because the next day it will continue and so forth.
We never asked for this we never did anything to deserve this, in fact my people lived and died working and serving for you but I will never let that be me, I will never allow someone with no greater features than me control me. Never.
So the next time you judge someone on their nationality or race, think would you even stare at a black piece of paper like that?
The only thing we should separate by colour is washing not people.
National Thank a Teacher Day
A national day to celebrate teachers is taking place on Wednesday 20 May and Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) is encouraging as many people as possible to join in.
Teachers have been going above and beyond the call of duty throughout the coronavirus outbreak and deserve recognition for their hard work.
The closure of schools to most pupils due to Covid-19 has certainly not allowed teachers to take a break.
BFfC has been swamped with stories of amazing ways teachers have been keeping their pupils and families engaged during lockdown and helping the community in many amazing ways.
Prof Dr Kate Reynolds, Director of Education at BFfC, said: “The coronavirus crisis has been a challenging time for teachers, pupils and families as they have had to quickly adapt to learning in a completely different way.
“As well as providing education for children of key workers and vulnerable children, teachers have been supporting their pupils and parents with home learning in a variety of creative and innovative ways. Many staff also gave up their Easter break and volunteered to go into school so critical workers could continue their vital jobs.
“There are further challenges ahead with the planned opening of schools to more pupils so now is an ideal time to show our appreciation for the teaching profession.
“On behalf of BFfC, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all teaching staff in Reading who have stepped up and done a remarkable job when their children and families have needed them most.”
Among the many fabulous examples of good news stories coming from schools in Reading are:
- Staff making life-saving protective equipment for NHS workers
- Daily live interacive story telling sessions for young pupils on Facebook
- A virtual phonics lesson with the teacher utilising her dishwasher as a blackboard
- Staff raising hundreds of pounds to buy gifts for nurses at the Royal Berkshire Hospital
- A school team providing food, clothing, toys etc for struggling families in the community
- Teachers and children creating colourful pictures to decorate the ICU at the RBH
- Children and teachers making banners and posters outside their schools to thank the NHS
- Lottie the school dog recording a video message for pupils at home
- School staff creating collages to send messages to their pupils
- Teachers featuring in music videos to keep spirits high among children and parents
All of this on top of the support they have been giving to parents and children learning at home.
Cllr Ashley Pearce, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Education, said: “Wednesday is national Thank a Teacher day, where I hope we can all take a moment to appreciate the work of our hard-working education professionals.
“The last few months have been incredibly tough for young people with great upheaval, change and uncertainty. But throughout all of this, their teachers have been there to support them, the mediums may have changed but the care and dedication has never waned.
“I have been humbled by how teachers have adapted to this new world and risen to the challenge. There have been so many wonderfully creative ways that teachers have engaged with their students both in and out of schools. I've seen vegetable gardens, Top Trumps for pets, plays acted out, alien profiling and baking competitions amongst many, many other fantastic activities to keep students learning but more importantly, ensuring that they still feel part of their school’s family.
“Above all else this is what our teachers do, they provide reassurance, safety and care for our young people, and for this I am very, very grateful. So, thank you teachers, today and every day.”
National Thank a Teacher Day is a great opportunity for children, parents and carers to show their appreciation for their teachers.
Children are being encouraged to send their message of thanks on Wednesday 20 May by recording a short video clip, singing a song, drawing a picture or through any other medium they wish. There are plenty of ideas on the national website at: https://thankateacher.co.uk/thank-a-teacher-day/.
If you are using social media, remember to use @UKThankaTeacher on twitter and ThankaTeacherUK on Facebook.
You can also share you message with us at @BFfC_Child on twitter and at @BFfCChild on Facebook.
During Foster Care Fortnight, picture life as a foster family in Reading
A campaign to keep Reading’s children in care in Reading is being stepped up during Foster Care Fortnight (11-24 May).
There are more than 270 children and young people in care in Reading, but many have to be placed outside their home areas due to a shortage of local carers.
Brighter Futures for Children's (BFfC) Independent Fostering Agency is embarking on a big push to increase the number of foster carers in Reading to keep children near their friends and family.
Foster Care Fortnight is an annual national campaign to raise awareness of fostering and to celebrate the work foster carers do to transform the lives of children and young people.
Antony Kildare, Managing Director of Brighter Futures for Children, said:
"Foster carers do an amazing job and I would like to thank them for making such a positive difference to the lives of children and young people in Reading.
"I would urge anyone in Reading who has ever considered being a foster carer to get in contact with us because we need more people to look after our children locally.
"People’s circumstances may have changed in recent weeks due to the current situation and now might be the right time to think of a change in direction - fostering is a wonderful opportunity.
"As well as being a rewarding role, our foster carers receive a great package of training and support and become part of a fantastic network of fellow carers.”
Children and young people should ideally be looked after close to their home, where it is safe to do so, as this allows them to be close to their friends and have contact with their family. This instils a sense of belonging, minimises disruption to their lives and helps them to feel rooted in Reading.
Biri Yaya, BFfC’s Independent Fostering Agency’s Service Manager, said:
"At the moment, we have no choice but to place a lot of children outside of Reading as we do not have a big enough pool of foster carers locally.
"This means we are having to move our children away from their friends, their schools and everything they know.
"That is why, throughout the fortnight, Brighter Futures for Children IFA will be asking people to ‘Picture This’ and imagine life as a foster family. As the general public are currently following government guidelines and socially distancing, we are spreading the word virtually as wide as we can across Reading.”
A virtual information evening is being held on Microsoft Teams between 6-7pm on Thursday 14 May and anyone who is interested can email foster@brighterfuturesforchildren.org to be sent details.
There is also a Facebook Live Q&A on Friday 22 May, from 11.30am, where visitors can chat to the fostering team on the Brighter Futures for Children Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BFfCChild/). You can also follow us on social media to hear stories from our foster carers, children in care, foster siblings, care leavers and more.
A fresh new fostering website has just been launched with lots of information, stories and FAQs at www.readingfostering.co.uk. You can also call (0118) 469 3020 or email foster@brighterfuturesforchildren.org to find out more about fostering in Reading.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Brighter Futures for Children owns the IFA, which operates in the same independent, not-for-profit way as Brighter Futures for Children does in relation to its owner, Reading Borough Council.
Brighter Futures for Children took over responsibility for the delivery of children’s services, including children’s social care, early help and education services (including SEND) in December 2018 and the fostering service from March 2019.
Brighter Futures for Children IFA was rated ‘Requires Improvement to be Good’ by Ofsted in March 2020.
CASE STUDY
Marion’s Story
Marion had long harboured a dream of being a foster carer and the single mum decided to go for it when she was satisfied her two daughters were ready.
She said: “I had to wait until the right time. That point was reached when I felt that my two daughters were old enough to have a proper say in the decision, fully able to understand what was involved, and ready to share their home – and to share me.
“When I did ask them, they were all for it… and it turned out to be one of the best things I have ever done - for them as well as myself.”
Marion’s fostering career began eight years ago, when her children were 13 and 19, and she has never looked back.
She would encourage anyone else thinking of becoming a foster carer to do so.
Marion said: “You may have some concerns about certain aspects and perhaps around how you will cope, but Reading provides lots of training courses to give you the tools you need to deal with the situations that crop up. You can reach out to your Supervising Social Worker, and there is a very good network of foster carers there to give you their advice too.
“It has been one of the best things I’ve ever done – my own daughters have been hugely supportive all the way through, it’s given them a sense of achievement… and I know that they are more understanding people as a result.
“On top of that you know you are making a huge difference to a young child’s life and helping to equip them for what lies ahead.”
More than 95% get top three choice for primary school places in Reading
More than 83% of parents got their first choice for their children’s primary school places in Reading this year, despite an increase in 160 applications compared to last year.
Brighter Futures for Children, which delivers education services in Reading, has made sure all primary school pupils in the borough have a place for September. Of these, 83.44% (1,753 pupils) got their first choice and just 3.33% (70 pupils) were offered a divert option.
The number of applications for places at Reading’s primary schools has increased, up from 1,882 in 2019 to 2,042 this year.
A total of 2,140 places were available on National Offer Day (16 April) in Reading primary schools. The remaining places (160) are held for late applications and transfers during the academic year.
This year, a new Primary School Green Park Village Academy is opening in Green Park, which may account for the increase in applications.
For those who couldn’t be offer a place, a divert school has been offered. All divert schools are considered to be within a reasonable distance of the child’s home address. This accounts for 3% of applications.
Late applications have still to be processed.
In addition, there were 150 pupils who needed an infant to junior school transfer. Reading has only two schools for which this transfer is necessary. 98.67% of Reading residents’ on-time applications received their first preference. There were two pupils who were not offered a place at their preferred school but they are not attending an infant school. Late applications for these, too, still have to be processed.
Prof Dr Kate Reynolds, Director of Education at Brighter Futures for Children, said:
'It's no surprise to us that there has been an increase in applications for Reading's primary schools this year. Parents are very happy with the very impressive education their children receive in the borough and we are working closely with all schools to maintain and further improve standards all the time.
'I'd like to personally thank all primary school staff for their continued commitment to making Reading such a popular choice and I'd also like to thank the education team at Brighter Futures for Children for working so hard to ensure so many families got their preferred choices and that every child in the borough has been offered a place. I wish all children starting at primary school this year all the very best for the future.’
Cllr Ashley Pearce, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Member for Education, said: ‘It's great to see more parents choosing Reading's primary schools and over 95% getting one of their top 3 choices. Welcome to Green Park Village Academy as the newest member of our primary family here in Reading.
‘I'd also like to take this opportunity to extend thanks to all of our schools in Reading for all that they've done to keep the children of key workers and vulnerable children safe and in school, keeping home learning going so well, and still managing to help us with the admissions process. We continue to be grateful for all education staff going above and beyond every day.’
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| Number of applicants | 2042 | 1882 | 2102 | 2254 |
| Percentage of 1st Preference offers | 83.44% | 87.35% | 84.02% | 77.50% |
| Percentage of Second Preference offers | 8.85% | 6.75% | 8.80% | 10.10% |
| Percentage of Third Preference offers | 2.76% | 2.66% | 2.47% | 3.81% |
| Percentage of Fourth Preference offers | 1.19% | 0.85% | 1.05% | 2.17% |
| Percentage of pupils offered a divert | 3.33% | 1.19% | 3.62% | 6.20% |
| Percentage of pupils allocated to other LA schools | 10.63% | 11.16% | 9.61% | 9.79% |
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| Number of pupils offered first preference | 1753 | 1644 | 1767 | 1751 |
| Number of pupils offered second preference | 186 | 127 | 185 | 228 |
| Number of pupils offered third preference | 58 | 50 | 52 | 87 |
| Number of pupils offered fourth preference | 25 | 16 | 22 | 49 |
| Number of pupils offered a divert | 70 | 36 | 76 | 139 |
| Number of pupils allocated other LA Schools | 217 | 210 | 202 | 222 |
| Number of places in Reading schools allocated to children in another LA | 41 | 43 | 30 | 37 |
New Chair announced for Brighter Futures for Children
BRIGHTER Futures for Children (BFfC) has announced the appointment of its new Board Chair. The company provides Reading’s education, early help and children’s services.
Di Smith, who has worked in the children and education sector for more than 40 years, has taken on the role from 1 April following her appointment by the Department for Education.
She takes over from Deborah Jenkins MBE who helped in the creation of BFfC and played a significant role in the considerable improvements achieved over the last two years.
Ms Smith has been Independent Chair of the Children’s Services Improvement Board in Reading and has supported the progress that has been made since 2016.
She has been a Director of Children’s Services in four different areas and has provided improvement support in several local authorities.
Ms Smith has also worked in residential care, been a head teacher, Ofsted inspector and chair of governors and held senior leadership positions in six local authorities.
She also holds a number of other positions including that of Independent Chair/Scrutineer of Croydon’s Safeguarding Children’s Partnership, Safeguarding Trustee at The Children’s Society and Independent Chair of the Safeguarding Advisory Committee for the Diocese in Europe.
Ms Smith said: "I am delighted to be the new Board Chair of Brighter Futures for Children. Over the past few weeks, I have received regular updates from the Managing Director Tony Kildare and Director of Children’s Services Deborah Glassbrook.
"I have been really inspired by what I have heard from them about staff commitment, adaptability, focus and care. These are extraordinary times and I feel proud to be joining an organisation that has such a dedicated, caring and committed workforce."
Derborah Jenkins is leaving the role after becoming chair in March 2018 and playing a key role in helping Reading’s Children’s Services achieve its improved Ofsted rating in October last year.
Ms Jenkins said: “It has been a huge pleasure to work in Reading for the last two years, and to play a part in building Brighter Futures for Children.
“I would like to thank everyone I have worked with in Reading for their hard work, commitment and dedication to transforming the quality of children’s services in the borough.
“I am confident, with the excellent new chair Di Smith in place, BFfC has the talent and skills to create some of the best services in the country for the children and young people of Reading.”
Antony Kildare, Managing Director of Brighter Futures for Children, said: “We are all indebted to Deborah Jenkins for taking us on this improvement journey and firmly putting us in the positive place we are today.
“I am delighted that Di Smith is joining us as our new Chair after working with us in Reading for some time.
"She brings a huge amount of experience to the BFfC board and I am sure she willl have a great influence on our ongoing drive to deliver the best possible services for children and young people in Reading.”
Cllr Liz Terry, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Children’s Services, said: “I welcome the appointment of Di Smith as Chair of the Brighter Futures for Children Board. She has a wealth of experience working in the children sector and I am sure she will be a great asset to the company.
“I would also like to thank Deborah Jenkins for her work during her two years as Chair during which time there have been ongoing improvements to children’s services in Reading.”
Notes to Editors
Brighter Futures for Children is an independent not-for-profit company, wholly owned by Reading Borough Council, established in December 2018 to deliver education early help and children’s services for Reading.
The company operated as a shadow company for some months before while services were still being run by Reading Borough Council.
BFfC successfully brought children’s services out of its 'inadequate’ Ofsted rating in October 2019 when it was judged as ‘requires improvement to be good’.
Former foster carers urged to return during coronavirus crisis
Brighter Futures for Children, which delivers children’s services in Reading, is putting out a call to former foster carers in the borough to re-register amid concerns the coronavirus epidemic could lead to a shortage of adult carers to look after vulnerable children.
Existing foster carers with Brighter Futures for Children’s Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) are also being asking if they would consider looking after more children than usual during this difficult period.
The appeal for help is in response to national concerns, shared by Brighter Futures for Children, that children and young people spending more time in unstable family situations, due to Covid-19 measures, may need to come into care.
Also, some existing foster carers, including family and friends carers, may become ill or need to self-isolate and be unable to look after their foster children.
The aim is to try to widen its foster care network across the board.
The IFA is writing to all former foster carers who have given up fostering in the last two years to ask if they would consider returning. These are carers who may have been registered with Brighter Futures for Children’s IFA or with Reading Borough Council before that. The service was transferred to Brighter Futures for Children in March 2019 and became an IFA at that time.
Re-registering would be carried out as quickly as possible and a great support network is on offer to all foster carers.
The service is also keen to hear from anyone who is interested in finding out more about becoming a foster carer.
The Brighter Futures for Children IFA is continually improving the service offered to foster carers and the children and young people who rely on it, as demonstrated by its recently improved Ofsted rating.
Tony Kildare, Brighter Futures for Children’s Managing Director, said: “We believe we have a robust and resilient business continuity plan to see us through this period but we want to widen our foster care network across the board. We need the Reading community to help us with this.
“Our foster carers do an amazing job and we are asking if they could go even further and take on more children than usual. We would also love to welcome back any former foster carers who could offer their help in these difficult times.
“Brighter Futures for Children IFA is committed to offering the best possible support to our foster carers to ensure they can continue to look after Reading children locally during this unsettling period.”
Biri Yaya, Fostering Service Manager at Brighter Futures for Children's Independent Fostering Agency said: “We are committed to ensuring that all of our children and young people across Reading are safe and well in a caring home during these tough times.
‘It’s sad but inevitable that more children will come into care over the coming weeks and months and we are planning and preparing for that and hope that we can welcome back former foster carers and encourage potential new carers.”
Former foster carers should call 0118 469 3020 or email foster@brighterfuturesforchildren.org.
Anyone interested in foster care should call 0118 469 3020 or complete the online form at: https://www.readingfostering.co.uk/
Notes to editors
In December 2018, Brighter Futures for Children was established to deliver children’s social care, early help and education on behalf of Reading Borough Council. As a company it is independent of, but wholly owned by, Reading Borough Council. Within this, Brighter Futures for Children’s Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) was established in March 2019.
Reading’s fostering service no longer inadequate
Brighter Futures for Children’s Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) has been judged ‘Requires Improvement to be Good’ by Ofsted, following its first inspection as an IFA since the company took over the fostering service in March 2019.
The judgement, which was the same in all three judgement areas, is an improvement on its previous judgement of ‘Inadequate’. It is important to note that the inspection found no serious or widespread failures that result in children’s welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.
The three judgement areas were:
- Overall experiences and progress of children and young people
- How well children and young people are helped and protected
- The effectiveness of leaders and managers.
The inspection, which took place between 10-14 February, found much that is working well, including most children’s needs being met by foster carers, who provide them with the care, stability and security they need to make progress.
The inspectors found that children benefited from the trusting relationships they built and maintained with foster carers and that most were making positive progress in education.
Foster carers had a sound understanding of risk and were supported by the IFA, which worked well in partnership with professionals to reduce risk-taking behaviour.
Inspectors found no major concerns regarding children going missing or being at risk of exploitation.
They identified that children were learning age-appropriate living skills and that, where possible, children’s placements were planned and children could meet foster carers before living with them.
Foster carers and staff knew the children and young people well, that foster carers managed contact with birth relatives and friends effectively and there were regular opportunities for children to express their views.
What inspectors found wasn’t working so well was the consistency and efficiency of management oversight, the number of children moved on from foster care, a lack of sensitivity in some recording and the IFA’s ability to demonstrate children’s contribution to improvement and design.
They found inconsistencies in record keeping, plans and other administrative and management tasks. All of the recommendations are now being addressed.
Deborah Glassbrook, Director of Children’s Services at Brighter Futures for Children, led the inspection response for the IFA, briefing inspectors and giving them full access to cases, information, staff, service users and partners, as required.
Deborah Glassbrook, Director of Children’s Services at Brighter Futures for Children, led the inspection response for the IFA, briefing inspectors and giving them full access to cases, information, staff, service users and partners, as required.
She said she recognised that the IFA, as with all Brighter Futures for Children services, was on a continuous improvement but was definitely on the right path.
“We have been responsible for the setting up and running of the IFA since March last year and we’ve come a long way in a relatively short space of time,’ she said. ‘Like other areas of children’s services, we have really picked up the pace of improvement and some of these will take more time to fully show.
‘We now have a stable, experienced management team in the Independent Fostering Agency, and we have an action plan to address all the weaknesses we already knew about and those identified in this report.
‘I think the key message for the public is that our children and young people are safe and we are working at pace to make all the other necessary improvements to deliver a quality and consistent service to our children and young people in foster care in Reading.
‘I’d like to thank staff and, in particular, our foster carers for their hard work and commitment to our children.’
Cllr Liz Terry, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Children’s Services, said: ‘We are very pleased to see that the Independent Fostering Agency is heading in the right direction.
‘The improvement in the performance of the fostering service is the result of a lot of hard work and I am glad to see this has been recognised by the Ofsted inspectors. Of course, there is still much to do and the council will continue to work with Brighter Futures for Children to drive the service towards a future ‘Good’ judgement.’
The full report can be found here
NOTE FOR EDITORS:
Brighter Futures for Children owns the IFA, which operates in the same independent, not-for-profit way as Brighter Futures for Children does in relation to its owner, Reading Borough Council.
Brighter Futures for Children took over the responsibility for the delivery of children’s services, including children’s social care, early help, education services (including SEND) in December 2018 and the fostering service from March 2019.
Reading unites against child exploitation
Making sure all children across the borough are safe is a key priority for Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC), which is working with partner organisations on a campaign to raise awareness of child exploitation.
The campaign coincides with the National Child Exploitation Awareness Day on Wednesday (18 March), which aims to highlight the issues surrounding exploitation and encourages everyone to think, spot and speak out against any abuse.
Information will be available from locations around the borough, as well as on social media, highlighting to residents the signs to spot for exploitation, with the message: ‘If you see something, say something.’
Training is being provided to staff working in children’s services at BFfC and also to Reading Borough Council, as well as to taxi drivers, who are required take a two-hour session on safeguarding children as part of their licence.
Deborah Glassbrook, Director of Children’s Services at BFfC said: “Child exploitation takes a range of different forms - criminal, physical, emotional, and sexual and involves the manipulation or coercion of young people under the age of 18.
“The job of keeping our children safe requires input from all agencies who work together all year round to prevent and protect all children and young people from any exploitation.
“But everyone has a part to play.
“It is so important to raise awareness of this and highlight all issues so if anyone has a concern about a child or young person being exploited in anyway, they know how and where to speak out.”
Employees from BFfC, the council, health services, voluntary organisations, and Thames Valley Police will also be uniting against exploitation by pledging support throughout the week and encouraging residents to pledge their support.
Join the campaign to unite against child exploitation – follow BFfC on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and #CEADay20.
For more information or if anyone has concerns about a child they suspect may be a victim of exploitation, contact BFfC's Children’s Single Point of Access on (0118) 937 3641 or email cspoa@brighterfuturesforchildren.org
ENDS
Editors notes
More details about National Child Exploitation Day and the topic of CSE can be found at http://www.nwgnetwork.org/
Record number of Reading student get first choice secondary school place
A record number of students have had an offer of their first preference for secondary school place in Reading this year.
First preference offers stand at 73% this year, compared to 64% in 2019 and 66% in 2018. This means that more than 90% of students got their first (73%), second (12%) or third (6%) choice, which is 91% overall.
The number of students not allocated any of their preferences decreased from 12.28% last year to 7.45% this year.
Reading Girls has increased in popularity again this year and the WREN School, Highdown School and Maiden Erlegh, Reading all continue to be popular choices.
Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC), which delivers education services in Reading on behalf of Reading Borough Council, has made sure all secondary school pupils in the borough have a place for September, despite fierce competition for places.
Last year on National Offer Day, there were no surplus places in Reading schools but this year, BFfC has a surplus of 92 across Reading.
‘We’ve been planning since last year to ensure more school places are available for the start of term in September,’ said Prof Dr Kate Reynolds, Director of Education at Brighter Futures for Children.
‘We have a statutory duty to provide every child who had an on-time application with a school place on National Offer Day. Due to this increased demand, Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School will create an additional class.
‘Based on parental preference, we knew we’d need more because 200 additional residents chose to apply for a Reading school place for their child last year.
‘We’d like to thank all our schools for working so hard with us and for being so accommodating. Reading secondary schools are becoming increasingly popular, which is good news,’ she added.
The surplus spaces will no doubt be taken by late applications, which come in after the closure of the second round. Currently there are 90 late applications, which means the 92 surplus spaces will go very quickly.
The percentage of pupils allocated to schools outside Reading was 29.19% this year, 26.44% 2019 28.52% 2018, 37.39% in 2017 and 34.78% in 2016.
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| Bulmershe | 85 | 81 | 69 | 107 | 78 |
| Oakbank | 46 | 40 | 58 | 59 | 50 |
| Maiden Erlegh | 32 | 30 | 26 | 30 | 28 |
| Little Heath | 136 | 106 | 117 | 156 | 131 |
| Denefield | 81 | 75 | 74 | 81 | 88 |
| Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge | 84 | 101 | 80 | 128 | 118 |
The table above includes the schools in which we place most children out of borough.
ENDS
Note to Editors:
Brighter Futures for Children began operating on December 3, 2018. We are a not-for-profit company, wholly owned but independent of Reading Borough Council. We have responsibility for the delivery of children’s services, early help, education and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) in the borough.