Parents and children today made their voices heard outside the headquarters of Liverpool City Council as they protested against a schools admissions system they say is 'broken.'
The protest heard from numerous parents and children who believe they are being disadvantaged by a secondary schools system with a large number of faith schools with specific entrance requirements that leaves children missing out on their first choices and being forced to travel long distances.
The group, many of whom come from the Liverpool 8 community, are calling on the council to enter a dialogue about the problems in the system although the council has said it does not control the admission policies of 29 of the 32 secondary schools in the city. Mayor Joanne Anderson has said the system currently disadvantages black and Muslim families disproportionately.
Liverpool has the second highest proportion of faith schools in the country and while only 67% of children get their first choice of secondary school, more than 10% don't get any of their preferences at all.
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Speaking to the ECHO at today's protest, campaigner Amina Ismail said: "We are gathered here today because for 30 years there has been a broken school admissions system in this city. It's broken for multiple reasons, part of it is the academisation of schools - but we believe there are elements of the problem that our local authority can take responsibility for.
"This has happened for such a long period of time. The council haven't conducted an impact assessment of how this admissions system disadvantages kids in this city - especially if you live in a particular area.
"It feels like those of us living in areas like Liverpool 8, our voices are not being heard. There is an assumption that we will just accept poor quality education for our kids, who will have to travel long distances to get to school.
Amina added: "We want the council to enter into a dialogue about this with us and make a change. They can make the process easier for parents and call out schools who don't have easily accessible information about the admissions process. Why should the system be so convoluted and complicated - it's working against parents and children.
"If you live in L8, a large proportion of schools are faith schools, mainly Christian and Catholic. St Hilda's has a quota of just ten Muslim children admitted every year. That's from the whole L8 community - there were more than 200 applications for that school from Muslim kids. The census says we are moving away from being a faith society."
"The other issue is that if you are affluent and need to relocate to be closer to a certain school then you can afford to do that. Many people in our community don't have that option. If you live in L8 - the schools on our doorstep, our kids don't have access to."
The mum said another big issue is that hundreds of children from outside of Liverpool are being given their choices while hundreds who live in in the city miss out. She said: "It's time for them to look at their policies and to put people who live in Liverpool first."
Speaking about her personal experiences, she added: "I went through this myself as a child. My parents applied for Archbishop Blanch and I didn't get in. I had to go to a school much further away, Holly Lodge. So that happens and I parked it and hoped that when I had my own child they would not be similarly affected by that same system.
"Now I've gone through it with my own child. I applied for five schools and he didn't get into any, instead he's been given a school in Old Swan. I don't want my child to go there, there is no direct transport route. He was devastated. I'm his mum, it's my job to make sure he is safe and that is why I'm doing this now.
"It is a faith issue if you are not Christian or Catholic - or atheist or agnostic. It is also a class issue if you live in an area where people won't hear what you say. If you are working class, the system is against you."
A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said: “We appreciate the frustration of parents who have not been able to get their child into a school of their choice. However, Liverpool City Council does not control the admission policies of 29 of the 32 secondary schools in the city because the vast majority are faith schools and Academies. We are working hard to increase the number of places across the city to further parental choice.”
Mayor Anderson has been active on this issue, writing to Schools Minister Nick Gibb. In her letter she said: "Out of 32 secondary schools, the LA (local authority) is the admissions authority for only three. This means that the application of a community-based admissions policy is minimal in the city and affecting many local communities. The Muslim community is significantly adversely affected.
"Despite many parents and lobby groups continually looking to the me and the council to address these matters, as your government well knows, we are impotent to do anything. Local authorities are pummelled for something over which they have no power or control yet carry responsibility."
Writing to parents, she added: "Year after year we have too many children being offered a school place that was not one of their preferences. We know that there is a bigger impact on black and Muslim children in Liverpool 8, and the surrounding areas of L7 and L15. This is not acceptable. Throughout the two years of my term, we have done everything we can to change this. Ultimately – we need to see change from the schools, or from government."
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