East Dulwich Conservatives know that primary school places are a pressing issue for local parents – it is a London-wide problem affecting many boroughs, not just Southwark.Unfortunately, the council’s ability to attract government funding has been severely limited as East Dulwich is the only part of Southwark suffering from this acute shortage of places.

Kemi Adegoke, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Dulwich and West Norwood, is committed to ensuring that all children in Southwark, including those in East Dulwich, get the chance to go to a good school within a reasonable distance.

Conservative councillors have supported temporary class expansion in some primary schools in the area and will continue to give help and advice to local parents.. However, these “bulge classes” are only a short-term solution.

“As a primary school governor,I have seen first hand the stress that parents suffer when their young children are placed in schools that they have not chosen”.

Kemi has had informal talks with other potential providers, discussing alternative funding options and the possibility of overcoming the difficulty of finding potential sites for primary schools in this inner-London borough. This is an issue that can only be solved in the medium to long-term, especially as the Labour government has announced £2 billion pounds worth of cuts from schools.

If Kemi becomes the next MP for Dulwich & West Norwood after the next general election, East Dulwich can expect action on school places and not just words to find a non-partisan solution for our children’s future.

To find out more about what local Conservatives are doing to help parents in this area, please visit our website: www.dwnconservatives.com

NOTE: on 12^th October, the Southwark Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be looking at this important issue. We welcome this move and hope that as many people as possible will be able to attend.

Picture of Kemi in front of Goodrich Community Primary School, one of the schools that has had to expand temporarily)

Only Conservatives Believe in Choice

The current national educational system is slow and unresponsive to parents’ needs. Local Conservatives are committed to a flexible education system that serves parents and pupils and not the government. Our national policy on schools is to:<

• Build hundreds of good new schools within the state system;
• Move the balance of power away from national and local government and towards parents;
• Remove the obstacles which prevent new schools being established.

We believe in choice for parents and support all bodies – voluntary, public and private – that want to set up good schools for our children. A great example being the Harris Federation of Academies in South London which was set up by local businessman Lord Harris of Peckham.

Your East Dulwich Action Team is committed to campaigning for the best local education possible. We are pleased that the construction of the Harris Academy building is advancing, representing significant investment in our local young boys.