Sheppey parents have expressed their anger over their children being allocated school places more than 20 miles way
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00:00How do you feel about it all?
00:01I'm pretty upset.
00:04And why is that?
00:06Because I'm just going to be away from all my friends and that.
00:14Right, what homework have we got today?
00:18Finding a secondary school is meant to be a joyous occasion,
00:22but for this family on the Isle of Sheppey, it's turning into a nightmare.
00:26The council has offered their son a place at a school in Faversham,
00:30more than 20 miles away and off the island.
00:35It's just not suitable.
00:36I mean, there's safeguarding concerns straight away there,
00:39not only that early in the morning,
00:41but him doing that amount of travelling on his own,
00:44letting him be in an unfamiliar town that he's not even familiar with.
00:48It's just a whole shambles, to be fair.
00:51The council will have to take us to court for not sending him,
00:54and then we'll ask the judge if they feel that it's the right place for him to be.
00:59Because at the end of the day, they have to be accountable for doing it.
01:03And we can't send an 11-year-old on journeys like that every day for the next five years.
01:09Now, due to Kyle's parents' work commitments,
01:12he wouldn't be able to get a private car to Abbey School in Faversham.
01:15KCC have sent parents this journey planner.
01:19Now, if I take it from this bus stop here,
01:22it says it would take Kyle 7 hours and 42 minutes by walking,
01:26cycling 2 hours,
01:28public transport 1 hour and 37 minutes,
01:31and that would involve both trains and buses.
01:35Two new schools replaced the failing Oasis Academy
01:39after Ofsted rated it inadequate in 2022.
01:43Since then, more families have chosen to stay on the island
01:45rather than send their children to Sittingbourne,
01:48which could be behind the shortage of places.
01:51Last night, some of those affected gathered at a public meeting.
01:55Their frustration was clear.
01:57Ken County Council says 56 Sheppey families were offered places off the island.
02:19Since 60 more years, seven places have been found.
02:22But around 25 families are still waiting for a place on the island.
02:28And now they want answers.
02:30Yes, I would like to know why those numbers don't quite add up.
02:34And what's really frustrating this evening for a lot of the parents,
02:37they haven't been able to get that information out from Kent County Council.
02:41In a statement, KCC says it will make its next full round of offers on the 24th of April.
02:47Then, the school-based appeals process will begin
02:49in line with national statutory requirements.
02:53And when it comes to school transport,
02:54they say deciding who is eligible is also a statutory process
02:57and they will apply the legislation in line with every other local authority.
03:03At a meeting, parents signed an open letter demanding answers and accountability.
03:07Many said they may have to quit their jobs to home school if no solution is found.
03:12Gabriel Morris in Warden.