I have been visiting a number of primary schools in recent weeks, and apart from my admiration for the teachers (my mother was a primary school teacher so I am unashamedly biased in their favour) there is one overwhelming thought that has occurred.
This is the looming absence of children to take up school places. Whether in the centre of Ashford or in the village schools, the smallest class is often the reception class. While this is often a boon for the children involved, it means problems are looming in the future.
The reason for this is that we already know that how many babies are being born, and the relatively low number that are already showing up in primary schools is a pattern that is being repeated for future years as well.
Some of this is caused by the national, and indeed international, fall in birth rates. Women for many years now have been having babies later and having fewer of them. There are also specific local factors which affect out schools.
The planning assumption has been that housing numbers would continue to grow relatively fast in Ashford, which would more than make up for the declining birth rate. So every new major development, such as Finberry or Chilmington Green, would need a new primary school.
We all like to see new schools built alongside the houses, not least because it allows more parents to walk their children to school. But at a time like this there can be knock-on effects on existing schools, which at the extreme can mean that there are not enough children to fill the schools, with damaging financial effects on the system.
These spells happen and they are no one’s fault. I have known periods when there is an unexpectedly high number of primary age children and parents are scrambling for places. But if anyone reading this is contemplating starting a family, now is a good time!