No spot at nursery for West Lothian youngster after council mix-up

Feb 4 2010 By Marjorie Kerr

A YOUNG mum claims her son has missed out on a nursery place because of a council mix-up.

Emma Wilson had applied to send her three-year-old son Corey Murphy to nursery at nearby Letham Primary School in Livingston, where he would join sister Sophie, who is in primary three.

But Emma (26), claims she was told on three occasions by school staff that her paperwork had been lost.

She then sent partner Stuart Murphy to the council’s education headquarters in Bathgate and he was told a form had been received for Corey, but Emma had written down his date-of-birth wrongly.

Emma, from Craigshill, says she is furious that nobody thought to pick up the phone to tell her about her mistake, which could have been quickly rectified.

And she says being passed from pillar to post since she submitted Corey’s paperwork has meant the tot has missed out on a place at Letham until August.

She said: “I was told to send Corey to nursery at Riverside Primary, but my daughter goes to Letham and I need to take her there so how can I be in two places at once?

“I can’t believe they could lose paperwork three times. Apart from that, my partner was eventually told there was a form for Corey but his date-of-birth was wrong. If they knew that, why couldn’t they have just picked up the phone to tell me?

“I need to get him a place at nursery because I have another young child and I have no time to myself just now.

“Corey keeps asking why he can’t go in when we walk past Letham and he’s crying, saying he wants to go with his sister, so it’s really hard.”

A West Lothian Council spokesman defended the authority’s actions and said the application was received too late.

He said: “We did not receive the family’s application form until December 18, by which time all the places at Letham Nursery had been allocated.

“Whilst we sympathise with the family’s situation, the nursery is full and it would be unfair to take away a place from another family who have already been told their child can go to Letham.

“Although the date-of-birth had been filled in incorrectly, this did not make any difference in this instance, as Letham was already full when the form was received.

“They have been placed on the waiting list and we will contact the family if a place becomes available.”