780874 - Appendix 5

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Appendix 5 
St Joseph’s Primary School Focus Groups 
Both focus groups were undertaken by Tina Sartain on 24th April 2023 with Head Teacher, Michelle
Collins, observing. 
1. Pupil Focus Group – 5 x P6 pupils
Q1. Do you know about a consultation to change the boundary of your school catchment area that is
being carried out by the council at the moment?
A. All pupils answered yes, they had learned about it in school.
Q2. What do you think about the fact that the catchment currently means that some pupils who may
want to attend the school have to ask for this through a placing request?
A. Pupil 1: think it’s not fair because people living in Luss might want to come to this school and
they can’t get catholic education if they want it.
Pupil 3: I think the catchment should be extended so that everyone can choose to come here
Pupil 4: It’s not fair the way it is just now because if you live in Luss, or if you went to St
Joseph’s and the you moved to Luss, then you wouldn’t be able to get the bus to come here
and you would end up having to move schools and leave your friends. If your parents
couldn’t afford to pay for transport you would have to move to Luss Primary School and
leave your friends but if you lived in another place you would be able to get the bus to
school for free. 
Pupil 2 and Pupil 5 were also in agreement that the catchment as it currently stands is unfair
for people living in the Luss area who might want to attend St Josephs. 
2. Parent/Staff Focus Group – Parent council chair and 2 parent council members, who are also staff. 
Parent council chair was aware of current boundary status. He felt that if people were to
find out that the choice of denominational education was being denied to some parents
within a geographical area this could be politically contentious. The right of parents to access
denominational education should be available to all within the catchment and the current
situation should be remedied as soon as possible. 
The other parents/staff members were unaware of the current boundary situation but were
then in agreement with the chair that it requires to be changed and brought in line with the
right of parents to choose Hermitage Academy or Our Lady and St Patricks.