Waiting List Question

[Zingy123]

We got 3rd choice for our DD on 3rd March. We were 5th on the waiting list then for our 1st choice. Our LEA is now reallocating places this week and we have now gone down to 10th on the list. Shouldn't the LEA have allocated the places as they were declined and not left it over four weeks. People who did not put it first time now have and have now jumped ahead of us.

I was quite hopeful being 5th but have now lost all hope going down to 10th.

[Zingy123]

Thanks Tiggytape. The school is a C of E academy and do their own admissions but the LEA offer the places. Would I be best speaking to the LEA or the school do you think?

Thanks

[mummytime]

The thing is those 5 could all be late applicants, people who have moved into the area?

[titchy]

Isn't it more likely that on 3 March no-one rejected their offer of that school, but lots of parents were disappointed with the school they were allocated so put in a quick application to your 1st choice school which moved you down the list?

[Zingy123]

Tiggytape I have looked at the code and all I can see is that the list must be reranked everytime someone is added. I can't see anything about offering places as soon as they become available.

Thanks

[Zingy123]

Great thanks

[Zingy123]

Sorry another question. This school scores children by religion and church attendance. The governors rank the waiting list. Would the date they received the application count or when the governors ranked the waiting list.

Thanks

[Zingy123]

So just by asking to go on the list is the effective date and not when supplementary forms are received or when the request is passed from the LEA to the school.

Thanks

[Zingy123]

Yes there is a form for church attendance they take so many church places and so many of no faith.

[Zingy123]

Heard back from my LEA they are saying this only applies to in year admissions. Anyone can join a waiting list and receive a place in the second round. No places were given out from 3rd March until 31st March when the second allocations were done. All the people ahead of us applied late or changed their preferences. 8 of these now have a place as of yesterday.

[Zingy123]

Thanks. I will contact the school tomorrow. LEA saying period from 3rd March to 17th March cooling off period for people to decide. It does say on website second round will be early April.

[Zingy123]

This is my reply to asking how the places are allocated:

The way that the system works is that from the allocation date at the start of March, there is a 2 week “cooling period” where parents come back with any changes they have made to their original preferences. At this point, there is also consideration to anyone who missed the original deadline to be considered for places.

So once all these changes are put into the system, they run the criteria again to fill any available places.

Whilst you would’ve been 5th on the waiting list at the time of the original allocation, late applicants may have met the criteria better than yourself, and therefore, would move ahead of you on the waiting list. This may seem disappointing that late applicants are now considered ahead of your application, but similarly it may be on-time applications, who have moved house in the interim, and therefore meet the criteria better now than yourselves.

Paragraph 2.14 of the admissions code sets this out:

Waiting lists Each admissions authority must maintain a clear, fair and objective waiting list for at least the first term of the academic year of admission, stating in their arrangements that each added child will require the list to be ranked again in line with the published oversubscription criteria. Priority must not be given to children based on the date their application was received or their name was added to the list.

Therefore when a child is added to the system (i.e. anyone who is a late applicant, in this instance) the waiting list will be re-ranked. In effect, any “new” applicants were being considered from 3rd March.

Hope this explains it – are you going to go through the appeal process?

I then said I didn't think it should work like that and received a further reply.

As I said, the problem is that the date in which the place became available in this scenario would’ve been at a point where all late applicants were also considered. It is simply that no further offers are made until the 2nd allocation is done.

In the event of a place becoming available mid-year, then yes, a place would be offered to the person on top of the waiting list at the time the place became available. This process starts after the second allocation, so any subsequent changes that take place will work on that basis.

This is part of the admission process outlined in the schedule that was determined in April 2013.

*Any advice appreciated.
Thanks