Confused Mum has question about late entry to local primary

[inglis]

Hi, we are moving from London to the Devon and are keen for our girls to enter the (very good) local primary school. We will be in the catchment area for this school.

It is a very popular over subscribed school.

The problem is we are aware that the application deadline has passed for the September intake 2007.

Also, since they are currently at an independent school we have no idea of the procedure to get them into to the primary. Are we right in thinking that we apply to the local authority? I don't want to sound like a real chump when i speak to the headmistress of the primary about this.

Any advice, please? Is there any obligation on the primary to accept them as late arrivals within the catchment area?

[frogs]

Phone the local authority and ask them.

Usually late applications are dealt with by the schools themselves. You could also phone the school and ask whether they have any places. If the school is full they don't have an obligation to accept extra pupils, but the situation maybe different in a very rural area where there may be no alternative nearby.

[ChipButty]

Look at the local authority's admissions procedures. Don't think they are obliged to take you because you are in catchment area. Also, be honest with the Headteacher - it is her job to help you as much as she can: She won't expect you to be an expert on admissions procedures!

[eucalyptus]

Have a look here

[inglis]

Aw, thanks.

Got my dh sitting here and he just said that those Mumsnetters are 'amazing.'

[yoyo]

It depends on the Year groups to a certain extent. You can ring the school directly and ask if they have places; they might also tell you of a continuing interest list. We had to apply to the LEA via a "Moving in Application Form" but I had already made contact with the school. The LEA would also advise you of your right to appeal if you do not get in.

[Frogs - how's the house? It is a year since I saw you in Tate Modern - anniversary of Grandmother's death this week. Sent you an email a couple of weeks back but not sure whether you got it or not as we are having major problems with our IT.]

[frogs]

Yoyo -- house will be beautiful one day, but a bit chaotic atm and about to get worse as we bring it into the 21st Century with (gasp) central heating and modern electrics.

I think I did get your email for a split second before all our connections went down. Will dig around and email you back.

inglis, if it's any consolation, we have just moved within london, neatly missing the cutoff date for school applications [boo] and ds has a Y3 place in a v. good church school, and dd2 has just squeaked a nursery place for Sept in a very very good non-church school. So panic not.

[portonovo]

It doesn't always depend on year groups. Certainly in our area if the school has any spare places they have to take your child, even if the 'spare' places aren't in the 'right' year group. The waters get a bit muddier if it's an infant class, because of them not supposed to have more than 30 children.

[fennel]

Devon LEA is very keen on children going to their local school - we moved here last year, mid-year. They also have a good policy for mid-year applicants which gives children moving into the area a fairly good chance of getting into their local school even if it's officially full. Late-moving children have a right to go to one of their 2 (or perhaps 3, that might have changed since last year) closest schools even if all the schools are "full".

The LEA were very helpful at getting our children into the "full" local school - we had to appeal formally but they accepted the appeal immediately so the dds (year 1 and year 2) were admitted straight away.

[fennel]

I think what you're supposed to do is phone the local school, see if they are officially full. And if they are, then contact the LEA and ask for their help in appealing.

[inglis]

Frogs - daftish question but if you've got one child going to one school and another going to another school how logistically does that work with pick ups, drop offs etc.

I have just found out that they could take one child, but the other would have to go on the waiting list.

[inglis]

Fennel - was writing to frogs when you added your message.

So despite hearing that there is no space for eldest daughter - I can appeal to the LEA, yes? What actually happens when you appeal.

Where are you in Devon, by the way? Did you move far.

[frogs]

Two different schools is not ideal, but luckily the times are slightly staggered (ds has 8.55 start, dd2 9.15) and the end times are different too. So just about feasible, esp if dh helps out with drop off and ds does after-school club a couple of days a week. And once ds is in Y5 he can walk home by himself.

Less realistic in a rural area, though.

[fennel]

We moved from Manchester to a rented house in Exeter, and got them easily into a good local school which did have spaces. Then we moved 2 miles to a village just outside Exeter and even though they were in a fairly local school, it was a grim journey to it just because of the geography and the road system. The little village primary round the corner from our new house was full for yr2 and oversubscribed for yr1. When you appeal they send you a form, and you fill it in. We were told we'd have to wait 6 weeks, then go in to hear our appeal. And if it wasn't successful we'd have to wait for a place for each girl to come up at the school.

But actually, after I wrote a passionate essay as my appeal, they phoned the next day and admitted them.

My appeal rested on the importance of infants going to their local school "becoming an integrated part of their local community rather than being car commuters into the city". etc. Devon is keen on reducing rush hour traffic so that might have helped. And as i said they also approve of children going to their local, catchment, school.

what also helped with our appeal, I think, is that though the school was officially full the classes were small, only 16 in one of the classes and 20 in the other class at the time. So though the classes were "full", that was in terms of overall school size, which is easier to get round than having over 30 in a class.

[inglis]

Clever, fennel. Your letter obviously touched all of the right buttons.

[fennel]

Inglis, I don't know if it was the award-winning essay which did it or if they would have agreed anyway if I'd just written "I want them to go to their local school".

Where are you moving to? There are quite a few mumsnetter incomers to Devon, generally with positive experiences of getting their children into local primaries.

[inglis]

Nah, definitely the award winning essay.

We are hopefully moving to Buckland Monochorum, near Tavistock.

Dh completely fallen in love with a house, and the area. Me a little bit scared - I've lived in London for the last twenty years.