Anyone in Manchester not been offered a reception place?

[OzBrit]

We received our email yesterday informing us that we got no offers at any of the 5 schools we put on our application form. There was no indication of alternative offers and after numerous discussions with admissions they didn't indicate we had offers elsewhere. Interestingly our "letter" is yet to arrive yet everyone who got offers seem to have received theirs on Thursday! I assume however that if an offer was made at an alternative school it would have been on the email????

The 5 schools were our closest school. We know where we are on waiting lists (9th, 13th & 19th - other 2 are church schools and we are further up their lists) so there is a chance we may get a place after 11th May.

Is anyone else in the same situation and if so, what are your next steps?

[peacypops]

Not in the same situation as you personally (we were lucky to get an offer) however I have a couple of friends in South Manchester who didn't get any offers at all and one who got offered a school three miles from her home which she hadn't put on her application. I think the first thing to do is make sure you are on the waiting lists for all the schools you applied for. You can obviously appeal but it's difficult I think, unless of course you can prove that you have been treated unfairly. I'm not sure where in Manchester you are, but certainly in parts of South Manchester the schools are hugely oversubscribed and just not enough places it would seem. Sorry - I've probably not been much help at all - I really just wanted to post to let you know that you're definitely not in an uncommon situation. Hopefully you'll get some good advice on here. Don't lose hope though - you could get in from a waiting list if someone rejects a place etc. Good luck!

[OzBrit]

peacypops - we are in South Manchester in a heavily oversubscribed area and seem to be a in a black hole! Are they in Didsbury by any chance? Did the friend who got offered a school 3 miles away have that in an email or just the letter? Sorry.....so many questions, just trying to make sense of it all

SchoolsNightmare & peacypops - thank you for your advice and support

[CURIOUSMIND]

Try stockport schools.It's just next road accross A34.We went to a stockport school when we were living in Didsbury and it turned out to be very good.

[peacypops]

Ozbrit - yes that's where they are. The thing is that they don't live really close to any schools (i.e within 0.5 miles) which seems to be essential to getting a place where you want. My friend (who got the place three miles away) definitely heard by letter on the Thursday and I am pretty sure she then got the same info in the email on the Friday (but I would have to check) I would have thought that you would have been told in your email if you had been given a place elsewhere (sorry - you probably don't want to hear that) I know she is appealing for the school that was her first choice (which is I think is the largest of the Didsbury primaries) but I'm not sure on what grounds because I guess it is probably just a case of there being too many other children who lived closer to the school getting all the places. If you have any more questions just ask - I can always update you once I know more from my friend.

[OzBrit]

Thanks peacypops - we are 0.47 away from our closest (and the largest one) and around 0.5ish from the other 2....we seem to be in a black hole this year. We would love to appeal but it seems we have no grounds to due to 30 being legal class size etc etc....we can only hope that there is a shake up by 11th. I have just emailed the private school for a visit as we are going to need some option............we have none at the moment!! I appreciate all the information you have given - anything else you find out would be fab - thanks

[peacypops]

Thats shocking that you haven't got a place when you are reasonably close - Is it beaver rd (your closest one)? I will let you know if I find out any more useful info as I have quite a few other friends in Didsbury too. Fingers crossed for you x

[OzBrit]

peacypops - yes Beaver Rd...........
SchoolsNightmare - thanks for advice. I will be calling admissions again tomorrow. We really don't want to go private, but would prefer to be a bit cash strapped than having our child in a sink school!

Will keep you both updated x

[admission]

OzBrit,
I would be positive about this at present. That is an area where historically plenty of pupils go private but do not divulge that till after the primary school allocations have taken place. Give it a couple of weeks for pupils to refuse the place and you could potentially see quite a lot of movement on waiting lists.
It is therefore imperative that you get on the waiting list for all schools that you would be happy to go to.
Secondly you say that you cannot appeal because the class is at 30. That is not the case, you can appeal but you have to accept that given it is an infant class size regs appeal the chances of success are low. You will need to prove a mistake was made and you should have been offered a place.

[OzBrit]

admission - thank you - we are hoping for some private school movement!We are on all the waiting lists for the 5 local schools (11th, 13th & 19th...further down on the faith schools due to not meeting their admission criteria) but how do I keep on the waiting lists? All we have so far from the LA is the not offered email and no letter. I assume I have to say that we want to stay on the waiting lists for all 5 schools? Or do we automatically stay on the lists because we have no school place offered?

Would you be able to clarify my questions about waiting lists?

• when people get their first preference, I assume they aren't asked to stay on waiting lists for their other preferences? Therefore if they had our first choice as a 2nd option (and are closer than us), they would therefore be removed from the waiting list and we would move up?
  
• people who reject the place because they go private mean that a space becomes available and we move up the list?
  
• therefore people staying on the list will be people like us or people who didn't get their first choice?
  

Trying to make sense of it all - thanks!

[titchy]

No useful advice but I used to go to Beaver Road ! Are the toilets still in between the infant And junior playgrounds?

Good luck!

[RillaBlythe]

Me too titchy! I peered through the railings the other day, look like they've been doing building work since my day!

[peacypops]

A friend of mine spoke to a teacher at her DD's pre-school today and apparently there are 160 children in South Manchester without an offer of a place. It's terrible -feel very sorry for anyone in this situation and hope it gets resolved soon

[OzBrit]

peacypops - I heard the same number this afternoon when I did the nursery pickup. It is ridiculous!

An update on our situation

• Defintely have no place at any local school or school within 2 mile radius (2 miles is the distance they feel is reasonable for infants children to travel to school)
  
• Have been informed by admission & appeals it is unlikely our places on waiting lists are going to change dramatically by 11th May
  
• Admissions admit they are at fault as they legally have to provide a school place and are not able to
  
• Both admissions and appeals office have said the only option is to appeal on the grounds of no place whatsoever being offered
  
• I pointed out the flawed waiting lists system in that people above us on the waiting list may be offered a place elsewhere, yet still remain on the waiting list above us despite the fact we have no place...........admissions stated that this is a flaw and it will probably be changing next year (not much help this year!!)
  
• I also pointed out that Manchester Education must have been aware of rising birth rates and lack of school places - yes they have, but there is no money to build new schools. They are hoping parents will start free schools!
  
• They are looking at which schools may be able to take pre-fabs.
  
• The only way "bulge" classes can occur is if the appeals panel decides a school must do this.....admissions are not allowed to let numbers go above the 30
  
  Appeals have to be in by 29th May - they won't look at them before then.
  
  A long few weeks/months ahead of us

[admission]

Lets kill a couple of red herrings here. Firstly there is no way that an appeal panel can demand that a school does this, they can only admit pupils where they believe that the school can accomodate them. It is stupidity to suggest that they can make the school magic up a new classroom and teacher. That is a function that the LA has to fulfil in consultation with schools.
Manchester have no money to build new schools! Maybe you should ask them what they are doing with the £23,559,071 of funding to give more school places that was announced last month!

[OzBrit]

Thanks admission - just put down what I was told by the woman at admissions today............interesting re the money - where did you get this information? (trying to look at all information we could put in our appeal)
Thanks

[admission]

It is on the Department of Education website
www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/schoolscapital/capitalreview/a00199873/allocation-of-extra-500-million-to-address-the-shortage-in-pupil-place

[SharonGless]

There was similar in Stockport last year due the number of people who have relocated due to the BBC moving. Eventually everyone got a place but as others have said it is just to good enough. Hope you get sorted

[arrrghhhhwaiting]

Hi Ozbrit

Sorry to hear your predicament. There are quite a few who decide to go private in didsbury though x

[ohforfoxsake]

I don't believe there are that many primary school aged children relocating to one single area with the BBC to make a massive impact on school places.

Its more likely to be birth-rates, siblings, twins and patents holding onto places they don't need. Try to be patient. Once the LEA get the replies from first round offers, there will most likely be a lot of movement.

Good luck - its very stressful but most likely it will be fine

[PestoPenguin]

In your position I'd think about getting together with other local parents in a similar position and starting a campaign for an extra class to be opened at a school where you think there would be space (it would be a mobile classroom most likely) and that you would stand a good chance of getting into with an extra class (i.e. you're within the first 30 on the waiting list). Start a Facebook group, write to local councillors, court press coverage.

Send in Freedom of Information Act requests to the council relating to the number of children who have not been allocated a reception place in the first round, and other relevant questions, for example about funding received and planning for this yeargroup, who the council must have known was bigger.

Good luck!

[OzBrit]

Thanks for all the information, ideas and support.

According to Admissions, there are 160 children in Manchester without a Reception place, however after a week, I have only heard of 1 other like us in our area and apparantly they live in the street behind us.....so it does seem like we are in a black hole this year.

I have spoken to loads of people this week and have been advised by the Children's Legal Centre that the LA as acted "unlawfully" by not offering us a place anywhere. This is the only grounds we can go to appeal on at the moment as they do seem to have followed admission criteria correctly. The only other thing I can raise is the fact the email did not give any further information about what to do (whereas in the code and their admissions brochure it clearly sets out what they will do......not sure if this holds up?) We are aware though that our appeal may change from its submission on 29th May to the hearing as the LA will have to make us an offer somewhere and it seems this may be after 8th June (outlined in the letter which finally arrived on the 30th). Therefore the grounds on which we appeal will have to change too....

We have had a lot of phone calls with Admissions this week and know that they are currently looking at which schools in Manchester can take "bulge" classes. We don't know if they are in our area, but have an email of someone who may be able to tell us.

We can only sit and wait now and continue to have sleepless nights as I think about and write an appeal. We may get some movement on the waiting lists after the 11th but I find it hard to believe we will be offered a spot at 11th, 13th & 19th on the 3 more likely waiting lists. At least the LA have realised the waiting list is flawed and have decided it will change from next year. That is that those without any place at all (like us) will be higher on the waiting list than someone who has been offered a "suitable" place somewhere else.......no good for us this year though!!

Will keep you updated....