Primary school plaves

[Nanj4]

Hi, has anyone experienced moving to a new area and no primary school place for their child. This has happened to us, we moved in February, no luck. Each week phoning to be told she is no2 on the list, then We were told 2/3 weeks ago to reapply for next year, which we have. We have received a letter today saying there are no places for our daughter. We tried to register her before we moved and were told you have to move in before you can apply for a school, so how does this all work out. No tutors or school book have been referred for our Grand-daughter. If we took her out of school we would be fined!!!!! Has anyone experienced this or any advice please.

[IonaMumsnet]

Hi OP, We're going to move this thread over to Primary Education for you where there should be lots of people ready with good advice. Best of luck with your situation. MNHQ

[Inkymess]

How far have you moved? Is DC in school now? The LA will need to find you a school at some point

[zipzap]

One of the things I've seen suggested on here is to report yourself to the council for not sending your dc to school...

Somewhere along the line, if you've moved, they can't find you a school place and it's in the middle of the school year, they seem to conveniently drop you off their radar and make bland statements about assuming that you're going to be HE your dc while you wait for a place and that they're doing all they can - but because you once mentioned that you'd be helping your dc in the interim (before you ever dreamed it would take quite so long!) because you're a nice parent and they've ticked the HE box and so don't bother any more... (over simplification I know, but you get the gist!)

Anyhow, speak to the person at the council who is the one responsible for non-attendees. Although most of the people s/he deals with will be truants or those that are long term sick, she should also be able to help people like you that have a dc who wants a space and isn't being given one. If your dc had been given a space somewhere and you hadn't taken her to school for months, they would be on your back in moments.

Somebody on a different thread had been trying to find a space for their child for months - with no joy. Talking to this person at the council and their child was in school a week later.

Have you tried registering at more than one school and getting onto different lists?

It's also worth talking to your local councillor and/or MP - they shouldn't be able to just say 'sorry, no spaces, no education'. They might have to fork up for transport for her - and she might end up going to a school that's further away than you'd have liked or one that you didn't want her to go to because it's in special measures on the other side of the area - but they're supposed to find a space for her somewhere!

Good luck...

[bingandflop]

I thought they legally HAD to give children a place even if its a carp school or nightmare journey? ??

[bingandflop]

Crap not carp. . Damn predictive text!

[tethersend]

How old is your child? Which school year are they in?

[Millymollymama]

Is this your daughter or grand-daughter, OP? This is obviously a late application for a place, as the move took place in February, so I would be searching on the Local Authority's Education web site to see if any school still has a place. My LA maintains lists of schools with vacancies. Obviously a visit is now out of the question before September but at least some research could be done to see if the school(s) with a vacancy is suitable. There might be someone answering emails in the holidays.