Catchment school full (Scotland)

[OctonautsHoliday]

We have just moved into a new area with a small village school. The council has advised that the school is full* and my children will have to travel by taxi to another school further away until the start if the 2020/21 school year.

• it is a small school with combined classes eg P1/P2, P3/P4 etc.. They could fit my children in but would have to make their classes 2-teacher classes.
  
  Are they allowed to do this? All the information I can find online is about trying to get your children into a non-catchment school, I can't find anything about them being refused a place in catchment.
  
  TIA.

[unexpectedthird]

They can past a certain date when the staffing numbers for the year are confirmed. I think it might vary from council to council but in mine, it's sometime in September. ( I'm afraid I can't remember the date.)

You might be able to appeal but depending on location, recuitment of staff could be a major issue. Which would mean an under staffed school.

How far away is the school with space?

[OctonautsHoliday]

Thanks, @unexpectedthird. We're near a big city (but into the boundary of the rural council) so I don't think they'd struggle to recruit. I'm not sure yet where the school with places is, there are a number of other village schools within 5 miles or so (it may also be that they get put at different schools).

[Lucked]

It is my understanding that composite classes are restricted to 25, I don’t think it is the number of teachers that is the issue but I don’t know about legal challenges.

[OctonautsHoliday]

@lucked yes they said something about 25 being the limit but also something about needing a second teacher so it's a bit confusing. Tbh I think the school would like an excuse to hire more staff (they have advised me to argue with the council and tried to do so themselves). 1 teacher to 25 children of varying ages must be hard work, I couldn't do it.

[Lucked]

When I had a friend trying to get her kid into a school the headteacher just advised her to keep following through on the appeals process and take it all the way to court as in her experience this was the point that councils conceded as apparently the courts find in favour of parents most of the time.

Obviously you have to start with a formal appeal to the council.