Why do most secondary comprehensives still have a siblings policy?

For the good comp here you have to have gone to the feeder school for 2 years

Sibling policy isn't as bad as the feeder primary problem in my experience. In our area parents with children in year 5 or 6 start manufacturing some problem they have with their primary school so that they can pretend to get the hump and move their child 10 miles down the road to the feeder primary for the sought after secondary school. Each year parents anxiously look at the birth rate to see how far the schools admission area will radiate.

So many schools now have different admission criteria, surely schools themselves and the LEA Admissions authority, can judge what makes sense in their area? Clearly in rural areas where siblings could end up miles apart with no public transport, and in different counties with different holidays, then a sibling policy makes absolute sense. (But then, is there the intense competition for over-subscribed places in areas like that? I don't know).

I can see no particular justification for a sibling policy at secondaty level in Inner London, except perhaps with twins.

If you are lucky enough to live near enough to walk I can see it wouldn't be a problem. Not all of us have that option.

I currently have 3 children at one school but in 3 years I will have 3 children at 3 different schools. That is going to be tricky.

Good point cat64. Most sibs pretend they don't know each other at school.

TBH most people do get their children into the school who live locally. I spend my whole life taxiing my DC to the people's houses in that area. However some pupils live a distance from the school and it is a very good school. Most of the schools in this county are good so there are other possibilities.

However my dd did get in on her musical ability and possibly personal qualities as she was interviewed and is now in Y13. I believe the sibbling policy may be different now.

I am not going to feel bad about this. We haven't rented a flat in the area as some people have talked about on this thread and we have not broken any rules. We are very thankful.

I was trying to stress the point that we are not particularly affluent and it contrasts with quite a few people at the school. I think if my DC had gone to the local school they may not have done so well even though it is still a good school but very big.

The difficulty as I see it, Daytoday, is that "sense of community" means different things to different people and it's far too simplistic to suggest that sense of community means always giving priority admission to siblings. It is at least arguable that admitting siblings who live miles from the school and far outside the area from which the school usually admits destroys that sense of local community, not enhances it - especially if more local children are being squeezed out in the process.

What happens in London is that people avoid school fees and put their extra income into their property. So they are prepared to pay the extra mortgage costs, and instead of taking their dcs out of the state system so the 'poor' can benefit, they are investing that into their property. It's a no-lose situation for them. Good school plus ever increasing house prices.

Custard I think that in areas where there are several schools within a short distance from each other there should be some kind of lottery. This will diffuse the house price madness. I believe that after a while people will get over the fact that their children might have to go to school with someone that's working class, not white, not had a tutor, etc etc.(!) And the private option would still be there for those that want to maintain their selective lifestyle.

Very London-centric OP, for me trying to send the dcs to different schools would be extremely difficult. Public transport is crap.
It's a nightmare at the moment as one is at High school and one is at Primary which is a feeder school but they still manage to have different holidays!
It would be awful if this were to continue

Yes, bases (same as 'units' I guess) are a good compromise. It's a step in the right direction. I think financially they make sense too.

Lets get rid of any sense of community altogether hey? Turn every aspect of our lives into some sort of competition.

Brothers and sisters at the same school - common sense of history, older can walk younger home. Connections between younger and older pupils - really lovely. The school benefits from parents understanding their system and vice versa.

I think you are missing the wider social/emotional benefits.

'My experience of some schools is that they think you should be grateful that they have let your child attend.

'

Oh God yes! It took the Vicar to get ds3 a place at the school attended by his 2 siblings even with spaces AND catchment- VA system. Now he attends a Base in a lovely but odd place (imagine a large council estate dropped into the middle of a rural affluent county- yes that!) and thrives. Since moving he has acquired speech, continence.... his absences are more common which is why he can't go MS much but he likes the kids and the time he does share with them. And wonderfully rather than the crap we got in MS, they like him.

DS1 is in a simialr comp Base: 2 kids a year intake. I met a teacher from tehre as I am studying ASD at university and she was on the course, otherwis eno hope- treated like a special secret. Other parents all work in field or are very affluent and able to afford appeals etc. Ridiculous.

Oh well Panel. They are in the school now. TBH my son is very good at music as it so happens so as far as I am concerned they are all good for the school.

Believe me if we could have afforded to move we would have done. some of my friends did this. I would do the same again for my DC as anyone would. You have to do what is best for your children and most people would do the same thing.

i actually worked at the local school for several years and that was another factor as it can be quite tricky for your own children in that situation if you are a member of staff.

Another friend of mine's daughter is also attending the school (cousins go there) and all the girls she found difficult in her primary school go to the local school so she is so relieved not to be there.

I do take the point about the local children though. The school is in a very affluent area so they probably could easily afford private education.

Peachy LOL! I was going to mention ASD in my post but I though others would know more about it.

As you say sensory issues are the key to determining whether children thrive in a group setting. But despite this there is no reason why children with sensory issues shouldn't be on the same site which gives them the opportunity of sharing resources. And with some it may of course help them to have gradual exposure to the outside world. Mainstream schools should be designed to allow for calm classrooms for few children. Everyone benefits from inclusion if it is approached in a realistic and practical way. My experience of some schools is that they think you should be grateful that they have let your child attend.

And to tie it in with the OP - divisive education is a hangup from our glorious past - the class system. Nowadays we pretend there is no class system, but it is alive and well in our schools admissions criteria. Until all children have an equal chance of getting into their local school we will continue to have a segregated society.

abendbrot depends on SN

(this is my field LOL)

My field is ASD; many of the children I work with and indeed my own simply do not function in a large group of any size.

However when referring to physical disabilities absolutely, and for others on a child by child basis.

Hewre we mainly have the base system- my preferred option for mine. DS1 and ds3 attend Sn provisions alongside MS schools and dip in and out with support as theya re able; for ds1 that means most classes, ds3 very few to none. But they still share trips, playtime etc. DS3 shuts down entirely in a class over 12 though. Sadly it's not always possible for chidlren with a few specific disorders toa ttend MS schools but I agree with decent provision most can and maximising that is a valliant aim. I suspect sensory issues are they key to who can and cannot, but we are so early on with that; we now have the concept of the quad of impairments but that will take a while to become established.

(sorry LOL)

mollymole -it doesn't discriminate agaonst only children any more than it discriminates against the oldest child in any family

My 2 siblings and I went to 3 different schools in 3 differnt directions, about 5 miles away.

Peachy this is definitely an urban issue - rural areas should really have a different admissions criteria.

Regarding special schools, the vast majority of disabled adults say they would have preferred to go to a mainstream school and I do believe that if schools got off their high horse and accepted ALL children equally (in this ideal world that I can only dream about) there would be very little need for disabled children to be educated at different schools. Some children may need a different kind of classroom layout, some children may need a loop system - but ultimately everything is possible if you want it to be.

abendbrot I couldn't agree more

All I want is for my dcs to go to a decent state primary and a decent comp, with their mates from primary school.

And please don't get me started on faith secondary schools

bb I know which area you are talking about. My dcs are much younger than yours though. If the single sex schools you mentioned begin with H then I thought that a shared sibling policy was afoot.