Its 2018....countdown to 1st March secondary school allocations!

Fingers firmly crossed for everyone. I’m waiting on behalf of a friend this year.

It’s nervewracking for them as in previous years they most likely would have got a place at 1st School on distance. However, this year the school has overhauled its admissions policy and added in 4 feeder schools that come before distance.

Some of these feeder schools are quite a distance away too but linked through church. So in effect this means that if a lot of children from the further feeder schools take up their places, the distance criteria will most likely get much smaller and may result in some very upset local children that previously would have got in.

I’m really hoping my friends DD gets a place but nervous for her.

Thank you tiggytape that's very reassuring that you feel it would be good grounds for appeal. It's looking fairly hopeful, but there are always surprises - this particular school surprised everyone last year so I'm not confident!

Whatever the result, I just want 1st March out the way so we can be relieved or start planning an appeal!

We'd have been shocked if DS hadn't been diagnosed - he was four when he was and he'd already been excluded twice for "challenging behaviour" (what a euphemism!) He didn't even need an ADOS, they had enough to go on as he really is typical ASD with PDA. His earlier preschool just said I didn't know how to parent boys and I should go on a course(!) as his behaviour was down to parenting. Luckily our school was a lot more on the ball! He's in Y2 now and doing relatively well thanks to great support from the school.

DD, on the other hand, is a model pupil, around the top of her class academically, makes eye contact, never been in trouble, tries super hard at everything she does. When I see her with her friends at school I almost don't recognise her compared to how she is at home. She is that good at masking, so I was so worried that the assessors wouldn't be able to tell especially as most diagnostic tools are set up to favour boys.

We got lucky though - the assessors were lovely, were fascinated to see how well she masked, but ultimately the behaviours were very clearly there, especially the social reciprocity. I got to watch through a one way window and the assessor with me talked about what they would expect to see in an NT child and in an ASD child and DD was so clearly ASD, even more so than I'd suspected.

I am also extremely worried. I hadn't really thought much about her starting somewhere without her friends before (school 1/2/3 would be fine) but the diagnosis and obvious extent of her issues has brought it to the fore, and I think it's somewhat critical now.

That makes sense if you've been round once before. I agree with the validated feeling but luckily by the time we saw someone for her first appointment, everyone was onboard with it.

We had to move dd from a primary school that had missed all her ASD flags into one that has been mostly great with her even pre-diagnosis. She's going to struggle even at the school she wants let alone the one she doesn't.
I feel a bit sick when I think about next week!

Grocklebots - it definitely crossed my mind. Especially if her best friend gets in and she doesn't. The two from her school are fractionally closer than we are, and as we're all borderline it's not an impossible outcome.

I'm massively relieved. Her teachers and even family members all thought I was being ridiculous (although they didn't phrase it quite like that!) so it feels good to be validated. The ADOS really pulled out her social issues, which I've always been aware of. She is going to struggle at secondary as she has such a nurturing school right now which is why they didn't believe me I think, as she seemed fine to them. So when something inevitably comes up, having the school able to make allowances for her and guide her will be so important.

My younger and much more challenging DS was diagnosed a few years ago. I think I went through the grieving/adjustment process with him so I don't feel it really with DD.

Shattered I know this might not be what you want to think about right now but if you don't get your choice, the diagnosis could be helpful at an appeal.
How do you feel after diagnosis? I was a mixture of relief that we'd finally got it and sadness that it was true.

One week... it's going so slowly now..

Waiting here, the banding test clashed for 2 of our 6 schools so ds sat the closer schools test, along with the rest of the area, it probally would have been better to sit the holland park test in hindsight, too late now...
Im comforting myself that any school is better than the 1 terrible comp he would have ended up in had we not moved...

I really don't feel I can relax at all until I know! This has been something I've been anxious about for over five years now, knowing the score with distances and DD's personality.

She was just diagnosed with ASD yesterday (this is good news - I long suspected even though most people thought I was bonkers) which makes it even more imperative that she gets into a good supportive and academic school with her best friend. Argh.

Time is just dragging

I'm glad I found this thread. I'm starting to get anxious about next week. Secondary schools here are generally not great except the single sex schools which are fantastic. We only get 3 choices, we've put the single sex school as our first choice, it's also our nearest school, not that that counts for anything with this school. I'd be happy with our 2nd choice as results aren't too bad and new management team who seem to be making good changes but I think we may be slightly out of the catchment. 3rd school - the recently published results were dire and I'm regretting putting it down. Our 4th choice (not on application ) is 2nd nearest school and has been in special measures.
I have a plan in my head depending on what we get but I'm still twitchy! We don't automatically get put on a waiting list but if we don't get school 1 or 2, I'll be putting DC name on the list for both schools.

Thanks again tiggytape. That is very useful indeed to know.

It's the second time I'm going through this but very different circumstances to last time. I may well be clinging onto those waiting lists..

Thanks Shattered04 and tiggytape
Quite interesting to see how it varies between councils. It looks like Herts & Bucks are quite forthcoming with this information which I suppose can be helpful to those on waiting lists.
I don't think we get as much info here in Sutton during the process itself but the distances were published in the admissions booklet for 2018 intake.

Just want to correct my mistake - it looks as though Warks are asking for confirmation of places this year.

apps.warwickshire.gov.uk/api/documents/WCCC-699-600

EightiesHairdo - it's both. The councils I've looked at (Herts and Bucks) release new tables after every round of allocations including the initial one. You can view all the tables on the council website although sometimes they are very well hidden. They are usually quite explicit what the date of the table is and which round of allocations it applies to.

If more children end up at a school, the last distance offered increases. I think the last round is in September possibly? I've never seen data for after that point.

Last year it stayed the same at the school we want to get into so I'm guessing there was no movement at all

A lot of really useful information above. I find the admissions process quite fascinating though still trying to shake the nerves off for 1st March.
Does anyone know if "last distance offered" refers to initial allocations only or does it include the distances after waiting list applicants have also been offered, i.e final acceptances taken into account?

In Northants and Warks there is 'implied' acceptance so you are assumed to have accepted your offer. This means that those who decide not to take that place MUST decline it and sadly that doesn't always happen. There have been cases of a school not realising that a child isn't joining them when they don't turn up on the induction days later in the summer term.

Thank you tiggy

I will definateky be speaking to the LA as i want dd taken off one list so can check then with regards to what happens with the out of county school. Certainly don't want to forget about it then sudden.lose a place some where