to be utterly pissed off that having a child already at the school has no bearing on getting a place if you do not live in the catchment area?

[samram]

Ok, This news to me.

Having just rang the school admission line to make sure they had my dd4 application form i was told that already having my elder daughter attending the school has no bearing on my application if i do not live in the catchment area!
Im so worried now - i mean how can i possibly be in two places at once?
Its not even like my elder daughter is old enough to walk home on her own (she's 6 in a few weeks)

Does any know if this is correct or have any advice? Thanks

Northernlurker - the op.

I guess my feelings are that if out of catchment first time too then you have to take your luck and hope for the best.

I don't think siblings outside of catchment should come before any child within catchment.

It is pointless arguing it-you can get the list of criteria and you can find out how over subscribed the school is-you can work out whether the risk is worth taking. Siblings come below those in the catchment area-end of story.

'prioritises a child who has no connection with that school over one or more that has.'

they do have a connection, they're in the catchment area.

how absurd is it that someone can make extreme compromises in order to live in a particular catchment area, then their child doesn't get a place because another parent basically lived there till they got one in, then swanned off to elsewhere? or never lived there at all?

I don't think anyone's suggesting that Fio just that they shouldn't expect their other children to get into that school too.

'Are you really suggesting that the child ought to be forced to change school? Isnt that unreasonable?'

No, not for pupils who are not SN or statemented (who, in most council, are priority for out-of-catchment spaces).

People move all the time to places too far from their kids' school and the kids have to move schools. Why should it be different within a local area?

Exactly, worra, especially if it means a child within the catchment area doesn't get a place.

Some in catchment children will still get in and schools and families will have consistency and there is no reason for house prices to be so artifically inflated as they are now. Every year each school wouyld know (because you ask parents to register an interest) how many siblings were coming forward and thus you could estimate how many children would be lacking places. Very, very few children live a considerable distance all but one primary It simply isn't true that sibling priority would force other children to travel unfeasible distances. What it would do is prevent unnecessary disruption to older children's education and parent's working lives.

YANBU - sibling IMO should be second criteria after looked after children. It is common sense you can't be in two places at once! You may have moved since getting your first child into school and it would be unfair to have to move your first child when sibling doesn't get in.

Northern When my eldest child started school, he didn't have any siblings. I've not got 3 kids so that's not really workable is it?

Exactly - and allocating other schools to siblings is all but forcing parents to move the original child.

'It simply isn't true that sibling priority would force other children to travel unfeasible distances.'

But it may mean a child whose parents made big trade-offs to live in the catchment area doesn't get a place v a child who doesn't live there or never did.

I've now got 3 kids

It is your problem if you have to be two places at once-you can't steal a place from someone in the area because you can't organise childcare!!
It really doesn't matter-they don't come second in the list and I don't think they ever will-there would be an outcry!

Also it depends on if we're talking primary school or senior school because by senior school they are old enough to take themselves to and from. So sibling links really don't matter.

If you didn't bother to work out the risk before you sent the first DC there you only have yourself to blame!

And I can't believe it's being suggested that a child who lives in the catchment area should not get a place in favor of one that does not live in the area in the even of over-subscription.

exotic as I have already stated in some LEA's (including mine) sibblings who live outside the catchment area do get priority. Which is absolutely right, especially when considering infant/primary schools where not only is it importanf for families to be kept together but also if they are not it is a logistical nightmare for the carer.

Many are also steadfastly refusing to acknowledge that many people who are educated outside of the catchment area didn't have any choice whatsoever. The schools in my catchement area were full. Instead I have to drive a 40 min+ round trip to get my DC to the village school which was allocated. I am very lucky it is a fab school and has just been rated outstanding by ofsted. But having been allocated that school for my DD I would be extremely pissed off if the following year my DS was sent elsewhere.

Her childrens' emotional trauma is her lookout, though. If she never lived in the catchment area anyhow, it's a risk to assume all siblings will be allocated places. A risk she assumed.

OP you do ahve some sympathy from me. not becuase I think siblings should come first- I don;t- but becuase regardless I am in a similar sitiation (ish, will ahve one in infants, one in local comp (OK to walk) and 2 at different SN schools completely different sides of the city).

Now, i will get taxi provided but not if they go sick / snow day (Wales, we get a fair few) etc. And that worries me.

So YANBU to worry but nothing can really be done; hope your child gets a place anyway.

And YY to catchments being weird beasts; we JUST got into ds1's first school even though my front door was 5 metres from rear of school, as we were on the edge of catchemnt that included an estate 1.5 miles from the school front gate. It's an odd beast but the way it is.

exoticfruit - do your children go to their catchment area school? If they do - lucky you!