If SIL doesn't put down the local school, she won't get it?

[spongeypants]

SIL does not like any of the local schools and they would like to move to the neighbouring suburb anyway. They have put down 6 schools, 2 in the suburb they would like to move to and the other four all over subscribed, where you have to be living practically in the playground to get a place. From speaking to other mums, no chance of getting in. They have not put down the local school. She reasons that the council make the decisions and that DD may just be given the local school regardless but wanted to try and get in the others. I have tried to explain to her that it doesn't work like that and if she didn't put it down, she won't get it as plenty of other families do want it!

Its more likely that as she won't be successful with any of her choices, she they will get the failing school with the signs in the corridors asking parents to refrain from smoking.

How does it work, do councils allocate kids to the local school regardless sof choice, like she says?

Her best hope is moving house to the catchment she wants to be in and then going on the waiting list. She will move up the waiting list by being in catchment but won't guarantee a place. It worked for us ( we had to apply whilst living in another part of the country so not the same reasons as the OP) but it was a bit of a worry for a while and we could have ended up with something we didn't want in the process. However, we had just moved by this point in the year so she is leaving herself precious little time to get sorted. at this rate the poor child will have to start the unwanted school then move school when a vacancy arises by which time the child may well be perfectly happy in her allocated school and not want to start again.

What the OP's SIL did is indeed very risky and a master class in how not to fill in the forms.

Silly, theres 3 local schools in my area, i put all 3 down, and got my first choice. If you dont put your choices down then you dont get.

This has happened to a few families living near us this year. Despite all the information from previous years being available on the furthest distance being 0.2 miles typically for most of our local schools, they were applying for schools 0.5 - 0.7 miles away and (don't ask me why) but were then so surprised when they were not offered a place at any of them!

Two of our neighbours now don't have offers of any places but have been sent a list of those schools in the borough which have places which are also of course the schools that have problems. They will probably be ok on a waiting list by September but honestly what do people think - that the catchment for the last 3 years has been 0.2 miles but that somehow half the 4 year olds in the borough this year are going to disappear or something? One mum even said to me that she can't understand why she was not offered our nearest school. I asked her if it was one of her choices. No. Why do people not understand!!!!

My sister has just done the same. Applied to three oversubscribed fab schools, been offered the local school she didn't want.

Actually she was lucky, she could have been given a far away school she didn't want instead. She reckons she will appeal, but has no grounds . I shouldn't laugh but she has been quite stupid.

Parents dont seem to understand, that the choice allocations will take place first, any child who doesnt get an allocation will have to wait to get into the nearest school available.

Why do parents think that living near a local school automatically gets them allocation.

Moaning, it'll be pointless because she didnt pick a decent local school, she should have been realistic in her choices.

When i did my 3 picks

1. School where my DD went to nursery, never normally full due to its location.
2. Most local school to me, but in a busy village, but likely to get in.
3. Further away, but not far and my school, also likely to get into.

Spongeypants your SIL should get her name on to the local school's waiting list ASAP. There will most likely be a lot of movement before September. In our district, and I think this is supposed to apply to all schools in England, the waiting list allocates places by the same criteria as the allocation process. So your SIL will most likely go ahead of people who live further away (unless they have additional qualifications like siblings etc.). So if she lives reasonably close and would likely have got in if she'd put them as one of her 6 choices, she will probably get a place there before school starts.

There are atleast 29 other children going to that school... dont see any sympathies for them