...to be so angry and upset by this unfair school admissions policy?

[SchoolFury]

(Have namechanged as this is quite identifiable)

My DD just turned 4 in September, so is due to start Reception next year. Since Jan this year she has been at a preschool (nursery) which is part of a primary school.

It is our nearest school, and the only one for which we are in the 'priority area'. We actually moved to this flat in 2013 in large part because we loved the school so much

It's a non-denominational, community state primary school. We are in a part of London with a lot of faith schools (Jewish, Catholic, CofE) and we are a mixed Jewish/Christian secular family, so faith schools not for us. It's also got an Ofsted '1' (outstanding) in last inspection, though that is less important than the wonderful atmosphere, the sense of community and the fact that my daughter is really thriving in the preschool.

Under normal admissions rules, my daughter would be very likely to get a place there for Reception based on distance - we live less than 0.2 miles from the school. HOWEVER, last year the school decided to take a 'bulge' class, i.e. take 60 pupils in reception instead of 30. They took from a much wider area - up to 0.5 miles from the school - usually the limit is less than 0.3.

This means that siblings of those in the 'bulge' class will get offered places next year ahead of my daughter, and others in her nursery class who live closer, but do not have siblings at the school. I know personally of two families with one child in current reception, with a sibling a year younger, who will therefore get offered places ahead of my daughter even though they live much further away.

I am really distressed by this. The only other nearby school is a failing school (Ofsted rating 3) - not the end of the world, but we are not even in the priority area for it (very near, but wrong side of the road) so we may not even get a place there . And my daughter is so happy in preschool and has lots of good friends and good relationships with the teachers.

If my daughter had been a week older she would have started reception this year and would have got a place for definite. As it is, she almost certainly won't get a place, instead children living much further away will get priority for no reason other than the 'bulge' class taken this year. I have been told there is no chance of them taking another bulge class this year - so what's the point?

AIBU to feel really upset, resentful towards those who have got in this year, and most of all angry with the school for making this decision, which seems really short sighted and unfair on children in subsequent years?

When did you last check the admissions details? Is it possible that the sibling admission is second to the distance admission?

Do you know whether she has a place or not yet? If she doesn't get in, I would have thought that you would be pretty close to the top of the waiting list, and should be able to appeal.

Siblings having priority in admissions is fairly commonplace, I'm afraid. Also, it wasn't unfair as such for the school to admit a bulge class as it probably made a massive difference to those children who could otherwise have been without school places at all.

Keep your fingers crossed and your DD may still get in, as I suspect it will be the year after you who will be most affected - due to the popularity of the two-year gap.

I do empathise, as we were affected by hugely strict faith criteria at two schools within a short walk of our house. In the end we moved.

That does seem unfair. But are you sure she won't get a place - there can't be that many people who have siblings in consecutive classes can there?

Almost certainly won't get a place how?
I can't see how the siblings from one bulge class could affect the distance criteria massively tbh.

If you are only 0.2 miles away then you will surely still be in a good position for one of 30 places?

Bulge classes seem to be an effective way for LEA's to address the need for places for particularly high birth years without the need to immedialtely build new schools. What should they do?

We too are a 'mixed' family, so were completely cut out from faith schools.

We have a similar situation in the school my children attend. Some children from the village didn't get a place due to the fact that so many siblings did...even though they lived 2 or 3 miles away.

It's shit but it's not shit...the HT of our school says "It is how it is" and that's that really. You could appeal if you don't get a place but there is still a chance you will.

have you done an "unofficial" head count of how many siblings will be coming next year?

It sucks if you don't get a place (though are you certain you are unlikely get a place? Have you rung the council to check their estimated numbers? Don't go on hearsay, people have a habit of talking bollocks about admissions). But it sucks even more to have two early primary kids at different schools. Can you imagine the logistics?! There is a good reason for sibling priority in admissions.

No it's not unfair- why should parents have to take two or more kids to two different schools? I know some do but it's hardly an ideal situation.

The bulge class will make your child more likely to get a place, not less. Without the extra class they would have no chance if there were 30 siblings.

If you are that close I shouldn't worry, they will almost certainly get in.

presumably there was a lot of demand for school places this year, hence the bulge class. If they hadn't put a bulge class in, parents would be complaining about not having a place this year when perhaps they live closer than you do.

Schools can't see into the future, they have to make the best decision they can for the children at the school, and applying for the school the next academic year. They can't make plans based on children who aren't even in the process of applying- since they might not even apply for that school! Huge changes can take place within a year and affect demand for the school- for example, Ofsted ratings can change, houses built or demolished.

So YABU to expect the school to have made things more difficult this year, just because you're assuming your daughter won't get in in the future.

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

Magrat I have checked and re-checked the criteria, siblings definitely have priority over distance. That makes sense to me in general, but in this specific case it seems so unfair because of all the extra pupils taken this year.

Marlin I won't know until April when they do all the admissions. I don't think we would have much chance of an appeal, I think it would be a question of waiting list and fingers crossed. But it's a very popular and oversubscribed school.

Branching thanks for the sympathy It is so upsetting, I haven't been able to sleep properly since I realised. We are actually considering moving and looked at a house at the weekend which is literally opposite the school. it's a huge decision though. Did you move before your child started primary school or did they change school?

arethereanyleft I am keeping fingers crossed - it's not a foregone conclusion, but there's usually about 18-22 siblings out of 30 places, and I know of about 6 other nursery kids who live even nearer than us (high density living!) so the odds aren't great

Are you sure the sibling thing has priority over distance? We didn't get a place for our dd2 as places were all taken by catchment area children. ( eventually got a waiting list place)

Although you know two people with siblings a year younger, most people have a larger age gap. Do you know them through the school nursery? If so it could just be those extra two. I would have thought based on my experience of bulge classes that there will be a larger impact the following two years. You could ask the school to do a sibling survey, although it is likely to underestimate the numbers it might give you some indication.

Whatever the admissions criteria, someone is always disappointed. TBH I would imagine that although there are 30 extra children in the school, only a couple of them would have siblings in the year below, so they only make a small difference to your chances.

So

1. you might get a place at the school you like anyway
2. if you're in an area with such high pressure on places, the school may open another bulge class for your DD's year

Sorry x post

I bet the school didn't decide to take the bulge class. I would imagine it was imposed on them by the LEA.

The best thing you can do is contact Admissions at your LEA and ask to be taken through the admissions policy. Some schools give priority like this (simplifying and ignoring looked after children, children with medical/social reasons etc etc):

1. Siblings living in priority area.
2. Other children living in priority area.
3. Siblings living outside priority area.

Have you checked if it works like that in your area?

It's the faith schools' admissions policies that are really unfair. If they are state funded they shouldn't be able to select on the basis of religion, end of.

OP, I feel your pain. However, it's emphatically not the fault of families who got in this year, following present rules. Please try to calm down.

Just to reassure you it's overwhelmingly likely that your DD WILL be offered a place if you live less than 0.2 miles away. Although the sibling rule will apply, the entire class will not be made up of siblings.

If you're really worried, perhaps you might have a (nice, friendly, calm) chat with the administrator and ask if he/she could advise you about the numbers. Good luck

I feel you are worrying about nothing. Not many people are mad enough to have two (non twin) babies within 12 months. If you lived in my area it might be a problem, but most people with the means to live in London have the brains to use contraception if they are not breastfeeding.

I think its extremely likely you will get a place. If your daughter was a year younger then there could be a problem.

It seems very unusual that 18-22 out of a class of 30 will have siblings exactly 2 years younger...

Or do you mean siblings from the entire school? In that case siblings from the bulge class will only make a small percentage of those 18-22.

Also if the school is very oversubscribed with pupils within the catchment they are very likely to put in another bulge class. I too live in in a high density London catchment and their 3rd bulge class is now permanent.

It's the madness of primary school admissions. I have the opposite problem. We sent dd to our favourite school. Massively under subscribed, not doing brilliantly according to Ofsted but it felt right. In the 3 years since she's been there the Ofsted rating has gone to 1, children have left other schools in droves to go there (dd's class has gone from 16 to 29) and two massive housing developments have appeared metres from the school. And they've scrapped the sibling criteria. DS will not get in. So in a year or two I either have to physically be in two places at once to take both DC to separate schools or take dd out of a school she's been in for 5 years.

It's not 12 months, it's nearly 24 months.

Child 1 born 1st September 2009 - starts Reception September 2014

Child 2 born 31st August 2011 - starts Reception September 2015

TheGirlfromIpanema I think that the school should take two classes every year. There just aren't enough places to go round. All the half-decent schools here are hugely oversubscribed. I think 2010/11 was a 'baby boom' year too.

zoe yeah I totally understand why siblings get priority. But it's especially unfair when they have taken twice as many pupils one year - that means twice as many potential siblings, but they've gone back to only 30 places. the maths doesn't work!

pear I think you misunderstood, the bulge class is the class that started this year. Next year, when my daughter starts, they are NOT taking a bulge class. I wish they would!

Crohnically to give some idea, in 2013 they had intake of 30, didn't take all kids from priority area, the furthest they went was 0.12 miles! In 2014 they had intake of 60, took all kids from priority area, plus went to 0.49 miles for kids outside the priority area.

The tiny distance in 2013 was exacerbated by a previous bulge class, in 2011, so all they are doing is creating a cycle where some years people can get in from relatively miles away, with a knock-on effect meaning that the following years the area is even smaller. They should stick with either 30, or 60. It's the chopping and changing that creates a sort of lottery and is so unfair.

Lots of empathy here too, and I wouldn't have thought it will affect your year group too much - it will be the next two years that are most affected.
I think sibling policies are valid though as the logistics of dropping two primary school children at different schools at the same time are a nightmare, and it would be unfair to force older children to move schools part way through because there is not enough space for their younger sibling.

School admissions is a nightmare for people for many reasons.

I get why you feel the way you do, but it really is just as hard for other families, and probably even harder when they can't get their children into the same school.