About school applications for reception 2015...

[elfycat]

To remind you that you need to apply by Mid-January (15th seems to be the day).

And AIBU to bump this for the next few weeks?

You need to apply, even if you live next door to the school, even if your child is attending the preschool attached to the school, even if a sibling already goes. There are no automatic places at state schools.

There were quite a few shocked parents last year who got a random school that they didn't want their child to be at. If you do not apply for a place and someone else does - they will get it. Even if they are out of catchment and you are in the area they will get the place.

Most, if not all counties have on-line submissions. If you have time to read MN you have time to nip in and start the application, or start by just getting the log-in sorted. Do it now before you forget and get caught up in the frenzy of Christmas and the post-Xmas exhaustion.

[Theoretician]

If you only have a baby now, and think you can delay understanding the system, you might need to think again. The best school (by a long way) in our area requires you to attend a particular church for two years. I wasn't willing to do that, DW was, but she didn't read the small print properly and hence didn't calculate precisely. In particular, she didn't compute that it's 2 years before 15th of January you need to complete, not 2 years ending at the start of the school year.

As I was leaving everything to her, in my head I though 5 years school starting age, minus two years, equals go to church from about age 3. No, when you actually do the calculation, taking into account application date and our child's birthday, she should have started going to church when DD was about 19 months old.

[Sizzlesthedog]

What doesn't help is friends and family telling me that DC can't be going to school in sept as they have only turned three recently.

I know I'm right, but DH thinks it's when they turn five, so thinks there's plenty of time. It's a right old mess. I don't have the answer for how the LA or government can make it easier to understand. But as it's fairly important, maybe a tv ad would help.

[skylark2]

Round here you can put your child's name down for the local primary whenever you like, but all this means is that they are on the system and you get sent the info about how to apply at an appropriate time.

I used to advise all the mums at playgroup to do it, regardless of which school they thought their kid might be going to. Some were surprisingly resistant.

Not sure how long it is since applying early for state schools was possible/useful, but it must be a while - DD is 18 and it was long since obsolete when she started!

[PrincessOfChina]

Ours had to be submitted by 3rd December. Only updates (eg. change of address) are allowed after this but must be done by 15th Jan. We are in Birmingham.

[halfdrunkmulledwine]

I've done my application. I would be surprised if DS doesn't get into our nearest school as the headteacher said children in catchment should get in if it's listed as their first choice, and they seem to have quite a few children from outside catchment.

I met someone recently who didn't read the instructions properly and only put one school down. It was oversubscribed so she was allocated a place at a school some 2.5 miles away. Fortunately, she was able to get a place at a nearer school as I think a child moved or chose to go to a different school.

[catslife]

YABU to remind people about this OP.
Lots of really useful advice on here.

[Pico2]

Halfdrunk - the HT is doing a slight disservice by suggesting that you have to put the school as first choice.

If there is a school that you would prefer, but is a but if a long shot, that should go first and if you don't get that, but put your catchment school as second choice, you will still be as likely to get your catchment school as if you had put it first.

[Madcatgirl]

Great thread. I'm a member of a facebook group for local parents and have been trying to impress on the other users applying for the first time how the system actually works versus the way they imagine it works.

The number of parents who are adamant they will get one of their choices despite it being miles away (we work on lac, sibling, distance) is unbelievable! I'm doing it for the second time and wanted to help other parents to avoid disappointment, but there's only so many times you can tell them!

All our local schools, preschools, clinics, doctors, private nurseries and libraries have how to apply information up ALL year!

[OhTheDrama]

There needs to be so much more information and guidance released about this, I think everyone who qualifies should get a reminder letter. We totally messed up DD's nursery application due to mixture of our sheer stupidity and naivety as first time parents and falling into the presumed knowledge trap. We ended up with our fifth choice nursery which was across town on a bus with 4 month old DD2 in tow, not fun.

[potbellyroast]

If you take your application into nursery/school for them to pass onto the LEA please don't forget to get a receipt!

A number of parents this year didn't and their application was lost they only found out on offer day as they didn't get a letter when other parents did.

[Neverbuyheliumbalonz]

If, for example you want a church school, you have to have been going to the attached church for a significant amount of time

There are lots of church schools around here (i mean c of e, the catholic ones do require chirch attendance) and none of them require church attendance as a high priority - they go by siblings in the catchment, then distance within the catchment, then church attendance, then siblings outside of the catchment.

It's an area with lots of satellite villages all sort of joined together outside 2 large towns, so all of these schools are CofE village schools, many of wjich have expanded from tiny 15/20 intakes to two form entry for some of the larger vlages. If church attendance was a requirement then children who live on the doorstep of the village school wouldn't be able to go because they are not religious which would of course be silly.

[elfycat]

Some religious schools are the main catchment school for every child in the area or village and these are religion-light on the applications.

I think a lot of problems with desirable religious schools happens in towns where there are many choices of school available and sometimes the religious based ones are 'better'. People can be desperate to get their child bumped up even one place on the criteria.

Can I also add that schools have to follow the criteria - no exceptions. My sister has my DN in the catchment school, even though they are edge of catchment and other closer families did not get in. I caught a couple of parents bitching about it at DN's birthday party. They figured that she got DN bumped up the list because she's a teacher (at another school).

DN was adopted in the application year. That's why the place was given. Please don't complain unless you know for sure that someone lied about address or similar fraud. In which case report them so it can be investigated with no guilt on your part.

Lying about something to get your child in = bad and you'll have stolen the place from an eligible child. Facing religious instruction that you don't want for years to get your child in = bonkers but fair enough (I say this as a churchgoer with no religious school in sight).

[Unidentifieditem]

My local council has door dropped 20 recycling bags per household for Xmas. If they can do that they can spam households with a leaflet about school applications once a year. Not hard.

[AlexD72]

I have helped so many parents to fill in applications and so many of them just don't know the basics. One Mother brought the application form back to nursery two weeks late as she was under the impression that we had to send it off as we gave out the admission packs.
This got me thinking and we sent out a letter from the nursery explaining what the parents had to do and if they needed help to contact the admissions team or to phone us if they had any questions. Not all parents have this help and guidance and they really do need it. Also many parents do not take into account the fact a school day is a lot shorter than a private nursery day and that they don't offer care in the holidays. Also the settling in periods vary from school to school and parents are often caught out trying to juggle a full time job with weeks of settling in sessions.

[ShadowKat]

I just dug out the latest copy of the free news magazine the local council drop through our letterbox.

There's a tiny bit about school admissions deadlines about two thirds of the way through. I suppose that might count as the council spamming us about school admissions, but it would be nice if they'd made that more prominent. Say by putting a big version of the school admissions poster on the back cover instead of an advert for a pantomime.

[SuperMumTum]

In Bristol every rising 4 child registered with a GP got a letter with the basic application info, dates and web addresses in September. I imagine the cost can't have been that great compared to the cost of the administration of school applications overall. Also it is very straightforward and the website is very clear on the processes. No excuses for cocking it up round here imo.

[BeyondTheTreelights]

I've done ds1s already. Waiting for january now to do ds2s nursery application!

[NynaevesSister]

It is amazing how little many people know. I was talking to a woman in the park last summer, just general chit chat as the kids played together. Asked which school her son was at and she replied oh he'll be going to the school there as it is right next to us. Same as my son's school. At this point I was confused because from chatting I knew that she had lived in the area for some years and that her son turned 5 that week. It turns out that she worked full time, knew that they had to legally be in school at 5 but wanted the longer hours she could get with a childminder so just decided to start him in Year 1. I tried to explain that she would have to apply through the council but she just dismissed me saying she would get around to going in to the school eventually.

Was talking to another mum recently and asked her what schools she'd liked. She said she wasn't going to decide until she's been to see them. I pointed out that most of the local schools had already had their open days. She replied that she wasn't having any if that staged stuff. She expected to be able to call up and get shown around at a time that suited her - and any school that wouldn't do this was obviously hiding something so she wouldn't consider them. These are state schools. I can't wait to see how that works out for her.

[Hurr1cane]

Just wanted to add that even if you really want your child to go to a special school and have decided on the special school you want, you still need to look at which main stream would be most appropriate and put those choices down and your reasons.

Even if you think mainstream would be completely inappropriate. Sometimes you just won't get a place in special and better you get a good inclusive mainstream for the time being while you fight it than getting a useless one that the council chooses.

[imme]

We went through the application process last year and our son got a place at our local school, our first choice.

Anyway, my point for this thread is.. Make sure you have all your supporting documents ready by the 15th of January deadline. Our LA wants all documentation together with the application, not at a later date as it is in other boroughs. So we had a last minute scramble in the second week of January when we realised we had lost our council tax bill (which comes once a year). In the end we submitted a copy of the long birth certificate, the child benefit letter, and a letter from our solicitor confirming we had bought our house.
We just took photographs of each document and attached them to the online application.

So make sure you check now which documents you need by what date.

[BeyondTheTreelights]

I always keep a ct bill and passports/birth certs scanned into the computer. Then as soon as they request it, I can email it over :)

[NorksWar]

NynaevesSister, our local schools allow prospective parents to look around outside of the open day dates. I've looked at some but will be looking at more in January.

I think the lady has a point, if a school doesn't let you look around what does that say about them?

[RiverTam]

quite a lot of the schools round us allow informal tours as well. Some of the formal tours were shite.

The HT upthread who said people would be fine if they put his school as 1st place - my understanding is that the schools don't get to see what position an applicant has put their school? The only difference that position made was with regard to waiting lists - so if you got allocated school 5, you would be automatically put on the waiting lists of schools 1-4, but not school 6. This is a London borough, it might be different elsewhere.

[rumbelina]

Is it normal to have to supply council tax bill etc...I don't think ours has requested that.