To think this amounts to a monumental reception place fuck up?

[DelphineCormier]

Parent only wants DC to go to the nearest outstanding school. School is a religious school, prioritiss kids of same denomination and is in an area with a place shortage. It is oversubscribed by kids who meet the religious criteria every year. In area as a whole there have been cases the last few years of kids getting no place at all. Lots go private. Family is not religious at all, let alone this denomination. Parent therefore puts down this school in every option box on application form, adds in additional comments box that they work full time and can't home educate because DC would be at home alone all day. Needs this school because is most convenient for drop offs and child is exceptionally bright. Parent isn't worried about allocation day, thinks they have it sorted. Aibu to think no council is that stupid?

I hope I haven't fucked up DD's application

I put five different schools but not the 'poor' one neared to us (literally at the end of our street)

I did put down the reasons for this. Dd has been diagnosed with add and needs some support at school. When we visited the person showing us around admitted they had very poor support in this area and directed me to the ofsted report (which showed poor SN provision)

I'm a bit worried now, that as I didn't put down the very nearest school to us that they will not accept us for any.

I'm hoping she gets into another nearby school who have been recommended to us and seemed fantastic (for DD's needs anyway)

Crapping myself until April

asd

There's one of these on here every year! People never learn!

Our kids school had 24 siblings the year of DS2s application, even though DS was a siblings I still wasn't 100% he would get in!! That only left 6 places for other children

YANBU, but a relative of mine has done something very, very similar for a catholic middle school they live nowhere near. They are also not catholic.

They haven't written the same school in all boxes - but have only filled in one box. No second choice, because they don't want their nearest school.

I don't quite get the logic either! I'm dreading the fallout come April.

Worked for my cousin. All depends on the number of kids that year.

If worked for your cousin becuse she met the admissions criteria for her first preference not because she only put one choice Astoria.

Nope Avioleta. Cousin's a Hindu they applied to a Catholiv school.

I think what Avioleta means Astoria, is that your cousin's child would have been offered a place at her first choice school even if she had written six different schools down on her application form.

You will only ever be offered your first choice of school if you meet the admissions criteria. That criteria in your cousins case may well have been a low priority one such as "any other applicants". It still counts as meeting the criteria.

I live in an area where a couple of years ago about 80 families didn't get any of their five choices, even when they'd picked all the local schools, as there was just too few places. There was also an unprecedented amount of sibs, possibly about two thirds of the places went to them. There was a massive campaign to get bulge classes

Yet the following year there were one or two people who lived out of catchment for those same schools but chose them as they were outstanding and then were astonished they didn't get in. Even though the whole point was the children who lived in catchment were struggling to get in!

I was told if you've put 3 choices they will try to get you your first choice, then second etc. If someone else has put same 2 choices but no third they will do the same. However let's say school 1 had no places left, school 2 had 1 place left and school 3 had a few places left. The applicant that only put the 2 choices would get school B place because person who put 3 choices had another school option entered.

Don't know how true but in this scenario both children would go to a school listed as one of their choices. But the one who only put 2 chouces down gets the better placement

My Childrens primary is a 1 form intake and when ds2 was applying they ended up with a bulge class of 42 to accommodate the 36 siblings for that year! It's the only bulge class the school has, it's not so bad in ks1 as they are split into 2 groups but they will come back together as a massive class. I'm hoping some kids will have moved on by then.

bigearsthethird that is not how it works the families are independently ranked for all the schools. Whichever child falls into the highest category/ is nearest will be offered the place. If that is sensible applicant who put three choices down then they would be offered it even though they would also be happy with school 3. If it is the other applicant then if they are lucky then they will be offered school 3, but as it wasn't on their list that school could already be full of people who put it 2nd or 3rd. They might therefore have to travel across town to the school that no one else wants.

That's total rubbish bigears. Who gets the places depends on who meets the criteria. Doesn't matter how many schools you put down or don't put down, if there are only 60 places and 60 other kids are higher up the admissions criteria, you won't get a place. You'll get a place at the closest available school you meet the criteria for once everyone who meets admissions criteria for their preferences has been allocated.

Ok, friend from the council , dept of education, says that's how it's done so they try to get everyone a place from the choices entered. I have no idea though just thought I'd mention it. Perhaps we're not in a massively over subscribed area or something so it generally works out like that here.

Your friend is either not involved in admissions, or has totally garbled what has to happen in school admissions, or has just confided in you that the council is breaking the law.

Your friend probably doesn't understand how it works either.
Schools must follow the statutory admissions code. Disadvantaging family A because they put down 3 preferences and benefiting family B because they only put down 2 (or 1) preference flies in the face of published criteria.

Seconding meditrina. There is absolutely no way what you are saying makes logical or legal sense within the system as it exists. Absolutely no way whatsoever. Otherwise everyone would just list one school

bigears - nope - they dont 'try' to get you your first or second choice at all. They put all children who have applied for that school (be it 1st, 2nd or 3rd choice application) in order, the top 30 (if 1 form entry or top 60 if 2 form etc) get a place. However, if they are on that school's list as choice 2 or 3 and are also in the top 30 for their 1st choice school, they'll get that place, drop off the list for choices 2 & 3, and everyone on those lists will move up one place.

If you don't put a choice 3, then all that happens is if you would have got choice 1 or 2 anyway, you'll get that, but it doesn't increase your place on the list for those schools.

Astoria - the only reason it 'worked' for your cousin is she would have got choice 1 regardless of how many other choices she put down. It's not unheard of for faith schools to not have enough applications in the faith category so then allocate the rest of the places on 'distance' (regardless of faith) - but not putting down other choices doesn't increase your chance of getting a place at your first choice school.

To make clearer bigears - what your friend might have meant by "try" to get you a prefered place - if you would meet the criteria for a place at your 1st and 2nd choice school, plus meet the criteria at several others in the town, they will always offer you a place at your most prefered school, choice 1.

If you only put down one choice, then they will only 'try' to get you a place at one school before allocating whatever is left - but they won't put you higher up the list because you only put down one choice over another parent who lives closer to the prefered school, but also put down other choices (assuming you are both in the 'distance' criteria).

Well I did think it sounded a bit odd (and unfair on that basis!) I've been lucky and always got my first choice so never really thought too much about it. I only put down 2 for my youngest primary place but that's because I don't want him to go to school number 3 in our area. If he ends up there, I'll seriously consider home schooling.

The parents of a friend of DD's tried that with secondary school.

Ended up being allocated a school they'd never have chosen in a million years with a 16 mile round trip to/from each day.

My DD didn't get a place at our local primary when we moved here, we lived on the same road, literally 200ft from the gates. She got allocated a place 3 miles away which meant I had to buy a car to get her there.

Never ever assume that because you live close/have siblings there/know the vicars cat that you are guaranteed a place at any school.

We moved here from Scotland and the system there is every child is allocated a place at the closest school. It's that simple. If there are too many children they add another class.

Then I moved here and had to deal with all sorts of form filling shit and angst about 'good schools'. DD is now at middle school (thankfully back in catchment and very local) but in two years we have to deal with the high school selection. Either the local good high school or the high school or sister went to 7 miles away (only place available when we moved) which is fantastic but ironically she may not get into.