Primary School Applications due TODAY

[TeenTimesTwo]

AIBU to remind parents in England (&Wales?) of children who will turn 5 between 1st Sept 2018 and 31st Aug 2019 that today is the deadline for submitting your application?

If you have forgotten do it now.
If you aren't sure whether you pressed submit then check!

If you only put down one school then are you really sure you will get in?

Have you put them in your true order of preference?

Have you got a 'banker' school on your form somewhere?

I haven’t forgotten, but I’m moving house next month so can’t do a thing until I’m in situ. Late application for us it is, then!

Why not put in application now using current address in case it all falls through?

You can put the application in now and send proof of your new address eg solicitors letter confirming you’ve exchanged or tenancy agreement. That way they’ll take your new address into account and base your application on your new address.

It won’t fall through - our landlord is selling!

I don’t have a new address yet! Ah the joys of renting...

You can still apply from your current address, even if you are applying for schools in a different area! It's worth putting an application in.

Then definitely put in an application today.
Surely it's a no-lose?

If you end up staying locally your application is on time.

If you end up moving further away then you can put in a late application or whatever.

We’re not staying locally.

Just double checked mine to be safe. Thanks for the reminder. Time to forget until 15th April

Shameless bump for afterschool crowd who are so busy with DC1 school run and endless dress up days, that applying for DC2 has somehow got lost.

Won’t be applying now either. Moving back from abroad and no one will look at us until we have a permanent UK address. So different from where we are, where you’re guaranteed a place at your local school and turn up a couple of weeks before the start of term. So much better! You also know that when you buy or rent a house, that’s you set for schools for the next few years. None of this changing catchment malarkey...

Quite frankly, we’re likely to end up going private as the UK state system is so inflexible.

Great, everyone's sorted.

Ive applied, my kids are already in school so I wasn't sure how many places to put down as surely my son should definitely get a place in the school his siblings are at?

With moving and applying for school places I was in that situation 2 years ago and was told to put schools in the area I would be moving to down when I moved I still got a place in the old area that I had in that time moved from so pointless putting it down until you move anyway.

Beware - the sibling rule no longer applies in some local authorities. Mainly to combat the problem of people renting a house in the catchment area to secure a place for their eldest, then never living there and all the siblings getting in too. Check your LA's policy on this.

And please nobody just put one school! It doesn't give you priority. If you don't get in there then they can place your child anywhere.

bumping!

And do double check that your application has submitted properly and you have a hard copy note of your reference number (and print out any useful screens)

Also, even if your DC is at the school's nursery - you need to apply for a reception place

Oh I only put 3. I thought I was pretty much guaranteed a place like 99%. Better check now.

I’ve put three too. The top two are the closest. If we don’t get in there, then we won’t get in anywhere.

It isn’t necessarily pointless to put in an application if you are moving. Some, if not most areas will allow you to change the address after application deadline and still be considered on time.

Also, don’t forget to check whether an of your schools need to to submit a supplementary form and where and when that has to be submitted.

With moving, sometimes moves fall through. So if you haven't applied for a place in current locality you could be left with nothing / the least desired school.

Wish they would have let me do that I ended up skipping reception for dd because of it.

Catchment (or priority admission) can be brutal though. Our town is 200+ primary places short this year based on birth rate. We went to look at a house opposite a highly regarded local school and the man selling said out of 60 places last year 33 went to siblings first, and then 10 to kids on his street alone. Children 5 streets away weren’t getting in. I’m sure the parents had no idea that the school they assumed they’d go to would be so full so quickly. This is what happens when a school becomes Outstanding and every middle class couple with 3 kids moves in! So putting all the choices down is worth it.

I’d also add to double check with your local authority about what proof they require from you.

We’re in Cambridgeshire and the website is very woolly, on one hand saying you’ll be asked to provide evidence if required and on the other saying all applications need to be supported with proof of ID for child and proof of address!

It wasn’t helped by the fact that one of the mums at nursery said her friend had her application rejected last year because she didn’t know she had to provide ID: she had to go through the second round of applications later in the spring.

In the end I emailed and asked and they said yes we needed to provide the proof so I snapped a photo of DDs birth certificate and downloaded a utility bill and emailed those across.

Don’t panic about the applications closing today as far as ID goes, Cambridgeshire say you have until 31st Jan to provide it so I guess other LAs are the same.

Email/call your LA tomorrow to ask for clarification

We're hoping to buy a new build in a different local authority area. completion estimated for May but its currently juat a few rows of bricks! I spoke to both LAs and they said apply to the new LA using our current address but put a note on with the new address and reason for wanting to apply to a school totally out of current LA.

Thats what i have done and put 4 schools on my list. First choice wasnt over subscribed last year but there is a lot of new build in the area...

Just crossing fingers now that the house gets built, we sell ours and move in May and ds gets the place in first choice new school!

Stress!