Rejected by first choice nursery school

[IsThisYourSanderling]

Is this a bit odd? Basically DS lives in catchment area of the village nursery school, it’s about 100 yards from our front door. I applied to it as our first choice. We didn’t get in, but both my friends’ sons did, and neither of them live in the catchment area. I’m confused. (They don’t have older siblings there either, so it’s not that).

Do I have any right to find out how this decision was made? FOI and all that? Our second choice was an odd one, Gaelic Medium sixteen miles away in another council area. I’m wondering if they saw an opportunity to ship us out? I’m not intending to fight the decision, though it would have been a lot easier to go to the local nursery than the one 16 miles away, because we gave a baby in tow as well... I’m just genuinely wondering if this is all normal...

There should be an admissions policy I would have thought, that you could ask to see

Posted too soon.

It depends on the set up, but nurseries are not like schools and some may well just use a waiting list and not catchment. Parent often choose nurseries near work rather than home.

How did the applications work?

Where we are applying for a school nursery is a case of first come first served. No admission criteria, like there would be for a school place.

You just applied and if there was a place, they went. If not, you had to wait or go to another.

What's they order prioritise admissions in?
It should be published somewhere.
If distance is high up in the order then yes it's odd that they have places and you don't. Perhaps they have some SEN that you're not aware of?

If they prioritise by date of application, maybe you were just too late.

Did they definitely get your application? I only ask as a friend of ours did a paper application for primary school as she literally lived next door to the school so it was easy for her to pop it in to the school office. Everyone else did it online. Come offers day she didn't have an offer of anywhere. Turns out the school had lost her application. She eventually got a place before the September start but it was a very stressful time.

I'd start by just asking the nursery rather than talking about FOI and 'fighting' the decision at the outset.

Nursery/preschool don't have admissions criteria, like a school would (as far as I know), it's usually first come first served.

Is he starting at a busy time of year? Lots of kids want to start in April when the 2 or 3 year funding starts for a lot of children

What kind of nursery is it? Who runs it?

Is there a difference in the days/hours you have applied for?

Sorry, that should read " what's the order they prioritise admissions in?"

Nursery's usually don't have admissions criteria or catchment areas. Could it perhaps be that they want full time hours and you part time? In which case they would offer your friends sons the places, as it makes them more money.

My guess is your in Scotland and probably 100% right in what you are thinking.

What made you give Gaelic medium as your 2nd choice if you weren't prepared to travel 16 miles to it?

The council's exchange lump sums for cross boundary children, not broken down per child or hours. So yes they'll have seen you a a cheap way to provide nursery too.

School nursery’s generally do have a published admissions criteria that is similar to the school as a whole (although administered separately). I would ask for a copy and ask them to explain the rational behind him not getting a place (sounds like an admin mistake in this case).

If it’s a private nursery that’s different.

Assuming you are in Scotland?

I used to be chair of a pre-school - not attached to a school, but council funded. Every pre-school in our area had its own rules about admissions. Parents had to apply for a place at each one, then go to the council about funding. Councils allocated money only, not places. We operated our admissions on a strict "first come, first served" basis. Someone wanting 5 mornings a week would get priority over someone wanting 3 - as we'd find it difficult to find another child to fill those 2 mornings only.

With you talking about Gaelic provision makes me think you are in Scotland. I know in our council it goes on birthdates not on when you get your form in.

I'd try to see if a nursery nearby has space.

The nurseries around here give places based on who applies first, age of child, and whether the parents will accept morning only or also afternoon sessions. It is only when applying for an actual school place that the standard criteria and catchment areas apply.

Are your friends' children older, or did they apply sooner?

Is this a nursery attached to a school? If so the one my son attended places where offered according to date of birth. Are your friends children older in the school year?

In Scotland nurseries don’t have catchments as such, that only applies to schools.
Are your friends DCs birthdays before your DSs? Usually they are on the list in order of birth date with priority given to applications for children in their pre-school year.

Is this for starting after Easter or after the Summer? If after Easter you could offer to wait till Summer when a raft of children will leave for school. If for after summer, you can choose to hold out for a place in the hope someone leaves or send him to the Gaelic nursery for a year then apply for next year - it will be his pre-school year so should be given priority.
I’m a Principal of Nursery attached to school, you can PM if you want.

As a parent helper at my son's school (in Scotland) I was asked to help with the impartial nursery selection process - it was literally drawing names out of a hat!

I would start by just asking for the admissions criteria and asking what category you were in.

Thanks for the responses everyone, this makes a lot more sense now. Yes I’m in Scotland, and it’s a primary school nursery unit. Both friends’ DCs are older in the year and will be going a term ahead of DS (they start in August, DS not till January). So that must be it. Everything else - hours etc - is exactly the same except we’re in catchment and they’re not. It’s confusing because I’m not sure what all the later born children are supposed to do - it seems unfair if they all automatically go to their second choice, while the best village nursery (which would be first choice for most parents) gets mostly older kids? It’s so weird and arbitrary. And would surely have a knock on effect with primary admissions since nursery kids are guaranteed a place at the school.

Ed we are prepared to travel the distance to Gaelic Medium or I wouldnt have put it down, and I’ve said I’m not fighting our rejection. It’s just less convenient. Hence not our first choice.

Can you contact the list maker (don't know if it would be the school, the nursery or the LEA) and say that you are very keen to be kept on a waiting list?