Moved area; 2 children given places in 2 different primary schools

[Stumpfest]

Has anyone been in this situation before and what did you do?

I have dd6 in y1 and dd4 in R, we've just moved areas and been given a school 1.8 miles away from our house for dd4 and dd6 has been given a place at a different school 1.9 miles in the complete opposite direction. I cant drive and have an 18 month old to also lug around on the school run.

I could just about hack doing the school run with them if we were going back and forth to 1 school but I have no idea how on earth we can make this arrangement work until a place becomes free for either sibling at either school. Can't afford to do before/after school club to stagger pick up/drop off and even if we could that would still mean one child is walking a ridiculous amount of miles per day.

We had to move and I just have no idea what to do. Dd 4 is a June baby and is really struggling with getting to grips with school as it is.

@StepAwayFromGoogling

Appeal. A friend of mine had this. Apparently most schools have a maximum set by total number of pupils at the school, not by class. So if there is a place in any class in any of the years you can argue your case based on that.

This is not true, especially for years R--2 where Infant Class Size rules apply, and they cannot exceed 30 pupils per teacher. It doesn't matter how many vacancies there are in other year groups, it's how full your year is that matters.

Also transport is provided only when the school is over 2 miles away, so OP would not qualify. And councils really can't adpfford to provide more than their statutory obligations.

I think that, when you can face it, ringing round all schools you could possibly reach to see if they have two vacancies might be the best way ahead

@SnackSizeRaisin

I will definitely be calling around every school as soon as I can on Monday. Unfortunately we've ended up in an area where the roads aren't particularly cycle friendly either and public transport is very hit and miss according to neighbours. We could potentially bike in the future, but all of our outdoor items have been disposed of and I need every penny for food/rent/heating at the moment.

I'd happily walk them for miles to get to a different school that could take both but I'm not sure the kids could hack more than 2 miles each way.

Thank you everyone. We moved here very suddenly and had no real option of where to go so I need to find out what help might be available. There are schools closer, closest is about 0.5 miles but they are a c of e and i know they are full. You've all given me a lot to think about thanks.

I would home school both children until you can get places for your kids at the nearest school. You’ve been through a lot by the sounds of it and having a short local walk to school will really help you. Although schools are oversubscribed where we live, there are children leaving in those early Yr 1 and reception years as parents move house when the kids aren’t too settled yet. If you’re a single parent you really need to be at your nearest local school for support from other local parents, not one 2 miles away. You have options for your very youngest as it wouldn’t be a crazy idea to keep her back a year, so she could go into reception this year or next year if there’s a place then and you haven’t missed this year’s application deadline.

*middle child not very youngest

A lot of schools don’t deal direct with these requests - you may just have to deal with Admissions at the Local Authority- they will advise what schools/year groups have spaces. Appeals are also dealt with by the LA.

Go to writetothem.com and email your Cllrs - they can make reps to admissions on your behalf, save you hanging on the phone.

Ahhh, sorry for the duff information, OP. My friend's children were definitely out of Infant school.

Yes if you do find a place it will have to go through the local authority (a really simple form) but all the schools near us advertise places on the website and encourage parents to get in touch.
Sounds like you've had a really year so I do hope you get a positive outcome.

I used to sit on admission appeals. Sadly KS1 is really difficult and appeals panels will be breaking the law if they admit a KS1 child where the class size is above 30 unless either a mistake was made in the admissions process (that would otherwise see the child admitted), or the admissions arrangements were not correctly applied/legal and if they were, a place would have been given. There is one more ground, that the decision was 'unreasonable' but that is reserved for situations where the decision not to admit was absolutely unreasonable, e.g., a child would be in danger.

Unfortunately, there are places within 2 miles for both children, so transport will not be given, even if you find places further away that will take them.

What you can do, is phone every school in the area to confirm that they definitely do not have both a year R and year 6 place. If they do, you can then apply to the LA for that specific school.

@underneaththeash

Well if there's no place, there's no place. What did you expect would happen?

Manners🙄

I would keep the four year old at home. It would be so much better for her!

Be patient. Book breakfast club for one child. Where I live there are many children not in school because of mass exodus from London

But also keep apply to both schools

True that in cities there is a lot of movement. We are in London and our school was heavily over subscribed in reception but now my son is in year 5 and several children gone from the class and not been replaced.

@underneaththeash

Well if there's no place, there's no place. What did you expect would happen?

em·pa·thy

/ˈempəTHē/

noun

the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

I am a TA in reception and we have a child who has a sister in a different School. Schools are also in different directions but not as far. We are flexible as we are aware of the situation, it seems to me that the parents seem to alternate which child is late on a weekly basis. I would speak to both schools in the first instance and make them aware - you won’t be the first parent in this situation.

I’m so sorry @Stumpfest, it sounds like you and your children have had a really hard time and could do without this, I really hope it gets sorted for you soon and that things start to look up

Hope you get something sorted OP. Ignore the rude people x

You sound like you've had a challenging time. Go easy on yourself and keep the middle child at home for now, it won't hurt in the long run x

All the best OP, hope things work out well for you.

@underneaththeash

Well if there's no place, there's no place. What did you expect would happen?

Thats very heljpful. Why would you even post that when somebody reached out looking for practical advice?

I'd definitely keep the four year old at home. I didn't send my children to school until they were 5.5 and they both settled in so quickly and well when they went. I don't want this to turn into a thread about the advantages and disadvantages of going to school early, but I want to reassure you that going to school that little bit older can be great for children.

Stumpfest sorry you have had a difficult time.

This happened quite a lot where I worked and parents had up to 3 miles difference. The best thing would probably be to speak to the Headteachers in each school. Ask for an appointment and to view the school. You will know if one would suit your children more and also walk the routes. Hopefully the favoured school will be the one suiting your eldest child then you could defer sending the younger one but check if there is a school nursery. If there was a place there it might suit her to go to the nursery part time. A lot of walking for you though. Then you are in a good position for a placement for September. Being a summer birthday means she will be older and hopefully by then more confident. I had two summer birthday children starting school in England. The boy 4 exactly suffered right through school but my daughter sailed in at 4:3 and never looked back. If your middle child is struggling now with the move let her settle into the new house, go to parent and toddler and supplement her education at home.

Please do go and speak to the Head as sometimes they know about a child moving but also being aware of perhaps emotional issues and can offer a solution. We sometimes admitted summer born children to the nursery for part of the day or supported parents choice to wait until the child was 5.

If you have to send them to different schools then definitely speak to the Head and staff and explain the difficulty and sometimes a member of staff is willing to help by waiting with that child. We had a few over the years that just waited in class and helped tidy up. I had one whose dad was late every week picking up due to work and distance. We liked our little chats every Thursday while waiting but please thank the staff member. His dad never thanked me and I had others over the years too. A simple thank you. If you are held up more then a quick phone call.

I hope you will be very happy once everything has settled down. We had a sudden move due to a family bereavement and a disabled parent but my children settled in really well and we had two house moves. A new year - a fresh start.💐

I would send your older child, and keep your four year old at home. Meanwhile, put your younger child on the waiting list for the eldest child's school, and put both on the waiting lists for any other schools that are doable distance wise.

Situations like this are rubbish, but sadly I don't believe travel arrangements are grounds for appeal. Hopefully a space will come up soon.

Also consider getting a cargo bike for the school run if you can't drive.