Romesh Ranganathan - School Places & Entitlement

[FightingFish]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewgj1ry9x7o.amp

I’ve seen this story popping up a lot on social media and we are only seeing one side of the story. Schools publish their allocations policy and apparently RR has moved house since his older children were allocated a place. He obviously didn’t consider the implications of moving outside of catchment at that point. There are only so many places, AIBU to wish that he would acknowledge that? I also feel sorry for the kid, if my father was a multi millionaire, I’d rather he shelled out on a place at a private school instead of bleat on about how hard done by he is!

no need to drop secondary age pupils tho

No idea what it is really like. Except my kids are at different schools. (The eldest’s school is selective so no sibling priority at all). We cope fine.

If he cared that much about his kids being at the same school all he had to do was not move house.

It does seem very unreasonable however to be offered none of your 4 choices!

Not if he picked 4 choices that he is unlikely to get into...

Would have thought his kids were educated privately?

Different secondary schools can work for some people. But lots of people for very practical reasons would like their children at the same school, and I really don't think that's unreasonable.

Do we actually know that he did move house before his older children got admitted to the school? Or is this just rumour and speculation? Finally, as I said he is highlighting a real problem for many families.

How are parents expected to ensure all dc are at school on time?

secondary dc normally travel alone.

My siblings & I went to different secondaries but we travelled independently

This happens in my area. All the schools are oversubscribed but one seems more popular than others. I'm pretty sure lots of people live in the area and go to church for long enough to get child #1 in, and then move somewhere else. Despite the catchment area being pretty small, plenty of pupils arrive by train (from different towns) everyday.

I would read the admissions criteria. In my area some school prioritise siblings, others it is children in the parish boundary. Whether I had 1 or 10 children I would still think a village school should prioritise the local children.

I mean he’s far from the only one, there’s a whole thread of people moaning and complaining that they didn’t get to their top choices.

@miserablecat it's unusual for a faith school to have a small catchment.

Exactly, so why is he getting such a hard time on this thread? If I found out that he got special treatment because of his celebrity status then yes that would be fair enough... but for complaining serious!

I know some schools who prioritised local dc over siblings further away. It's because it can hollow out a local community for the school and hog have people leaving opposite a school but dc not getting a place.

Some faith schools are quite small (one form entry primary)

Hmm people should read the rules but the number of parents who do not understand their preferred schools's admission policy is silly. It's not rocket science.

I am glad he ihas spoken out about this.
Many years ago, my youngest ended up at a different school to his siblings and it is a piece of shit getting that to work when parents are working etc, even if school buses are involved.
You can end up as we did with different half terms and all sorts of hopelessly challenging issues.
I heard him talking - it is secondary school not a village school

Some faith schools are quite small (one form entry primary)

yes but as no 1 criteria is faith and church attendance they tend to go much further out than a non faith option.

For secondary I’m not surprised siblings are not that high up the criteria - surely kids are expected to get themselves to and from school, so it doesn’t really matter? It’s not like primary where parents will be doing a school run.

I think it's wrong he hasn't got a place for the youngest - absolutely obvious that if you have older children in that school it's best for all round if they are kept together - that's in the best interests of the children

People often have to move to upsize/ get more rooms - why should that be penalised? Particularly when a child is impacted.

Sounds like an excuse. I’ve got 3 children myself and have always managed to organise them to get to school on time. At one point I had one at secondary, one at primary and one at nursery. Currently I have one at primary, one at secondary and one at a different secondary in sixth form. Once they are 10 + they can walk, bike or get on a bus themselves. Not difficult.

People often have to move to upsize/ get more rooms - why should that be penalised? Particularly when a child is impacted.

Why should a local child miss out on a place because other families have moved out though?

@FightingFish
Wonderful for you, mine were at Catholic schools, nobody could walk to them (not even primary) and the public transport was not reliable.
I think it is wrong that siblings are not top priority after looked after children in admissions policy.

@Catsandcheese but if yours were at catholic surely you aware that siblings are not top priority?

As I have said it's not really about getting to school is it.

But seriously, it is not unreasonable to want your children at the same school if they're close enough in age to have that experience.

If siblings were prioritised over catchment in our area, the children in the furthest village wouldn't be able to access the school bus to get them to school. That wouldn't be fair either.

The alternative would be larger clas sizes to accommodate catchment and siblings... People wouldn't want that either!

Unfortunately, some families will not get what they want.