Please advise me, totally new to this school stuff!

[midnightinmoscow]

Need to apply for DS's primary place for September 2014.

We have a school that is literally 2 mins across the road from us. However, it is not our first choice by any stretch because of the following:

1. DS has multiple serious allergies, and I just didn't feel 100% confident about their handling of it.
2. They close at lunchtime on a Friday...all year round. (DH and I work FT)
3. No after school or breakfast club.

However, we really like 3 other schools in the area, felt much more confident about their attitude to allergies, and they all have internally run after school clubs.

What would happen if we were to totally disregard our closest school and put the other three down? Would it be completely ignored?

TIA

The EA guidelines state that your preferences will be taken into account but it is possible that you won't be given a place in any of the schools listed in your application. The EA will allocate places based on the schools' admission criteria and will consider the schools on your application first, before moving on to the rest options including the one nearest to you.

The other three schools - is any of them a faith school? These would have their own criteria so you have to make sure that you provide supplementary information.

By all means, when submitting the application put only those schools which you would want for your DS and hope for the best. Chances are, you will get what you are after.

To add, in your application you can state your reasons for preferring this or that school. So you might want to mention that you and DH work full-time so particular schools will suit you because of their afterschool care provision. It might be taken into account by EA.

Good luck!

If you don't put it down, you won't get offered a place there, but equally if the schools further away can fill the year with kids who are higher up the criteria list, you run teh risk of not being offered a place anywhere.

If it was me, I'd put the school opposite (if you think you'll get in) as your last choice. Then if the others don't have a space, you will get offered a school place, and can go on the waiting lists for the other schools.

I didn't put down our closest school and DS got into one further away, but it wasn't oversubscribed and we were still close enough to be confident of a place.

I think if there were any doubt of a place in the other schools, I'd put closest school last on my list so you'd get a place there and not a crappy far away school if the other schools are full with siblings and closer pupils.

After school care issues will not be taken into account.

All that matters is how well you fit the entrance criteria.

You should use all but the last slot on the form for the schools you really want, in the order you want them. The last slot should be for the 'banker' - ie the school you are pretty damned sure you'll get a place at. Think about putting you 2mins away school here. Even though you don't want DS to go there, if you do not get any of your higher choices, would you prefer a school you don't much like on your doorstep, or the undersubscribed one you don't much like miles away?

Thank you all so much for the helpful advice.

I agree that I would rather him be in a school I'm not keen on closer to home than one that is miles away!

How many choices do you get? Here it is 4 for Primary/Infant school and 6 for Secondary.

Also have you considered using a childminder for the wrap around care before and after school. Childminders are often much more clued up with regards to allergies and especially with reception age children give them a chance to rest after school as they do find it very tiring for at least the first half term, even if they've been in a full time nursery previously. This is because the structure at school, although it still follows the EYFS is different to that at nursery and often takes parents by surprise at how tired their children are after school.