Choosing a school

[LesleyA]

HI can anyone please tell me if I can reserve a place in a good school while buying in that area. I'm concerned about the conflicting information I get. I hear that you need an address to apply for a school but what if you buy in a good area (so expensive) with the aim to get into a certain school/s and find they are full. As my daughter has special needs/behind/dyselexia and we are moving from SA I cant afford (obviously no-one can) that she falls further behind especially as she comes from a very supportive small class school.

No, you cannot reserve a place.

If the school is full, as many of them will be, it is just too bad I'm afraid. It happens all the time when people move homes. There are no guarantees of a place in a school if you miss the regular application dates and do not haave a residence in the area.

Your Local Authority that manages school admssions must find you a school though. As you are not here, your DD's needs have not been assessed here so I would just ensure she gets into a school and then is assessed as soon as possible if the school agrees after their assessments. Any school is better than no school so I do not think you necessarily need to be despondant. You will need to discuss your DD's needs and possible schools with the Local Authority and as soon as you have a permanent address.

Hi BubblesBuddy thank you for your feedback. It is concerning about just being placed in a school. I might be comparing it to South Africa but there are many schools in SA that I would definitely not feel that any school is better than no school so I'm hoping that that means the general standard is fine? so worst case scenario is still good. My daughter has been through so much in terms of schools - not managing in her previous school and we recently moved her to a smaller school. She's so happy there and we didnt expect to have to be moving her again.:(

How old is your daughter and where are you moving to?

If your Dd's needs are documented (diagnosis form SA health care professionals / educational psych reports etc) then you could use these to appeal for places at schools that would be able to support her needs.