Mid Term admissions

[mrsnec]

Hi everyone.

I have quite a complex situation. I separated from my DH. We were living abroad. He wants reconciliation. He is still abroad with the DC. I am back in the UK to sort accommodation and school places for the children. Just to give you some background. It's all been very stressful for me. I found a house and I'm settled. There are 2 school nearby. I decided I really liked one of them. I thought DH and I could bring the children to look at the school and at first they said yes but when I went to book they said they were possibly becoming over subscribed and I'd have to get an application in straight away.

I haven't agreed to DH living with me yet and he hasn't found accommodation and can't even finalise a date for bringing the DC over permanently.Anyway I felt pressured by the school. Put in an application to the council for as far ahead as their lead time would allow.

I didn't put a second choice as I was put off the other one because it is undersubscribed and not as easy to get to. Also the one I prefer is a faith school which is what they're used to.

Anyway my DS has been offered a place but DD hasn't. I've emailed the local authority and haven't had a reply and they just told me there's nothing I can do they need to wait for a response from the school and not to chase them myself and that all I can do is wait.

DH is coming over in a week with the DC and wanted to look at accommodation but I don't have school places lined up and there's nothing I can do. I said couldn't I just apply for the other school now too and they said no.

Are they right? Have I missed the boat? Will my DC end up in different schools miles away from each other? Should I just submit new applications for the other school. I feel stupid and anxious just because I don't know the system. I just wanted some reassurance.

Sorry this is long winded. Just wanted to give a back story about why I'm so stressed.

That's also a dilemma. I don't know if I should appeal.

Both schools are the same distance from my house. One is a slightly easier walk. They both have the same offstead rating and reputation but one is 3 times the size of the other one. I have no idea about any others I didn't even look because they are either full or too far away.

I agree about staying put now. I've just moved back to the UK from abroad and literally everything has been challenging.

If the second school will take them both, and you are OK about it, I wouldn't appeal. It will take time, might not be successful and in the mean time, the other school might fill up.
Moving is stressful. Moving abroad is even more stressful. Divorce is stressful. Take it easy on yourself.

I'm coming round to the idea of the second school. I'm impressed by it's online presence and community activities and it does have the same uniform they wear now. I'll only have to buy sweatshirts. And I accept I was wrong to judge a school based on a few dodgy kids who insist on kicking thier football at my trolley outside Asda!

It's just annoying DD has a place but it still has to go through a panel and then applying again for DS with no guarantees.

I don't think I'm going to appeal. These people have zero empathy I have don't have the energy to fight them.

And thanks I'll try. UC assessment appointment tomorrow wonder what they've got in store for me.

For yrs 1 and 2 an appeal will not work assuming the classes are in multiples of 15. They cannot legally be upheld.

Yes it's years 1&2.

The second school is apparently today showing 20+ spaces available in both year groups.

You have been in the UK since October? Plenty of time to research schools and admissions procedures. I would be very surprised if a school offered two places for children who are not currently domiciled in the UK, especially with a proposed start date in May. Have you been completely honest with the admissions department?

It sounds like they must have a large intake then to have so many spare places in each year group. Which suggests there's no rush to apply. Have you visited?

@viques 100 percent yes I've been honest.

I'm also an emotional wreck from having to leave an abusive relationship and having to leave my kids behind.

I didn't know where I was going to end up and had to find a house first. When I found my house I was in contact with the school that have refused DD and I got very hung up on them going there because it's the most similar to the one they're used to.

I hope that explains everything for you.

A lot of people don’t want faith schools so the other school should be a local mixture. They’ll find it easier to make friends and form football clubs and such like - smaller school struggle.

I’ve worked in both - one bad 1 TA for 5 high level needs kids - the other had one in every class so nurture is more accessible and help available to catch up.

That said - it school B has spaces in both year groups then it shouldn’t be a problem.

Faith school admissions are different to local school admissions and you can apply to both.

I don’t know who you’re talking to, but you can accept place A and go on the waiting list for B - which might happen before May - but they need to be in the county as schools won’t hold places open.

@titchy I haven't officially visited either school.

The CofE one told me it was pointless until I'd been offered a place.

I haven't even contacted the other one yet. But both schools take part in community events and I have enrolled both DC in some of these when they're here next week so they will be interacting with potential teachers and classmates.

I would assume the panel approval is a formality. If they genuinely have 20+ spaces in each year, I would decline DS's place and apply for the bigger school for him. They should both get a place easily, and that sounds far less stressful than holding out for a place in a small school, where it could be years before anyone moves.

FWIW I'm a fan of bigger schools. My children attend 3 form entry schools and that is standard where we live (most are 2 or 3 form).

@BluebellsGreenbells that's interesting. I'm atheist but the DC go to a faith school now (Greek Orthodox) my friends in the UK from where I grew up all seemed to favour CofE schools. Some of them got their DCs baptised or moved to specific area because those schools were better.

Here the bigger school with more spaces has more and better facilities I was prioritising the ease of transition I think and I was pressured by the CofE school before I had the chance to properly research the big one.

@BendingSpoons Thanks, that makes me feel better. I hope you're right.

Religious schools are often favoured in England. It's a bit chicken and egg. They often get better results, so more middle class parents work hard to get into them, so they have a cohort with generally engaged parents, which is a large part of why they get better results!

It sounds like in your case, you have 2 decent schools, so I would go with the easiest option, the school that can offer them both spaces.

@BendingSpoons I grew up in Surrey and I'm in South Devon now so the middle class thing? Highly likely I rekon

The other school has space and has offered but now she needs to be 'panel approved'

No idea what that means. If there is a place it must be offered. There should be no separate approval process. On the face of it, that sounds like it may be a breach of the Admissions Code.

I apparently have to refuse his place at the CofE school and reapply and then there's no guarantee even though they are showing places available.

Assuming we are in England, it sounds like yet another case of an LA making up its own rules. You can apply for any school at any time. They cannot put restrictions on it, such as saying you can't apply if you've already got an offer somewhere else.

@prh47bridge

Yes it's England. Devon County Council. They've been an absolute nightmare to deal with.

Think you really need to be sure about what is going on here. AS PRH says it sounds like a local authority doing it "their way" rather than following the admission guidance.
If the school has 20+ places in the year groups that you want spaces then under most circumstances the admission guidance would state that the pupils have to be admitted to the school. The only realistic way that the school could refuse entry is if each class had more than 30 infant pupils in the class. If the school has 90 places in each year group I cannot see how they could do this unless there were only 2 classes with 30 in each of the classes in each of the year groups. That is starting to stretch coincidences a bit far.
There is only one other possibility and that is, for some reason, the LA want the applications to go to what is called the fair access protocol group. That is when there are no places and you fit into a set category of pupils who are vulnerable or hard to place. It is a way of getting such pupils into schools that are full.
From what you have said on posts I do not believe you qualify but again sometimes this happens with LAs.

I moved to this area because its where my parents are but I was priced out of the two areas either side of them because of silly property prices. There's an influx of people moving from all over the place. I was priced out of Torbay and South Hams so I settled for Teignbridge. I know I was lucky to get what I did property wise but just didn't see getting school places a problem until it actually happened.

I made the initial inquiry with the CofE school before Xmas and then it wasn't a problem. It was only a few weeks later that I was told it was almost full and two of the other schools close to that one are already full.

So that also rang alarm bells about the big school as to why you'd have 3 schools almost at capacity and one with 20+ places in 2 year groups.

I haven't done anything else today. I decided to see what they come back with tomorrow.