Primary school appeal

[Lannie3]

Hi,

I was hoping someone could give me some help and advice on the below information.

I am a mum of 3, 1 of my children is in college and the other two are in a local primary school.
One child is will be going into year 4 come September 2022 and my daughter is currently in the school nursery and would of been going into Reception September 2022.

I have completely messed the admissions application up . I put the school she is currently in second place . I submitted the preference information next to the current school she in . But unfortunately she has no place at the school where her brother is . We live 0.4 miles from the school, sibling and baptized. I have spoken with the admissions team, unfortunately after the change of preference her place can not be granted .

At the time of the application I was going through a break up and I have been put to the top of priority of the local council list. I have to now go to appeal and I am so worried that she won’t get her place as this is my mistake. I am trying to fight for my daughter that my mental health at the time of application was not stable and the current position myself and children waiting on a new property from the council.
Has anyone experienced anything like this or has anyone got any advice.

I am not eating or sleeping I am so stressed with this.

To be clear, did you change the order of the preferences on your form after you’d submitted it?

Were you allocated the school down as your first preference?

Hi,

so basically I put 3 schools down my preference school was number 2. I made a genuine mistake.
i didn’t realize the mistake was made until the school places were offered out.
I done the application on my phone and I’ve not realized .
when I realized the admissions team changed my application to a late application and all the places have been offered out.
my daughter meets all the criteria and she would of been offered a place if I didn’t make the mistake .
my hours of work are 9-3 so it is impossible for me to be in two places at once.
the reception class holds 45 children. They have two teachers and two teaching assistants.

thanks

Where are you on waiting list? Presumably you were allocated a space at the school you listed higher. How far apart are they, any before/after school care, does year 4 finish at same time as Reception at both! On what basis are you appealing? If the class is full only a mistake by LA depriving your dd a place will succeed.

Did you get offered the school you had out down as first preference? If not it sounds possible that there was a mistake, and you should have been offered the school you actually want. If you did, a mistake on their part sounds much less likely.

Yes I have been offered the school I put at first place . My mistake. I am just heartbroken that this can happen over one genuine mistake.

i just wanted some advice and to see if this situation had happened to anyone else on here and for any tips as to how to fight it

Ok. Unfortunately it sounds like they have followed the process, and a class size of 45 suggests it would be an Infant Class Size appeal, which unfortunately makes your chances of a successful appeal incredibly slim. Try, by all means, but be realistic about your chances.

Your absolute best bet will be the waiting list - your DD should presumably be very near the top, if not first on the list? Movement will vary by area, but there’s always the chance someone will move, go private, or get a waiting list place elsewhere.

In the meantime, start making back-up plans for September. Does either school have a breakfast club/after school club?

When does your DD turn 5? Deferring in the hope she gets a place could be an option, albeit a risky one with no guarantee of success.

Hi,

Yes, both admissions and school have said she is at the top of their list.

The school my son is in now has a morning and after school club . Unfortunately I have had to reduce my hours because I can’t afford to pay for it anymore with my current home life situation.

I feel so useless and can’t believe one minor error can affect my children’s future.

She turns 5 in December

I'm afraid an appeal on the basis that you made a mistake is very unlikely to succeed. The council appear to have acted correctly. However, the fact your daughter is at the head of the waiting list means you have a very good chance of getting a place that way. You also have the option of deferring entry until January if she doesn't get a place at your preferred school by September, giving a bit longer for the waiting list to move.

You won't lose anything by appealing and you never know what might happen. But you need to be realistic about your chances. The waiting list is your best chance of getting a place.

There is a lot of movement between offers and starting school. My oldest DD got in our prefered school this way as we decided to move after applying. We got in on another city's address. Also same happening right now, my youngest has got in on the waiting list on our current international address (we move far too much), she was a late application so we had to wait until all offerer had been accepted or declined before she was considered.

You mentioned baptised? Is your preferred choice a faith school? You could use this if the other one isn't.