Help with my school placement puzzle!

[Kirsten1234]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone has a bright idea to solve our school placement puzzle...

We currently have a son in Y1 and a daughter who will start Reception in Sep '25.

We want to move to a new area and school. Currently the school doesn't have space in Y1, but they say to get on the waiting list

How do we get our children into this school? We need to be in the catchment area to get my son on the waiting list and apply for a Reception place for my daughter. But I can't live there and commute to the current school, that's too far.

Anyone managed a situation like this??

Thanks 🙏

We moved and my two girls went to a different local school while on the waiting list. DSS started after the summer in the nearest school and we juggled two schools until spaces became available for DDs

You move to the new area and put him in the closest school to your new house that has space and keep him on the waiting list for the new school, being mindful that depending on how much movement there is and how big the school is he might not ever get offered a space at the school you want him and his sister to attend.

After you move, you apply to the schools. If its more than a certain distance from your old school, the local council will allocate you a place in a school with spaces. You then either accept, or home educate while on the waiting list.

Thanks! How did your girls deal with moving school twice?

The LA will offer you a school place, probably further away, which you can attend while on waiting list. Alternative is to home educate but that needs to be a sustainable solution. If your dd application is successful your ds will move up the list if sibling priority is a criteria, but only once she has started school, so you may risk two drop offs for a while. Infant class size restrictions cease at year 3 so you could also appeal at that point.