School Places

[MumsVoice]

I am so worried I dont know what to do...
My eldest girl will be in year 2 in September and my boy will be in year 1 in September, my youngest is in the school nursery at the moment she started in January and I have just been told she did not get into Reception!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have a meeting on Monday with the head and apparently she is 6th on the waiting list. She is only on the list because of her siblings!!!! I know of 2 children that live further away from me with no siblings in the school that got a place and I am deverstated!!! The school is C of E and at the time of applying had left my church and was looking for another place of worship but if I had put that on the form I would look like I was lying!!!! So I left it blank!!!! I went to the Priest of my last place of worship and he is writing me a letter for me to give the head on Monday to try and help because we are now back at our church...... I have just joined Mumsnet and would really like any advise I am so worried what I am going to say to my baby why she can't go to school in September... Please Help

is this a state school? intake is done on siblings first so you should have got a place without any doubt contact the lea and ask them why your child did not get offered a place and ask how to appeal the descion do this now!after siblings is catchment area of school! religion request comes in third so i dont understand why you did not get a place . did you keep a copy of the application form.

Sorry to hear you've found yourself in this situation, it can't be much fun. Have you been attending another church since you left your previous one? As a CE school it's likely that the admissions policy would put active church attendance quite high up the list and that if you no longer attend the church then it's right to expect that you wouldn't be given preferential treatment over other applicants who are current members of the church.

Presumably others who are above you on the waiting list also have siblings in the school but no longer attend church? I think you will have to be honest with your children and explain that the school chooses children who go to church and, as your family stopped attending, they have chosen other children instead.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but school admissions, especially to church schools, are an emotive subject and there are people in RL who will attend church for a while to get child1 in and hope that this is sufficient to secure subsequent children a place too. In the interests of fairness people whose church attendance has lapsed have to be treated as non-church-goers.

kittycat68, different areas/schools will have different orders of priority!

Well presumably the criteria is siblings/church attendees
non-siblings/church attendees
siblings/non-church attendees
non-church attendees

Did you not read the criteria before you applied for the place? Leaving the church attendance blank would automatically put you further down the priority list.

Sorry - that sounds blunt. SE13Mummy put it much better.

admissions criteria vary from place to place

at our church school it's something like

children at the church, with siblings

chilodren at the church, without siblings

children from other churches, with siblings

from other churches, without siblings

other children

so... if the OP had left it that they were at no church, then they may have had a lot of people ahead of them...?

OP, I hope that the letter from your priest helps! can you appeal at all?

Thanks all for your replys...
I am now attending the chuch that I left because of a very personal matter which the head of our church understood... I am hoping that his letter will help with her on the waiting list... I have applied for an appeal,
Also I found out today that a boy lives further away from the school than we do and the child has a different religion and no siblings!!!! The school we are in is a VA Church of England school... I will find out more on Monday!!! Just feel really terrible
Thanks again

keep your chin up and fight your corner with the school and lea, my children were in a c/e school whilst i know differnet school have differnt prioity you need to re read your prioity list if you dont have it try to get one, however in my experience you have a good case for appeal i dont agree what SE13 said about telling the children! wait they dont need the stress or upset try to sort it out first and tell them afterwards if you cant get them into the school kids should be kept out of adult problems

Hello all Thanks for advise...
I have just come back from a meeting from the school with the head and she said that I also have an appeal at the school??? Who will be there? What can I put on the appeal form?
Help

First of all, the boy living further away could have been admitted for a variety of reasons. Looked after children (i.e. children in care) always get admitted first. Many schools then admit children with a special medical, educational or similar need before getting on to the other categories. Also a child with a statement of Special Educational Needs naming the school has to be admitted.

You should have been informed of your right of appeal when you were told that your youngest didn't get a place. If you appeal, the following people will be present:

• The appeal panel. These are the people who will decide the appeal. The panel will have 3 or 5 members one of whom will chair the appeal. They are independent from both the school and the LA.

• The clerk. He/she is responsible for making sure the appeal is run properly and provides advice to the panel on procedure or law. The clerk will be independent from the school.

• The admission authority's representative. It is their job to present the case for not admitting your child.

The appeal itself is in two parts. In the first part the admission authority (for a Curch school, that is the school itself) will argue that admitting your child will cause prejudice to the school. You will then get the chance to question their representative. If there are other parents appealing for this school, they may also be present for this part of the appeal.

In the second part you will present the case for admitting your child. Other parents appealing for a place at this school will not be present for this part of the appeal.

I have now realized a huge problem on my admission form!!!
At the time I was filling out the form I had left Church for a huge personal reason and even though I am still a Christian I had to put religion but then the next question was Place of worship!!! I could not lie and say I was still attending and I did not want to appear as a liar so I left that part blank!!!
However I since then have returned to our Church and when I found out that My youngest did not get in I was shocked and I still am but I asked the Priest if he could help and he has wrote me a letter to state that we are a Christian family and some other really great things... However I took his letter to the head today and she said she will read it but I have the right to appeal for the school at the school becasue of a faith school. I have no idea what I should write on why I am appealing!!! I have wrote a few drafts. She did not get into the school becasue it is oversubscribed!!! Even though she has siblings there?? Can I appeal becasue I filled in the admission form wrong????? I really need some good advise on what to do and how to fill the appeal form in...????