Primary Schools

[JosephineClaire]

Hello all,

I'm expecting my first baby. My husband is a pilot and we live on the patch of an RAF base..

I was just wondering what happens with registering for primary schools when families move every 3 years. For example, if we move across the country when our child is 3 or 4, will we be 'late' registering interest at a school, and therefore not get a good choice?

This is a far way off for us, but I was just thinking about it and was wondering how it works. Do schools appreciate that forces families move around, and make allowances?

Jo

If you look at the RAF section of the MoD website, it has a section for families that will explain schooling for Forces children. Many LEAs are reasonable, but yes, the scenario you describe above can and does occur. However, there is an organisation called CEAS who help.

This is from the RAF website:
Children & Education

Children of service personnel may face problems with their education because of frequent family moves, this becomes of more importance when they move up to secondary school. Service families find themselves with the following choices:

• Use local schools at each new location and accept the possible disruption that postings may cause. Families may be able to apply to stay in SFA at a unit even though the serving partner has been posted somewhere else IF their child is at a critical stage of their education (eg about to take GCSEs or A levels). For advice on this subject, contact Children's Education Advisory Service (CEAS).
• Choose to place their child(ren) in boarding school. Advice on suitable schools and boarding school allowances may be obtained from Children's Education Advisory Service (CEAS).
• Choose to settle the family in one place, usually in their own home whilst the serving person commutes.

Before making a choice you will have to consider many factors including the ability and temperament of your children; their ability to cope in a different environment away from home; their health; your financial situation and the availability of appropriate schools or accommodation. As parents you will have detailed knowledge of these factors. You will also need to know the facilities offered in the area in which you are going to live. You can get advice from the Local Authority (LEA) or Children's Education Advisory Service (CEAS). HIVEs are also a very useful source of information on local schools.

The Revised School Admissions Code & School Admissions Appeal Code came into effect on 10 February 2009 for all maintained schools and academies in England. Whilst the full codes are available on the attached link, the good news for children of Service personnel is that local authorities and admission authorities must now ?allocate a school place in advance, if accompanied by an official government letter (e.g. MOD, FCO or GCHQ) declaring a relocation date and intended address, if the applicant would meet the criteria on relocation.? In addition, they must ?accept a Unit postal address, or if appropriate, a "quartering area" address in the absence of a new home postal address.?

Website: Revised School Admissions Code & School Admissions Appeal Code

Hope that helps. We've always had our own place and privately educated ds, but posted abroad in 2006, so moved then. Ds in local international day school.

Thanks so much scaryteacher, this is really helpful

It is a worry and can be a problem Josephine. I have moved my DCs twice due to postings and each time we've got whatever space was left and not a school of choice. This has led us to buying our own place in order to stop moving the children around every couple of years and DH commuting.

However he dislikes being away from home so much he is now leaving. It is one to think about.

The other thing you might want to consider is delaying your move until the start of the school year - this may mean you have to live apart for a while with DH in the Mess at the new unit whilst you retain the quarter at the old one, but it means you can register at the same time as everyone else and LEAs then tend to be more able to accommodate you. We gave up in changing schools in the end and did what McD recommends - even if you can get the school of your choice at each move you may still be looking at a new one every 2 years depending on what your husband flies - after 3 moves/schools we didn't want to do that anymore.

We were told that RAF children now have the same rights as travellers children- as in the they are classed as vunerable and schools are meant to find places for them ,as they do when travellers arrive into a school area. This is a recent change ,before you basically just had to be lucky in getting a place .

That's interesting flossie64 - where did you hear that? I ask as am finding a place for DS at mo and can't get first choice.

Jo, definitely worth holding on for the new academic year, if you can. If our kids have to move around so much, it should at least be to understanding and nurturing schools (which are usually everyone's first preference)

My LEA is Cornwall when in the UK, and they've had that on their website since 2005 I think.

Read up on the In-Year Fair Access Protocol in the Admissions code.

dd1 is 10 and in her fifth school.

we have managed to get first choice with every posting, and have only moved in the summer. i have sweated blood lol, but it's possible.

(my particular favourite is three at different ages, and needing three different settings - at one point i had one in pre-school, one in infants, and one in juniors. oh, and one was statemented )

this is the first posting that i've had all three in the same school. (they are 10, 8 and 6) i love it!

ceas can be very helpful, but generally i just start making phone calls three months in advance, visit, and get the ball rolling. remember that unless you are in a lone post somewhere, there are usually forces kids moving on, so places come up reasonably frequently (thinking of the raf stations i know...)

it can be tricky, but tbh it's only getting a yr r place that can be tricksy, as the applications need to be in the autumn before. each lea has different application rules though, so when you know where you will be, you just have to check out their website and get calling.

I was told this by the administrator at the primary school DD should have gone to - a whole other story- As she said the school was full ,but they had to accept RAF children under that ruling.
My Dh was in post there and we were due to move ,when they posted him again and it was back close to where we were living ,so DD stayed in her present school.

The LEA here told me that they had to find a place in a school for military children but it didn't have to be the school of my choice. When we arrived here we were offered a place in a school I was not happy about and so I started making phone calls further afield.

DD and DS now attend a lovely school in the next town from where we live. Lovely school but it's a bit of a school run. I'm lucky that I have the flexibility to drive them there and back every day.

A school place has to be found within the LEA, not necessarily the school of your choice. If your year group is full then the school will probably not let you in if there is another school within reasonble distance that isn't (and the definition of reasonable can be fun to define!)

That's why there are appeals, and at secondary they can take I think 10% over the year group level.