In-year primary school admissions (East Sheen area)

[ahms77]

My DS is due to start Reception in September 2014 but we may be moving overseas with my DH's job for a couple of years before then. Given the pressure on primary school places in the Borough I worry that when we move back there may not be any places available (particularly as we are likely to be moving halfway through the academic year).

Does anyone have any experience of the in-year admissions process? I heard a horror story a few years ago of a Teddington parent moving from another Borough mid-year who was offered a primary school in Hounslow and ended up having to home educate due to the transport logistics.....possibly an urban myth but it has stuck in my mind! I have emailed some practical queries to the Council, but I think they have a bit of a backlog! Just want to understand what we are in for on our return before we pack our bags and skip off into the sunset. Any advice gratefully received!

Do you mean "for a couple of months before" before Sept 2014? Or did you mean he's due to start in 2016?

Yes, there are plenty of horror stories. I moved here in July and we had to wait a few weeks after the start of the school year to get a school place for my DD. those were stressful weeks. Eventually it was not one of the closest schools but we were happy with the outcome. other parents were not as lucky. Furthermore in the US kindergarten starts a year later for many kids. For example the cut off could be January instead of August of the year before so if your son was born between January and August he might have to wait until September 2015 to start school in US. you should look into that as well, as it could create even more problems to his adjustment once you come back. I guess you can fix this sending him to a Montessori pre-school while oversea or something like that

Thanks JustMoved2013.

BayJay - sorry if I was not clear. DS is due to start Reception in 2014, so will be an in-year admission for Year 1(?) on our return in Spring 2016. All slighly complicated by the fact that my other DS is due to start Reception in 2016, so also have to worry about the fact we won't have moved back into the Borough until after the closing date for his application!

One of my neighbours tried to move back to Teddington after 3 years in Dubai in 2011. She had 3 children the eldest of whom was due to start secondary school in the September after they were due to return in June. She found the whole process in LB Richmond absolutely horrific and said council staff couldn't have been more unhelpful. Despite already owning a house, children previously having been in local schools and husband's employer providing evidence of the date of the move etc etc. Richmond staff refused to do anything until they had actually returned, although they eventually allowed them to apply for a secondary school place but refused to allow them a link with their previous school (link system was still in place then) or to consider distance from their house (distance from Dubai obviously put them pretty far down the list for Teddington School!). Eventually, faced with 3 children being likely to have to go to school miles from where they lived and all in completely different directions, they decided to move to Sussex instead at the last minute where things went much more smoothly and council staff couldn't have been more helpful! So I think the moral of this is don't expect to get much help until you are actually back and then you may have to travel or home educate.

LProsser I'm surprised they still thought they had priority under the link system. It only applied to children while they were at primary school (or if unplaced, up to 1 September of the transfer year on the waiting list). If they had moved away in Y3, the children who took their place would have had priority in their place. There's no reason why they should have had any greater entitlement than someone who had moved house to Teddington from within the borough but had previously attended an unlinked school. Many people in that position would have had to go private as the link priority was oversubscribed, and that was the injustice of the system. Houses near Sheen Mount cost £2 million, and there are plenty of people who start their families in flats but can't afford to buy a house in the same area.

I can see their frustration about the address not being accepted, however, especially if they had proof the tenants were going to move out.

ahms77 the waiting lists can be long for Y1 but the younger sibling would at least have higher priority on the waiting list for September reception.

Mum in London I think they hoped they and their children could take up their old life again but that is never possible when returning to LB Richmond - have seen it go wrong for several families. Going private was way beyond their means. The Council did helpfully offer to slot the oldest child (who was due to start secondary) into Sacred Heart for a few weeks which would have boosted her up the waiting list whilst giving her a bit of exposure to Catholicism, but she probably would have had to go to secondary somewhere else and it was all pretty unsettling for her. Then there was the prospect of driving the Yr 1 in one direction and the Yr 5 in the opposite direction both to schools where they didn't know anyone and getting to work. Probably this sort of thing is not so bad for children who haven't been at school before though.

Lottie We had exactly the same experience when we returned to the UK. We had all the evidence of our ownership of the house (which we had lived in for years before we went away), the termination of the rental agreement with the tenants etc. etc. but the Education Department refused point blank to process our Year 3 and 7 applications until we were back and resident in the house, moreover disappointingly the schools took a similarly disinterested view when we arranged to look round. It was all in stark contrast to the private schools we visited who showed a real interest in my DCs and their experiences. It made it very hard to sell the state options to them.

ahms 77 I would talk to the Education Department before you go, they may be more amenable now but otherwise if your application is not considered until you are back resident in your house you realistically face the possibility there may be no schools places in Reception / Year 1 in the oversubscribed schools in the Sheen area and you will be offered places in schools at some distance. You may well find the private schools willing to stretch things to get them in since they really value pupils with the experience of living overseas.

By the way I wouldn't let that put you off going. Our overseas adventure was the happiest three years of our family life, and the best educational experience for my DDs. It has changed us all, and the culture we encountered is now the basis of strong family bonds.