Tips for Writing 'Resons for Preference' for Primary School Application

[shclee]

I'm currently preparing the primary school application for my daughter.

Any tips for writing the 'Reasons for Preference'?
Really appreciate for your advice.

Are you applying for a religious school? Given that there's a separate box for exceptional circumstances I'm not sure what else would go in the preferences box that would lead the LEA to deviate from the published allocation criteria. Are you outside catchment for your preferred school?

I don't know anyone who used those boxes, they are optional. I gather the info the schools need to know if they can offer you a place should be either automatically available (address etc) or via the SIF. They may be helpful if you think you may need to go to appeal for a school with a reason you might want to raise. Someone may come along and say differently but that is my understanding.

I think it needs to link to the special needs assessment...so if your child is beginning to go through the Sen process but hasn't got an official diagnosis yet. I do know it's not for general stuff like convenience of commute etc. Just be clear and direct and precise with what's going on.

Stress on why your first preference is the best school for your DC, praise it etc.

That won't make any difference, it's only if there are particular circumstances which make your child's need for that school different to anyone else's and which are significant enough to persuade the LEA to deviate from the published selection critera (LAC, siblings, proximity). Everyone who put that school first thinks it's the best one for their DC. We put a school down as 2nd choice which was far from us because there was a reasonable chance that DC might need to transfer to the unit there (has an EHCP), and we used the preferences box to explain that. Didn't matter in the end as we got 1st choice.

It makes no difference unless there are categories such as medical or social need for which you are attaching evidence, religion or you are applying for ehcp which might need consideration later. Just saying why you like it over another school won't influence the outcome.

many thx for the advice.

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