Wandsworth Primary Schools - Anyone else not offered a place?

[DastardlyandSmugly]

Hi - I'm wondering if there is anyone else in the same position as us on here. We applied for four of the five schools closest to our house, including our closest which is approx. 550m away, and we haven't been offered a place at any of them. We are 7th, 23rd, 53rd and 59th on the wait lists. The other school in our locality, which we don't want our son to go to, also has no spaces available anyway. As it stands all we're being offered is to submit a late application to one of the schools that do have open places - all of which are prohibitively far from us.

Is anyone else in a similar position?

She did and it was really helpful (I must thank her but have been so busy at work).

I guess we'll see how we feel after we visit.

Thanks and thanks for all your help.

We're no closer and I feel stressed and worried about it a lot - and am torturing myself looking at threads where people have got offered their first choice.

I guess we just need to keep going.

Hi Dastardly,
How was Riversdale?
No movement on the list for us but I did get the FOI data from the council. You've probably already got your info too but in case you didn't hear, it turns out there are 421 families who haven't been offered a place at all in Wandsworth.
I also found out that 49 of the 90 places at Honeywell, and 59 of the 120 places at Belleville were offered to siblings and interestingly 6 and 11 respectively were to siblings who live more than a mile away from school. If the distance rule applied to siblings too then we'd be in by now. My DOH just tells me not to think about it but I'm so stressed and cross about the whole situation I can't help feeling aggrieved.
Anyway, back to seething silently!!

Hi mtcacc we visit Riversdale tomorrow so we'll see how it looks then. Have you appealed the decision at all?

I've attached a link to a memo from a council meeting held last year to talk about the lack of places available here

This particular bit is really interesting:

Offers of reception places for September 2009 were sent to parents on 19th March
2009 on the basis of their preferences expressed in applications to the Council. The
total number of initial applications for reception places was 2,662 (an increase of 111 on 2008). From the initial application process, around 300 pupils received no offer (compared with 250 in 2008). Over the spring and summer, the number of pupils
without an offer will rapidly reduce as parents confirm choices. The increased
numbers do, however, strongly suggest that around 100 additional places will be
required in September 2009. The areas where there are significant numbers of pupils
currently without the offer of a place are around the Southfields, Wandsworth
Common, Balham and Northcote Wards.

As you can see from your data there has been another marked increase of pupils not receiving an offer, and you could surely use the same assumption that there will be another glut of pupils needing a place not currently catered for! And our areas are the ones identified as being most under pressure. I wonder what, if anything, the council are doing to meet this need?

Grrrrrrr

Hi again DandS,
I'm getting more and more agitated - I think it's because I feel so powerless and it's not a feeling I'm used to in my professional or personal life.
I've decided I'm going to the papers - the Wandsworth Guardian at least! If there are 421 families in the borough without an offer of a place this is a big issue that deserves attention. The info you gave in your post above about the obvious shortage of places also needs to be highlighted.
I was talking to some other mums yesterday who have friends who'd done the 'renting close to school to get a place, then moving away' thing and others whose children will be moving to school next year and are also worried they won't get in. They've emboldened me to get on my soap box!!
More details soon

Hi again DandS,
I tried the link you pasted in your post but it didn't work - could I ask you to type out the URL please when you have a moment as very interested to read. Thanks

Hi mtcac I think it might not work because it's a pdf. This is a link to the actual minutes of the meeting on the council's website. You can find the report under item 236.

Good idea re. papers. It's something I have considered (Daily Mail/Evening Standard if poss) but have so far chickened out of, but like you I've also never felt so helpless. On my post-natal thread one mum mentioned that the level of people with no offers is similar to that in Lambeth a few years ago and apparently the papers were all over that.

Went to visit Riversdale this morning. It's an OK school but would definitely have not appeared in my top 4. Am going to do late application though as nursery and reception seemed nice and otherwise the options are miles away.

Good luck and keep me updated.

It happened to a lot of people last year, too. Everyone I know personally did eventually get a place at one of their top two or three schools by the time September came around, but had a very stressful few months.

PLIMLS it happened to 300 pupils last year but this year it's gone up to 421. It's a horrible stressful thing and I cannot believe that the council think it is ok for parents to have this kind of stress, worry and upset.

I hope you're right and we do end up with something that we want but it's not looking hopeful so far - my DS actually went down a place at all of his schools!

Places will come up as people move
Last year they only had 70 more applicants than places available here

Remember some people will have applied to neighbouring boroughs as well and not all boroughs have offered their places yet

The problem is that they do have places available but they are in other parts of the borough and we are expected to suck it up and travel every morning, which we are not in a position to do.

Last year they put an extra class into Swaffield School, which would have got us in. This year the Head has already told me that they won't be doing that.

Any luck with the press mtcac?

Hi DandS, Any update on your situation or appeal?
Only just got my act together to send email to Wandsworth Guardian so no news on that as yet, but will keep you posted.
Have also emailed head of admissions in Wandsworth, all my local councillors and the labour and lib-dem candidates for councillors about the whole admissions process which seems to me to be fundamentally flawed. I figure I might as well try and leverage the fact that they're looking for votes to see what they all have to say about it! Out of interest, was the councillor you saw Tory? All my three are and I can't help but feel there's something of an air of complacency about the Tory councillors in Wandsworth. Will let you know if I get any intelligent responses but I guess it'll be a case of there being nothing they can do just as your councillor said.

Hi mtcac no real updates as yet.

I put in our late application for Riversdale School and also put in one for St Faith's which has had a recently good OFSTED and is convenient for my journey in. We've been away for a week so I called this morning and we're now waitlisted (old number in brackets):

Allfarthing 57 (59)
St Michael's 55 (54)
Swaffield 7 (8)
Sheringdale 20 (24)
Riversdale 8
St Faith's 5

Was also talking to a nursery mum who hasn't got a place anywhere either and she says that she has heard rumours that they are introducing a distance component to the siblings rule next year which just makes me furious as last year - when Swaffield had 3 classes - we'd have gotten in, and next year - if they do introduce distance as a criteria for siblings - we'd get in, so it's just my poor DS who misses out all ways

The councillor I met is conservative - she's called Angela Graham - and bless her she's been trying her best for us - she's gotten the council moving on some issues - but there's not a whole lote she can do. I also spoke to Mark Clark - our tory paliamentary candidate - and he said he'd take it up on our behalf but so far I've had nothing back.

We've put in our appeal and are waiting to hear on a date but I don't hold out much hope as only 4 were successful last year out of 95.

Just don't know really what we're going to do?

Hi DandS,
I know exactly where you're coming from and it's so unfair.
I think it may well be true about the plans to change the admissions process and the whole sibling issue next year. I've been told by a Council official and my local Tory councillor that the Council is currently looking at the whole sibling issue - but of course it doesn't help us get places this year.
On a slightly different note, I got my act together and sent an email to the Wandsworth Guardian and got an email and phone call (which I missed today from one of their journalists who said (and I quote) "they want to champion our cause."
Only thing now is that DH is a bit cross with me for making a fuss and rocking the boat which he fears may come back to bite us.
But anyway, when I do speak with them, would you like to give them your view too?
If so, contact me directly and I'll pass on the details.

Hi
We've got a similar discussion going on another mums forum (hope mumsnet don't mind the link) over at www.nappyvalleynet.com

At the moment there are no easy answers but we're trying to keep publicity on this at a high.

We got a mention in the Evening Standard a week ago about this and we're talking to a broadcaster about a documentary but none of this really helps the reality of getting places for you right now.

Fingers crossed for you.

A

I don't think you can realistically expect the sibling policy to change

Eldon we believe that it is changing for next year and we also think that it's absolutely wrong that there is no distance component to sibling admission. Why should a parent be able to rent a place close to a school for a few months to get their first child in then move miles away while my DS who lives just round the corner can't get into his local school?

mtcac I am definitely in - let me know.

chrish2 I'll come over when I get the chance. It's bloody appalling that the council seem to think this is a success story for them.

I've been following this with interest as I fear I might have the same problem as mtcac wrt to the same schools but next year not this.

Thought you would be interested to know that I have been told by one of the councillors that they intend to raise the sibling criteria issue with officials post election - and that it will be a long process (research, consultations, reponses, another consultation etc) - so nothing is actually happening yet.

this is in line with a message I had from one of the council's officials who says no proposals re sibs are currently being considered.

the last figures published for one of our local schools showed that 59 places were awarded to siblings... that'll be 2 whole forms then!!

But children need to go to school together IMO. I know this is off subject, but if my children didn't all go to the same school, it would be a nightmare. We are borderline to one of those schools, and got our eldest in via the waiting list in June a few years ago. I was going to homeschool until a place came up, after going through the appeals process. I also wrote to my MP, the Leader of the Council, and probably David Cameron as its a Tory borough.

I agree that the process isn't perfect, but when you have more than one child its a massive sense of relief not to have to go through this process with each one.

However, not being offered a place anywhere is simply not acceptable.

Saying that, we're moving and I am back at the beginning trying to get all of them into one school, or, worse case scenario, 4 different schools.

My advice is stay on the waiting lists and be prepared to homeschool or move your child during term if you want one particular school. It may be disruptive in the short term, but IMHO, worth it - more so if they have younger siblings, or you are planning more children. Many parents will commit to schools before the start of next term, or move away during the Summer. Some people don't even bother to tell the school they aren't taking the places they have accepted.

It isn't without hope. But you do have to hold your nerve. Swaffield is good school with really good results, and being 7th on the list is positive. Honestly.

Good luck.

just to say ohforfoxsake - I totally agree that siblings should go to school together. but when parents move away from a school between one child getting in and the next applying, is it right that their younger children automatically get into that school when those who live more locally can't get a place? there is a good deal of anecdotal chat about fraud around here. see this post on the nappyvalley site mentioned above for starters ... here

6 mths isn't long enough to get a school place as you need to be in when you apply and also still there when school starts

lots of the schools do home visits and most people are more than happy to report people who don't actually live where they claim

Of course it does happen, but its a minority of parents who do that. A change of policy won't just affect those who have done that, but the majority who are genuinely affected by density and birthrates. And they would have to apply the same rules whether you live 500m away or in the next borough.

I'm not being argumentive with you, but in my view it isn't - or shouldn't be - a reason for LEAs to change the sibling policy.

The whole demographic around here is geared towards 'the have's' because Wandsworth is an expensive place to live and people who move here often do so prepared to pay a premium to get into the state primary schools. There are those who do this, and by year 3 their little darling is whisked out of there and off to prep school, when there is a genuine need for that place from Reception to go to a child for whom that is not an option. That irks me more than the obtaining a place by false pretences, but in my eyes is just as bad.

Anyway, sorry, I'm getting off subject and having a rant!