School offers, help!

[aljone]

I submitted our request for our eldest son for a school reception place back in December. My partner was just returning after maternity leave and I was requested by my partner to submit the form (although she had done most of the leg work due to is living in the area). She was suffering with stress at the time and anxiety.
I put it together whilst working, which was probably where I went wrong firstly.
3 choices in and on the 16th of this month we got our offers/no offers.
1st - Catholic school where he is christened in parrish. 0.3 miles. no offer (amazement, why?). Turns out within a class of 30 he'd have been in and around 17th on the list of kids which we'll later discuss.
At the moment 1st on waiting list.
2nd - C of E school. Out of catchment slightly. 0.3 miles Harsh but? 2nd on the wait list.
3rd - non Faith. 0.5 miles. Offer :-(
Now we picked a third, my partner is adamant he is not going there. No idea why we chose it in the place, we where probably a bit naive thinking would be a shoe in with choice 1 or 2.
We assumed her get in first or second. He's 1st and 2nd prospectively. We now have added a 4th which looks like we'll be 1st on list as well.
Now the following day we found out the reason he didn't get in to the catholic 1st choice was a SIF (Supplementary information form). No idea one was needed, didn't do our homework. I'm not Catholic either so...Still our fault as not read up on these matters. Now we had stated he was Catholic and baptized in the Parrish. Had we done so before he would have walked in. Next day we got all documentss up to the school. Still 1st on wait list and cemented by these actions.
My partner is distraught as it was her school. As mentioned her frame of mind is not right as well at the moment, anxiety and all the lockdown is just creating more. Hence me reaching out here.
We've spoke to the head and a teacher who taught her at the school, lovely but non committal as to what could happen.
An appeal gas gone in as not happy with the way the lea has dealt with matters. As they have said they don't read the notes ect. But admitted they do it a child in care or?? We're not very happy on their replies, the neighbourghing lea have said had they came across our notes they would have chased us.
We don't like how they've treated us but understand it's our fault and our own oversight. We feel we have let our son down.
We have appealed via archdiocese and put complaint in to the lea.
Do we hold much hope getting into one of our 1st, 2nd or now our 4th choice? 1st has 30 kids, oversubscribed with like 25 on list. 2nd choice 30 kids, 20 or so on list and 4th is showing on the lea website 34 places taken fom 35 with a waiting list of 20 (No idea why one less, maybe a mis-calculation)
Two teachers who are friends, a person involved in child social work and my tenant (also a primary school teacher) think there will be movement. They also say schools keep places back for appeals ect? Is this true or?
Please can someone give advice and offer help or re-assurance...It's a waiting game now and we're climbing the walls and arguing non stop.

It’s true that there will probably be some movement although it’s impossible to say that there will be. And the school can’t do anything about it at all so that’s why they are being non-committal. Waiting is the best bet here as you don’t really have grounds for appeal.

It’s not true that schools keep places for appeals. If there is a space, they have to give it to someone if they want it.

You don’t have to send him until,the term after he is five so depending on when his birthday is you could delay when he starts at any school so that you can wait to see if a place opens up.

It’s just a mistake and neither of you should feel like it’s bigger than it is.

Have you applied to your 4th choice to see if there is a place?

Have you accepted the place you were given? If not you must otherwise admissions can say they have given you a place and you rejected it.

What did you write in the notes section?

The thing with them not reading the notes might mean they do actually physically read them but that a lot of the information that people write in the notes section is not anything to do with the admissions policy. People write in that this is the school their childminder picks up from and things like that which is not relevant. The notes section is for information like the child is a twin. Information that is needed but there isn’t another place on the application form to put that information.

We had put in the notes his faith (there was a drop down) and where he was christened in the notes, so basically everything to be implemented on the supplementary information form. Basically stuff where there was nowhere on the application form to put that information :-).
Yes we've applied to the new 4th choice and are just waiting to hear what's going on there as well. We know they're oversubscribed as well but we'll just have to see.
Our original 3rd yes we have kept although really don't want to send him there. That was the advice of the lea as well, not to give it up even if we feel like it.
Yes keeping him back is an option but we'll just feel bad when all his little mates are starting and he's aware he's starting big boy school.
We feel like absolute idiots. :-(
My partner always said we would need the baptism cert ect but we'd thought we would be asked for proof now.
It's been a cloud over us for weeks now. It's been hell at home, it'd hid 4th birthday on Wednesday so we're hoping we can get good news fast so we can enjoy his birthday.

The experts in this hang out in the primary education forum so you might want to re post there, but basically you'll probably be told its your error so not much you can do. Hope waiting lists move.

Ps whatever you do don't turn down the offer you have unless you're genuinely willing to home school or go private.

Ok Thanks, will post another thread as well.

I'm not even going to relay what I've read on here, she'll not take it too well.

Don’t feel like idiots, it’s a mistake. Lots of people have made the exact same mistake. One of my friends forgot entirely to apply for a school at all for her third child.

You shouldn’t let what school he is going to overshadow everything else. It’s not like he is going to the school you chose of he’s off down t’pit.

I’m an EYFS supply teacher and I go to different school all of the time and I’ve hardly come across any schools at all that I didn’t like. Kat schools are lovely places. It’s actually the ones in more affluent areas that can be the least dynamic.

I’m surprised the SIF didn’t come up at church. You’d have thought everyone would be talking about it.

I know. It's very ironic as well that know at least 3 other couples and one who has appeared to do the same thing as they jumped above us on Waiting list as well. We have a source who has said they've heard similar complaints about the le website. We've found at least one page where the school isn't even listed on as requiring the SIF.

I'm not an expert but if you have found a page with your school missing from the list as needing a SIF I would screenshot it immediately and use it as proof of a mistake on the part of the LEA. The bar is very high on getting into a reception class of 30 on appeal. An LEA mistake which cost you a place is one of a very short list of reasons your son would be accepted. Another family making the same mistake as you (as a result of this misinformation) would surely strengthen your case.
Our eldest dc was offered a place at the local school without us even going to appeal when the LEA realised they had made a mistake with their application. It's rare but it can happen.