Primary school places

[lazycat]

I have heard good things about my local primary school, but just heard that I have to register dd in the next week for the nursery class, and that unless she goes to the nursery class it will be extremely difficult for her to get into the reception class. Do all primary schools work this way? Didn't realise I had to sort it out so soon - dd is 3 in oct and thought I had longer!

At my school a nursey place is no guarantee of a recption place. Proximity to the school, having special needs or a sibling already in the school are th priorities. If you lived closer to my school you would get in above a current nursery child who lived further away. But diff schools might have that nursery link.

I think that nursery isnt usually relevent. Can you get hold of the admission criteria used by the school, and that will tell you if nursery is a factor.

Apparently it's because it's a foundation school....?

Foundation schools don't really exist any more. Although the Tory's are kind of recreating them as Academies. Try the LEA website, mine has the entry criteria for all schools including VA.

Our borough (london) has a document on their website detailing all of the entry criteria for every school.

I strongly recommend that you have a look on the website for your local authority and see if they have such a document - if not then there should be one at the library or ring them to get hold of one.

Then have a good look at the schools you are interested in. Entrance criteria vary wildly (around here attendance at the nursery is not normally linked to the primary) and so asking us lot probably won't do you much good!

Foundation Schools still exist in some areas

www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Education/Schools/Admissions/glossary.htm

One of the major misconceptions for most schools admissions is that some how being in the nursery gives some kind of guarantee or priority for admission to the school in reception year. Unless the school's admission criteria specifically says that nursery children get priority they do not have any priority.

It is very naughty of school and / or nurseries to be suggesting that there is some kind of priority, especially as there is quite often more nursery spaces than there are school places. This is the worst possible situation where 4 year olds who have just spent a year in a nursery attached to a school are suddenly told, sorry no place. That is frankly unforgivable.

Could I suggest that you look very carefully at the schools admission criteria and decide from that whether you have a reasonable chance of getting a place. If you have little or no chance of getting a place then look for another nursery attached to a school where you are likely to get a place. Rather than be upset and annoyed 12 months down the line.

It wasn't actually the school that told me - it was a parent. I've looked at the school's site, and they say that nearly all of the previous year's nursery class got a place in reception. This makes it seem like the nursery might be a good idea!

Saying that nearly all the nursery got a place doesnt actually say anything about what the entry criteria for the primary school are though, IYSWIM.

Take a look at the council's website. That should have a booklet giving the admission criteria for all primary schools in the area. As Bigstripeytiger says, saying that nearly all of the nursery got a place doesn't mean they got priority.

lazycat

I know how lazy cats are

but really

look at the entrance criteria on the net

if you tell me who your local authority are I will even look for it for you

In our LEA, the community schools do not give any priority to children who have attended the nursery, but some of the foundation schools do.

The school admissions code says that schools can only give priority to children who have attended the nursery if they do so in a way which doesn't disadvantage other children living nearby (who may have good reasons for not attending the nursery). But this is a non-mandatory part of the code.

So, what do the school's admissions criteria say?

In Islington schools are not allowed to give preference to nursery children. However in the school I am a governor of the nursery is thirty children while reception year is two forms ie sixty children. As admission to the Nursery is done on siblings then distance, and reception is the same, you can see in our school that if you got into nursery one year, you will probably get into reception the next.

The school you describe may be in that sort of situation.

So as a matter of fact getting into nursery is an indication that you are likely to get into reception. However if our nursery was sixty children, that might not be so reliable.

Sounds to me as if the school are not describing a policy, only the existing state of affairs.

There have been more than a few cases where children have had to leave a school after a year in nursery because they haven't qualified for a place in Reception, once more children apply from closer in who have perhaps been in private daycare etc..
This is despite the Foundation Stage of Nursery and Reception being a 2 year programme. Bit daft, but there you go.
So no, a place in Nursery will not guarantee you a place in Reception.