in-year enrolment

[smudo]

My family and me are moving from New Zealand to London at the end of the year and we are considering to find a new home in the borough of Enfield.

DS is 4 1/2 years old and would usually already be in reception year. Therefore we have to go through an in-year enrolment procedure.
It seems though that only very few schools in the area still have spaces available and based on their ofsted-reports those wouldn't be our first choice.

We are wondering if there is a chance to get into one of the good schools through a wait-list or if that is pretty much a hopeless effort?
Would it be better to go for a private school right away? Should we check out different boroughs?

We would really appreciate any tips and information.

I don't have any direct knowledge of Enfield but the local authority will be able to tell you which schools have places and how long the waiting lists are at your preferred schools. They will also be able to tell you how long they will keep operating the waiting lists - they are only required to keep them going until Christmas but many councils keep them for longer than that.

You can check out other boroughs but you are likely to find that the popular schools are full there as well.

I would also say that you shouldn't judge a school purely on its Ofsted report. Go and visit the schools (not easy when you are in New Zealand!). You may be pleasantly surprised.

Places do come up at all schools from time to time (parents move, sometimes overseas). Schools that have places now may not by the time you can officially apply, also others may have places that don't at present. I have known places become free during the first term of infants.
You cannot judge a school purely on OFSTED, which is why a visit is a good idea. Even if OFSTED is 100% accurate in its judgement, even outstanding schools can be very different. (I live near 2 and have a strong preference over which one my kids went to, friends prefer the other one.)

Can you really afford private education? Even there it could be difficult to get in. You can also apply to neighbouring boroughs if there is a school you like. But unless you are living close to the border you need to think hard about the practical consequences, such as playdates.

Also you need to think about why you want to live in Enfield. BTW the Enfield website gives you lots of info on in-year admissions, including the two schools where it might be worth appealing (as its not an infant class size appeal).

Don't base your decision on OFSTED!

You can certainly go on the waiting list for as many schools as you want to.

Unfortunately there is no real way to tell if a school is any good till your child has been there - Neither league tables nor OFSTED can tell you if the teachers your child wil get are actually capapble of teaching....

On MumsNet you get a very skewed view of what education is like here in London. When you arrive, you will find the majority of Mums where you live are very happy with their local school, have no idea about the ofsted report or the league tables, and don't know what 'level' their child is working at.

League tables really just tell you how wealthy the area is. An area with more expensive houses will get better SATS results.

OFSTED reports are a bizarre and wonderful thing which tell you what was seen by inspectors on the day they visited....