Is there a lack of primary school places in your area?

[Rosenotinyorkshire]

Just out of curiousity really. I live in an area of Surrey which has proved to be appalling this year for primary schools being (very) over subscribed. I was lucky to get my DC into our first choice on the sibling rule but many friends have missed out on 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices and are finding themselves low down on waiting lists at preferred schools. How has it been for others in different parts of the country?

I got into our first choice (London) but was well within the distance criteria. Out of about 8 of the mums i know, one didnt get any of her choices at all and has not being allocated a school yet. A couple got first choices, and others second or third.

In East Yorks it is not bad at all. Village schools usually not a problem. DS attends state school in next village but not our catchment. Class size 24 (could take 30) & it is Sunday Times top 100. In local market town 2 primary schools at capacity & 4 not.

In Lincolnshire, town schools generally pretty full up, rural schools not a problem ( we still have space in Reception if anyone is still looking

Are you in Reigate by any chance? I know it's very oversubscribed there.
I'm in Surrey too and I don't find that it's too oversubscribed, it's just everyone wants the same one or two outstanding schools so those ones have a teeny catchment, massive waiting list and the more unpopular schools tend to have space etc.

Rural location my local school is always heavily over subscribed but has a PAN of just 10. School where I teach also rural but with a PAN of 30 fully subscribed

Severe shortage of places. Around 200 i think i read in the local paper. Richmond Upon Thames Borough. Truly appalling!!

Yes dickcheese in reigate for my sins. It is bad. Thanks for the link giddypickle. Interesting reading. Councils had best get on with school building then I also think that the idea of listing choices is illusary as in reality, most people round here have no choice at all, as second and third preferences are always full on first choice preferences. .

First they close down schools and then they allow ..luxury flats to be built in areas with schools ALREADY massively oversubscribed where you get offered a school 2 miles away you didn't apply too. But no, according to the Ev Standard it's the muslims having too many children and siblings

Yes! It seems to be! Are we in the same part of Surrey??! Even the letter from the council about not getting any of our school choices is worded like I was applying for World Cup Final tickets! "We regret there are no places left..." They allow lots of developments - houses, family-size flats, etc to be built, but wait till about 4 or 5 years later to do a census "to plan for services that provide for you" (!!!) They also don't seem to heed widely known anecdotes/reports from the maternity department of the local hospital, the health visitor lists, community midwives, etc that "the birth rate is booming". Even private schools and private nurseries are full.

Huge over-subscription here in Leeds - not helped by Education Leeds closing lots of primary schools 6/7 years ago. Panic building of extra wings onto poor primary schools which parents wouldn't choose anyway.

Rosenotinyorkshire and dickcheeseandthecrackers - just read your posts in between multi tasking : hello neighbours!
It's not any ethnic group in particular contributing to this trend. It's the economy - lots of families like us being pushed out of Central London, Greater London, other cities, because other parts of the country don't have the jobs but London property prices are ridiculous. So we end up having to move to the Home Counties where we can commute from. I do feel sorry for couples who were born and bred in the area, but to be honest, since we've all worked and paid our taxes (and for some 40% taxes!!!) -regardless of which area we originated from - the civil servants should be able to sort out something as simple as provision of school places. After all, people are moving in and paying more council tax, registering more children with the GP. It's not difficult to collect this information. And most people know the UK birth rate is increasing, not declining - so should they.

I live in a small town in Essex. We have loads of building work on new houses but the education authority only take the live birth rate as the requirement for school places. New homes=more children..but not according to them! We have 90 primary places in 2005 there were 102 applicants (milleniun babies) 12 went to the next villiage by taxi! According to t live birth rate we don't need any more provision...they have built over 180 extra dwellings, you do the math...

Millenium..Doh!!

The LAs do take a lot of deserved criticism for the lack of school places but it not always their fault.
The birth rate has been on an upwards trend since 2001, so it does not take a genius to work out that if the number of school places was equivalent to the school pupils in 2001 then as the birth rate accelerates then more places will be required.
If as they have done locally to me put up an 1800 house estate with a 1 form entry primary right in the middle of the estate, then again no great need for degree level maths to think that 210 places for primary school kids is likely to be a significant underestimate.
Where the LA have no control over is where these kids are living. There may well be a school 3 or 4 miles away that has plenty of spare capacity, it is simply not near to where the children are currently living. 20 years ago it was where the child population was, but those kids have all grown up and moved on but the parents have not moved.

I think here (Berkshire) there is a lack of good primary places. There are failing schools with plenty of places which nobody wants.

In our LEA there are about 30 non-faith primaries, of which 20 are over-subscribed (a handful ridiculously so) and the very unpopular schools have a few places left but not many.

All the schools here are full, some children didnt even get a place in any school in the area and have been sent elsewhere.

The whole system is so ridiculous and stressfull, really needs something doing about it. was talking to my mum and she couldnt believe how it is now, just said that when we were younger you applied for a school you got in simple as none of this waiting and stress of not getting a place :(

Where I live is bad and I made mistake of moving when dd wAs in Y2 .we got offered a place 11 miles away!!!!.

I had to fight and appeal to get her in our local school(5 mins walk) in the end the fact that there is only 8 kids locally her age(5-11) I argued that she needs to be able to socialise with them won

our school is rated as outstanding so people drive in ( only 13 kids live in our tiny hamlet 4 of them mine ) but all the other local schools (within 10 miles are full to

rosenotinyorkshire., I didn't think the order in which you placed the schools had a bearing on the allocation of places. Reigate is always problematic because there are two schools which receive far fewer applications than the others. Interesting that The3Bears (who I think is in same area) is not yet being given waiting list info but your friends seem to know already. There is often movement in the meantime though, with some opting to go private.

rosenotinyorkshire - First preferences do NOT get priority for admission to schools. That is against the law. People making a school their second or third choice have just as much chance of getting a place as people who make it their first choice.

I am from stockport, just been informed may 3rd we can find out about the waiting list . I was told to get a letter from my ds key worker and show everything at the appeal, keeping my fingers crossed. I even started crying on the phone although j am allowed to be emotinal as ds is in hospital now.
All I can do is hope the appeal panel can agree with me that this is the best thing to do for ds in regards to his shyness, social skills and with everything going on in his life right now really am hoping for a miracle now.

LIZS - which 2 schools??? Might be relevant to us!

DG and SC are traditionally the "less well thought of" schools in the town. Most local parents are hoping for Priory at junior age so look for a feeder or Wray Common and rule them out. Neither central to Reigate though and if you can drive others further afield probably have better results.