As we are in admissions season again...some top tips for first timers

[BetsyBoop]

On this thread a while ago, I posted some top tips on the admissions system, which people found useful, so here they are again...

1. Visit every school local to you & make your own mind up - don't go on reputation/gossip/Ofsted reports/league tables
2. Find out how likely it is you stand a chance of a place by looking at the last few years admissions (eg what category & distance)
3. Put the schools in your genuine order or preference (schools are not allowed to operate a "first preference first" system, despite what people tell you)
4. Use all your preferences - but be realistic about your chances of getting a place - don't waste a preference on a hell-will-freeze-over-first option.
5. Always include one "safe" option (even if it is as last preference) which you are okay with & are pretty much guaranteed to get into (ie "catchment" school) . (Or you run the risk of getting a random "worse" school miles away if you don't get any of your preferences)
6. You will not be able to bully the LA/school/appeals panel into giving you the school you want by only putting that school on the application form & refusing places at other schools.
7. Read the admission code - you need to know the "rules" as if the rules are broken it gives you a valid reason to appeal.
8. Submit any exceptional social/medical circumstances evidence with your initial application, whether or not you are fairly confident you will get a place anyway - much easier than trying to win an appeal based on this later (which will typically fail if it is an infant class size* appeal)

• "infant class size" =YR/Y1/Y2 classes can have a maximum of 30 pupils per teacher

Afterglow - that is ridiculous!!
We are notified by email in my area on the 13th April, can the date vary district to district?

BTW I hope to get a bit of advice in advance of the notification.
My first choice school is our closest school. My street is well within the catchment boundary (they had a map up in the school office with the boundary lines drawn on and according to the search on my council website we are within the catchment) however the school informed me that only streets on their list are in their catchment. I am in a new build, in a new street (twas fields before!) however the street started being built 8 years ago, with the first houses being completed and lived in 7 years ago and we have lived there nearly 6).
I do know the folks across the road applied for there eldest 2 years ago, were denied a place then won one on appeal. Is this even legal what they have done? Surely they cannot arbitrarily not include streets that are clearly within their catchment? And it is not clear to me who has drawn up and then not updated this list of streets, the school or the council. I've seen that in some councils, the boundaries fluctuate year to year (against to take into account fluctuationspopulation growth) which make sense. But to me it seems very unfair that someone who lives on street further away from the school to me would get a place for their child, who may have only just moved into the area, and we (who have lived here for at least all of my child's life) wouldn't?

*fluctuations in populations

grr.

Kara - in terms of responsibility for admissions, it depends what type of school it is. If it is a Voluntary Aided, Foundation or Academy school then they do their own admissions. If is it Voluntary Controlled or Community then the LEA do the admissions. It is is up to the "Admissions Authority" to ensure they have up to date information on their catchment.

If there is a defined catchment boundary (which from your post it sounds like there is) and they don't place you in the "catchment" admissions criteria then you have good grounds for appeal if you don't get a place (you would have course still have to live nearer than the furthest child away in that category to win)

PS not all areas have fixed catchment areas (my LEA doesn't) and go only on distance, which is why the "boundaries" change from year to year. For areas that use defined catchments, it still does not guarantee a place at the school, it just puts you higher up the priority list than someone living outside the defined catchment area.

Just found this thread for the first time, so haven't read through all of it, but I'm starting to get really nervous about schools now! We find out mid-April, and I'm just thinking of all the ways it may go wrong.

We put down 3 schools (had a facility to put down up to 6) but didn't bother putting down more than that as we listed them in order of which is closest, and by the time we got to school 3, we were already 1.5 miles away as the crow flies (we're surrounded on 3 sides by open spaces, so nothing is massively close). So I'm hoping that by putting the closest school as our first choice, we'll have a relatively good chance of getting in (apparently they initially assign by distance, and only then look at preference).

Anyone else worrying (ir)rationally?

terrified! dd1 is in y1 at a RC school and lea told me today to prepare for the worst as dd2 is very unlikely to get in reception :( gutted beyond belief as shes so settled in preschool and they're very close.

Betsy, thank you, that is reassuring. The school is CofE but is not VA and just uses the standard admission criteria.

Updating this. The Adjudicator was fairly non-committal but did suggest that there may have been a failure on the council's part in not maintaining the systems correctly. They suggested approaching the LGO. I made a formal complaint into the council's complaints system, rather than yet another to the Education dept, and within two days they phoned to apologise again and told me that they had updated the internal database but not the one accessed by the public. They have now updated the external database too with both catchment schools and assured me that the internal database was correct during the allocations process. They are also changing their systems to ensure that new roads are added promptly. The allocations are posted out on Friday so I should know which school we have by Monday. Thanks again for all the help on here, it was much appreciated.