Help - moving house and in-year admissions again!

[mamamaisie]

We are in the process of trying to sell our house and are planning on relocating to Hertfordshire, not sure where exactly. After reading numerous threads about schools being full I am starting to feel really nervous and would appreciate some advice! Ds is currently in reception and may well be in year 1 by the time we move. Dd is aged 1 and will be 3 years behind him in the school system. I would very much like to send the children to the nearest primary, or at least one that is within walking distance. I really don't want to be ferrying them across town every day.

I am just trying to work out what we will do if the nearest school is full. I have a few ideas floating around my head and would appreciate some input:

Option 1) Send ds to some far away, possible not very nice school that has a place. When dd starts school, apply for a place for her at the same far away, not very nice school. Dd would then be stuck going there even though she probably could have got a place at a nearer school but there would be less upheaval for ds.

Option 2) Send ds to the far away school and put him on a waiting list for the nearest school. If dd then gets a reception place at the nearest school would ds move up the waiting list? Ds might have to wait several years for a place as dd won't be going to reception for a while yet. Ds is super shy and doesn't make friends easily and this option would mean he needs to change schools twice, which I know he would really hate.

Option 3) Home school ds until he gets a place at the nearest school. I am a childminder so could potentially do this although I would need to cut down on the number of children that I look after. Ds would absolutely love this option as he hates going to school due to his shyness and loves to be at home with me. I feel capable of educating him but worry that he might then feel even more shy when he rejoins the school system after being out of it for some time.

I feel like this would be much easier if I only had one child to consider! I am really interested to hear what others have done in a similar situation, particularly if you had one child in school and another who was pre-reception when you moved.

Looking at option 2, your son would get higher priority if your daughter gets admitted to the local school.

We moved house just before dd1 started reception and missed all the admissions process in the new town. I applied for a place at our nearest school but it was full so went round other local schools and found her a place in a village school just outside the town we moved to. She started school there in the sept and then we had to decide in October where to apply to for dd2 who was starting the next year. The village school was lovely but longer term I wanted them both at the local school. But if we didn't get a place for dd1 then would have prospect the following sept of 2 school drop offs at same time 2 miles apart! We put the local school as first choice for dd2 and submitted application then in the November got a call from local school to say a place had come up for dd1 and she could join after Christmas! So all worked out in end.

I would go for your option 2 as I would be rubbish at home schooling. But if you think you could manage it then maybe go for that until a place comes up for DS at the school you want.

If you're not sure exactly where you're going to move, then you may be able to combine moving with finding a school you like as some schools will have vacancies. Possibly makes a difference which part of Hertfordshire you're thinking of moving to - is it likely to be more urban or village type do you think?

I would go with option 2.
When it is time for your dd to start school (if you haven't already got a place through wait list) you would apply for a reception place at the local school for her, when she starts this would bump ds up the wait list and also at that time he would be going into Y3, the first year the infant class size regs are no longer in force, you have far more chance of getting ds a place then as he would have a sibling and they can take extras over 30. If you had the situation that your dd had a place at the local school but your ds still didn't have a place you would also have the option of appealing for a place, something you would have a greater chance of winning as it would be for a Y3 place.
It is risk and there is the chance you could end up with 2 children at different schools but IMO it is better then having the 2 of them together at a school you may not be happy with that is a long way from home that limits their chances to play with friends outside of school.
You can't tell as yet that you wouldn't get a place at the local school and even if you did end up with a further from home school you may find out that you love it and it is in fact the best school for your children, no one has the crystal ball required to know all these things, far too many variable factors.
Personally I wouldn't home educate, my children just don''t learn from me as well as they do from others but that is me and my children! If you did go down the home ed route don't forget that there are lots of home ed groups about, it certainly doesn't have to be a lonely experience or make your ds's shyness worse, most places have very active home ed communities and then there are the after school things like cubs and sports that give opportunities for children to mix with their peers.
I home that it ends up being straightforward for you and it doesn't come to having to choose from these options.

I'd go with option 2 as well. Also, have a look at www.schoolguruhertfordshire.co.uk/
Good Luck!

oops and www.hertsdirect.org/docs/pdf/o/priotrpt2011.pdf to see last years admissions.

Sam - It is good to know that this approach can work out well.

frazzled - Thank you for the links. I have had a good look through the statistics for this year and this has been very helpful.

roadkillbunny - Interesting information about appealing and the Y3 place. I had not really considered this.

Dh will need to commute into london so we will have to live on one of the rail lines. My favourite is Berkhamsted. At any one time there are only ever a couple of houses on sale in our price range so it is unlikely that we could choose a school first and then look for a nearby house. If we can't find anything in Berkhamsted then we will consider Welwyn Garden City or possibly Watford.

I have looked at the schools in Berkhamsted. Several are independent, which we can't afford. Quite a number are church schools. We are not religious and I really would not want a church school. That leaves three state schools, two of which are rated outstanding and one is rated good, with some areas being satisfactory.

Hypothetically, if the three non-church schools are full can the lea force us to take a place at a church school? Or would they have to offer us a place at a non-church school (possible in another town)? Hopefully it won't come to this but I am just curious to know!

The LA will offer you a place at the nearest available school that has a place in the right year group, which could be either a community or faith school. As your son is reception year at present the reality is that for many schools the infant class size regulations will be relevant. This caps the class size to 30 with one school teacher and means that for anybody moving mid year, in effect it is the nearest school with a place that will be offered.
There is nothing to stop you appealing for a place at the nearest school that you prefer but if the class is at 30 there is little or no chance of getting a place at appeal because of the restrictions in place. As Roadkillbunny says in year 3 the infant class size regs do not apply and the class can have more than 30 in it. You will still need a good reason for winning at appeal but you have more chance.

Hi there are lots of great primary schools in the villages around Tring. Buckinghamshire villages are cheaper (Cheddington, pitstone) and are in the catchment for the grammar schools at secondary.

Berko is definitely a good place for commuting into London but it is expensive. If you move 3-4 miles away to Chesham, your DH could either drive to Berko and commute from there, or take the Met line in.

There are lots of town schools (none of which are church schools - the outlying villages are, though) and they run the 11+ so you'd have to be happy about selection!