Primary schools- help with the basics please

[mrssweetpotato]

Can people please advise, how do primary school allocations actually work? We're in S London, in a London borough, but our nearest primary is over the borough border, in Kent. It isn't a good school, and the second nearest is CofE, and is half a mile away, meaning DS would be unlikely to get in there (we aren't CofE). Are most state primaries allocated by catchment/ siblings/ looked after children? What is the application process?

I need to think about this too. DS is 2...

It depends on exactly where you are and what the local admissions criteria are. Your borough LEA has a duty to find a school for your DC to attend, but this doesn't necessarily have to be one of the preferences you name (as you're in a London borough, you can name up to 6 preferred schools).

In my area, the criteria are (except for church schools):

1. Looked after children
2. Exceptional social or medical need
3. Siblings
4. Straight line distance from your house to the school

The faith schools have additional criteria around being active members of a church, living in the parish etc.

You would need to make sure that the CofE school genuinely is a faith school and not a community school with CofE in its name though.

Also to give you an idea, in this area last year (also an outer London borough) the school my DD attends had an intake of 60. Of that 60, 1 place went to a looked after child, 4 went to exceptional need, 33 went to siblings, and 22 went on distance. The admissions distance was about 300 metres.

London has a common application form, here www.eadmissions.org.uk/eAdmissions/app (I think it's for Surrey as well). For starting school in September 2013, you can apply from this September and your application would need to be submitted by around the middle of January next year. Then you'd find out which school you'd been allocated sometime around the beginning of April.

Bugger, try this: eAdmissions

Oh thank you Rue

We're over half a mile from any primary, and goodschoolsguide says we're not in any catchment (I know strictly speaking there's no such thing). Do you know if we're more likely to be allocated one in our borough or the nearer one just over the border in Kent? Or is it really just random chance depending on numbers that year?

Sorry, got my distances in a muddle. Nearest school 0.4m not a happy place, and not in our borough. Second nearest 0.5 CofE (we aren't CofE). Third nearest is a good ordinary primary 0.6 miles would be our first choice but surely we're too far if many places go to siblings??

Oh yes and I checked, the CofE is definitely a faith school, regular and faithful attendance necessary as well as other church commitments, volunteering in the church community etc.

Sounds a bit like when I was a kid, we weren't in any primary catchment so I got allocated an unpopular one a mile away (in London). I later got a place at a nearer and better school but had to move in third term of reception. So don't panic if you don't get your first choice mrssweetpotato

I do have a slightly Anglican background but I would feel disrespectful going to church for that reason. I know many people do...

Give your admissions people a call and ask them based on your current address, which school would you have been allocated if you'd been applying this year (might need to wait a bit till the allocations been done though!). AFAIK you'd be allocated a borough school in the first instance, and only if all those schools are full would they look out of borough.

Don't forget about waiting lists either - there's a fair amount of movement between allocations and actually starting school. A friend moved her DS after Christmas to what was originally their first choice school, after being allocated their sixth choice last April.

Good idea. We should have thought about all this when we moved but there were so many considerations.