What do you think my chances are??

[InspiredToBoot]

Recently relocated. DS has been given a state school place just before the start of the holidays. DD is first on the waiting list to start Y1 in sept. Do you think there's any chance that she'll have a place? I mean, people leaving would have told the school before the holidays right? Or in your experience, do people sometimes only find out during the holidays that they're not coming back thus places becoming available at the beginning of the term? Is this wishful thinking?

The honest answer is that there are times when a person knows very well that their child is moving but does not bother to tell the school until they actually start at the new school, especially if they are also moving house. It is also not uncommon for the parent to write to the school but not do that until in the summer holidays at which point the mail is probably going to sit around awaiting someone to come into the school just before the new term starts.
As such it would not be a surprise if a place became available in year 1, come early September.
However before you get your hopes up too much, there are other schools where the year group does not change at all for the whole 7 years they are in the school. It really does depend on how much movement there is by parents moving house.
If no place becomes available in early September and if the school year cohort is not subject to the infant class size regs, it would probably be sensible to appeal for a place at the school.

Thank you both for your helpful answers. This is a highly sought after state school, 2 entry form. I think the area doesn't have a great deal of movement. I've only just relocated here and can't find anything to buy which tells me people like to stay put? It is an affluent area so I would imagine quite a lot of people might like to send their kids to private school.

You could ask around - parents of other pupils going into Y1 are likely to know if anybody is moving away.

I could BedHog but I think that would make me come across a little weird and demented as I don't know anyone at that school .

I think it's probably evens and the school itself would have the best idea. Do you have another offer from them? I would prepare your child for starting there if that's the fallback option. Hope it comes through for you.

Hi trifling, thank you very much for your answer and your good wishes. I have spoken to the school but they've said no one going into Year 1 has said they're leaving as far as they know. I am holding on to the fact that some movement would have happened in the summer so the school wouldn't necessarily know at this point.

My guess would be that a place won't come up before Sept. Can you HE in the hope that someone leaves during the first term? In dd's Y3 class, one dc left at the end of Sept, one left in Jan, and one left in March last year. dd2 was in YR and one child didn't turn up, one left in Dec, and one in June. Highly sought after school - all the leavers were relocating.

dillnameddog I think you're probably right.

I kept my dd out of school to wait for a place in reception - it actually took three years. It was at the start of the credit crunch, when people weren't moving, and she wasn't first on the list so worst situation than you are in.

I would investigate other options if you can't HE or if a place doesn't come up in the first term.

Best of luck - I know how it feels, and it is crap.

dillnameddog, did you HE your DD for the whole 3 years??

No, I got her into a local school which I liked but didn't love. It was fine in lots of ways, not so good in others. I am vv glad I took the place because I could never have imagined it would take so long to get a place - and HEing would not have suited dd (or me!). Our problem was that people kept moving into the area and jumping ahead of us on the waiting list. We were first a few times but a place only ever seemed to come up when we had dropped back down to second.

You have a much better chance than we did because of the sibling link. When dd1 finally got a place, dd2 leapfrogged to the front of the queue.

Ooh sorry - have namechanged because I was going to post and out myself! But fortunately haven't!!

Last September the whole allocations things was still untangling itself well into September in my area as the effects at one of end of the chain cascaded through all the local schools. One head told me that she'd had several children start school in her school only to move 2 or 3 weeks later as places came up at their preferred schools - lots of wasted uniforms!
Don't give up hope.

If my DD was due to start YR I'd feel quite positive about a place coming up. As it is Y1 it's a bit different, isn't it?

there can be a surprising amount of "churn" at the start of a year.

AT DS's school I expect there will be spaces coming up as families decide to move an older child to the school younger sibling has been allocated once they realise that its not a bad school really and its closer to home. Year R was somewhat over subscribed and a number of siblings did not get a place.

Staying hopeful...