Admissions people - please help if you can!

[RobinsonOnTheA24]

We are moving to a new borough in a few months and about to do a mid-term application (yr 2), and I have just seen the following in the borough's information about mid-term admissions and waiting lists:

"Your child's name will normally only be added to a waiting list if no school can be offered"

Which seems to mean that if any school is available, you have to take the place and won't be eligible for any waiting lists. Can this really be true?

We were planning to hang on at dd's current school and bear the commute until a place came up at one of the three nearest to the new house, which are all currently oversubscribed. But it sounds as if we will not be allowed to join the waiting lists if there is a place already available in another school in the borough.

Any advice very gratefully received.

They cannot do that. If you apply for a school and fail to get a place they must add you to the waiting list if you request, even if they offer a place elsewhere.

Which borough are we talking about?

Phew, thank you very much, prh.

It's Sutton.

Where did you find this? I can't see anything to that effect in their admission arrangements so this may just be poor wording. I did find a breach of the Admissions Code but that only affects people with a child already attending a school within the borough who want to attend another school.

Here under "Waiting Lists".

What was the breach of the admissions code?

I'm hoping that is is poor wording, and that what they really mean is "if none of the schools applied for can offer a place". However, this is not what the person from the council that I spoke to on the phone today thought.

It certainly seems to conflict with their admission arrangements for mid-term admission where they say that you will be asked if you want to go on the waiting list for any school that is a higher preference than the school offered.

The breach is that any parent wanting to transfer their child from one primary school to another within the borough must first contact their current school and get their agreement. According to their website they won't even issue the necessary forms until agreement is in place. That is a clear breach of the right to apply for any school at any time. Unfortunately they are not the only LA that tries to discourage transfers in this way.

Thanks very much indeed, that's very helpful. I am waiting for a call back from them, so will hopefully be able to get some clarification on Monday and argue the point if necessary.