Supplementary evidence forms and admissions- help please!

[sunnysunnysunshine]

Hi, I just wondered if anyone can give me some advice on what to do or reassure me. Sorry this is long, but I am getting myself very stressed about schools!!

I have chosen the 3 schools to apply to. I am hoping to get DD1 in on religious criteria and so I have filled in the supplementary evidence forms and had them signed etc. The website of each school said that the forms needed to be handed in to the schools themselves. I went to the schools that I am putting as 1st and 3rd choice and handed the forms in and they said that was fine and no problem.

I then went to the school that I am putting as 2nd choice and the lady in the office seemed rather confused. She said that she thought she needed to send it to the LA. I questioned this as my understanding is that the form is looked at by the school governors who list all the children that have applied to the school in order of their 'right' to go to the school and they then send this list to the LA who do the big juggling of places according to preferences. If this is the case then surely the school need to keep the form. She also seemed confused that we don't attend the local church, but on their admissions criteria it says that after siblings etc, people who attend the local church have priority, but the next criteria down from that is anyone who attends a C of E church. All in all she seemed a bit clueless and I am now really worried that my form will get lost. If it does, we won't stand a chance of DD1 getting in as we are out of catchment. It is a small village school and she is the only lady that works in the office.

Any idea what I should do?

I have mine in at the school. Maybe ring the school after the hols and check what is happening with it. It should also say in the school admission policy what to do with the form.

Ok are you sure school (2nd choice) although coe is voluntary aided aided and not controlled should say on admissions crieria and their website. va or vc.

if aided then yes they decide their own admissions.

so you hand form into reception at school.
you apply to lea

lea then do faith schools early used to be jan time but later now as admission date hers moved to jan was october when I applied.

The school /governers look at application and decide.

they then inform lea

bu lea inform all parents of lea schools, academies and voluntary aided at same day uusally in march here.

The lea sort the admission criteria for lea run schools.

voluntary aided ie faith usually roman catholic have to do theres earlier.

But lot of coe schools here are voluntary controlled.

so lea decide admission, not church so kids in care then catchment distance not faith so no supplementary evidence form required.

There are some voluntary aided coe but not round her most coe are small and in villages and inclusive of whole community.

If it is va photocopy form tice give 1 to school, 1 to lea and keep one be on safe side.

It really only comes into use if oversubscibed.

I had to give birth cert, baptism certificate and copy of utily bill with the form.

hope this helps and you get 1st choice.

If the school is a Voluntary Aided CoE or a catholic school then the supplementary form goes to the school and the common application form to the LA, so from your post you have done what is required. You are also correct in what happens. The school receives a list of all pupils who have expressed a preference for the school and a committee of the school governing body then agree this list in admission criteria order and return it to the LA for further processing. The school can only put you into the order based on the information they have from the LA and from the supplementary application form.
However, too many school admission appeals, tell me that you are right to be concerned by the apparent lack of knowledge in the school office of 2nd preference school. The usual problem is that the school say they received no preference form and the parent says I handed it in but has no record of that happening. There is no doubt that the onus is on the parent to confirm safe receipt of both the supplementary forms and the common application form. I would ask all three schools for written confirmation (by email?) that they have received your forms and also the LA if you have not already got such documents.

Thank you for all your replies. I am grateful for your help.

admission I asked all the schools (including my 2nd choice school) to give me a receipt when I handed over the form (they are all Voluntary Aided C of E schools). They each gave me a With Compliments slip stating that they had received the form. Do you think that I should follow this up with an email to my 2nd choice school stating in the politest possible way that I have done some research and understand that the form should be given to the governors and not sent to the LA as I wish my DD to be considered under admissions criteria x and that I would therefore be grateful if they could confirm that they have the form in an email? I am really grateful for your help and advice, thank you.