DD didn't get in because they sent letters to wrong address??!

[LibertineLover]

OK so this is a good friend of mines daughter. We live in a tiny village with one playgroup/pre-school and a primary that goes up to age 11.

My friend has moved 4 times in as many years, and has been here for a year now. She was asking and asking about when the letters for primary would come and I said I couldn't remember,so to ask at playgroup, when she did, they said she should have had the letter last year!!

Turns out they had been sending them to her address 4 moves ago?! so 2 x children that live miles out of catchment area have been given last remaining places. She can't drive, we are reeeeeaaaally rural, and the bloke from council said the schools all around this area were full, so her Dd would have to go in a taxi on her own every day, with no one she knows?!

School says they can only take 14, and they have that many.
does anyone have any ideas? The little girl will be devastated to not go to that school with all her friends from the village.

[wonderingagain]

If the British Public weren't quite so tetchy about privacy and the laws that are designed to protect it every local authority would know the age and whereabouts of every child and this sort of thing woulnt happen.

[piprabbit]

Also, I really think it is the parent's responsibility to inform themselves about important stuff that impacts their child (schooling, vaccinations, internet security etc.) instead of relying on someone else to tell them what to do...

[kungfupannda]

Is the fact that they've moved so often related to the father in prison by any chance?

Might help an appeal if so.

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

But pip don't you think some families will do better with just a little support ? Surely it makes sense for Society to facilitate this ?

[flootshoot]

Some text on school admissions could easily be incorporated into the 3 year check stuff sent out by HVs. That's a start.

[piprabbit]

I think most families could use some support at one time or another. But there is a difference between society providing support, and HVs being made responsible for ensuring that all parents apply for a school place.

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Yes, I can see you might want to keep the final and basic responsibility for applying with the parents. But I think different agencies in child and parent's life should do all they can to inform ...
Pre-schools, GP surgeries, HV's, Local Council (ours produces a booklet for all households which I think may have an ad in about school applications) and schools themselves (notice board ?)

[AmandaPayneAteTooMuchChocolate]

They don't do three year checks in my area...

[cece]

TBH I can see how it happens.

I work in a school. With my PFB I had no idea that I had to apply for a place. I too was expecting some sort of letter from LA or HV. It was only because my DD went to a CM and she asked me which schools I was applying for that I realised I actually had to go and get a form myself to fill in (pre-online application days) and that I would not be getting a letter.

[flootshoot]

Oh pip I agree responsibility must lie with the parents. But a reminder could be added to the sort of stuff that's sent out as standard - eg. preschool vaccination reminders. Just something simple saying something like 'did you know in this area school applications are available online on x date, you WILL NOT get a letter'.

I can see how some families slip through the net though, particularly with a chaotic home life.

[flootshoot]

amanda they don't in my area either, but we get a letter with a checklist and contact info for if we have any concerns. Perhaps not every area does that though?

[piprabbit]

I don't think we have any standard contact with the HVs after the 2 year check. Although it is possible that they have more regular contact with chaotic families who may be more of a priority for them.

[AmandaPayneAteTooMuchChocolate]

We don't after the two year check either. We didn't get a letter or any sort of information.

[Flibbertyjibbet]

This happened with my neighbour.

In our area you have to contact the 1st choice school or the LEA and get an application pack off them, deadline in October, place allocations are notified in April for the following September. there were notices at preschool, nursery, library, sure start etc.

When we got our letter I wandered up the street to ask if her dc would be going to the same school as ours, so we could share walking them in the mornings etc.

She said 'oh I haven't had my letter yet' and rang the LEA the next day. When she rang them they said 'who is this child?'

Turns out she thought her preferred school 'knew he was coming' because he was at a pre school that shares a name with the school (just because they are both named after the street they are on) and thought the two were connected and the preschool would tell the school who was turning 4. No consideration in her mind for children who went to day nurseries etc but who lived in the catchment.

She tried to appeal on grounds of things like 'but you should have known there was a child in the area aged 4' and 'but me and my bother came to this school and when I was pregnant we deliberately moved into catchment for this school'.

The LEA said they can't write to all children as so many move, or come into the area etc that they could not possibly keep such a list up to date.

She had to just wait to see which schools had places after all the allocations had been done, and was at the back of any waiting lists because the people on the waiting lists had applied in time. Ditto appeals, as she had no grounds to appeal anything.

She ended up, in the July, being offered a place at a school 1.5 miles away - its an urban area and there are 4 schools within that distance.

hope your friend is able to get something closer than a taxi ride away.

[AmandaPayneAteTooMuchChocolate]

Deadline in October for notifications in April? So the deadline is almost a full year before admissions? That seems bonkers Flibberty. They must end up with loads of additional in-year reception applications that way. Our deadline is January.

[TheDoctrineOfSnatch]

Cinnabar, did you do a state school application too?

[BranchingOut]

Unfortunately, this is one of the ways in which children from disadvantaged families end up missing out on school places or ending up in schools that are a long way away. Some of the remarks on this thread show a lack of awareness of the barriers that some parents face in trying to do the best for their child. Not knowing, a chaotic home life, cultural misunderstanding of the system, not being part of the 'mums network', being too afraid to ask, lacking the language to ask...

I used play a role in admissions at a popular primary school (large middle class intake), but we ended up with a situation where several nursery children had completely failed to apply for Reception at all, because they had assumed it was automatic. This is despite being handed a form and brochure, plus being reminded the previous year. The parents of both children were from a minority ethnic background, with EAL and could probably be described as very disadvanged in comparison to the rest of the white, mc, professional intake. We then decided to ring round and remind every family in the current nursery intake - you would be astounded at the proportion who had still not filled in the form in the week or so before the deadline.

[CinnabarRed]

Yes we did. But then withdrew it.

[givemeaclue]

No three year old checks here either

[givemeaclue]

Kungfu panda,shes can't appeal as she didn't apply so there isn't anything to appeal

[Hullygully]

wot branchingout said

[MegBusset]

Ditto Hully. I have met people (intelligent, English-speaking, rational, middle-class people, in the nursery/playgroup/mums loop) who believe all sorts of crazy things about the admissions process (eg you have to put your child's name down for a school when they are born, or their child is guaranteed a place at an oversubscribed, out-of-catchment school because a family member works there, or priority is given to older children in the year, or the school can bump children up the waiting list if they like the parents, or if they only put one choice down then they can't be sent anywhere else, etc etc) and refuse to be told differently. It is really not a surprise that many more disadvantaged families slip through the net and fail to apply in time.

[thegreylady]

I have never heard of playschool being in any way involved in school applications.As far as I know the parents have to apply by letter or online and it is their responsibility to chase up the relevant forms.
If by playschool you mean the nursery class of the school it still doesn't follow that they will do anything at all about reception applications.

[JenaiMorris]

Yes, yes, yes.

Every bloody year there are threads on MN where people have only named one school on the form because they thought it would help their case, assumed that a school being on their route to work would work in their favour and so on and so on. Most normal people don't know a great deal about school admissions - why would they?

Poor OP's friend. I refer again to my earlier posts though re compulsory education age and home ed. Branching's school were unusually proactive - and imo it was a bit shit of the VILLAGE school in the OP to have been so laissez faire.

[JenaiMorris]

And another thing.

Are people really OK with the idea that a 4yo child should lose out on a place at a school within reasonable travelling distance/time because their parents (for whatever reason) were unaware of the application process?