Limit to number of waiting lists you can be on?

[Itspardonnotwhat]

Is there a legal limit does anyone know? My LA are insisting I can only be on four as we had four preferences (we didn't get any of them). I don't want to spam the system by insisting on being on every list in the borough but there are a couple more schools I would like to be on the waiting list for to increase our overall chances of finding a place we are happy with!

Maybe it depends on the LEA? I don't remember ours having a limit. Only problem is once you're offered a place the current place is withdrawn. Luckily our LEA lets you list waiting lists in order of preference.

Thanks both.

Tiggytape - no. They won't budge at the moment, saying I have to swap one. However this has only been on the phone to date. I wanted to get a bit more clarity before challenging it further and also wait until I can be told whereabouts I am on the waiting lists for our current four preferences - which they can't do before Tuesday.

Another piece of information they wouldn't give me is historical data on how many children have been admitted from the waiting lists in previous years. They said it had no bearing on whether we would get a place or not. I appreciate that on a very basic level that is the case, but I think the data will be useful in giving me some insight about how much movement there is on lists in this area. I don't really want to go down the FoI routes but I will if I need to. I presume this is information that they should be able and happy to disclose without me going down that route though?

The Schools Adjudicator has made a decision on this. They ruled that an LA can limit the number of waiting lists you can go on. I think they got this wrong but, short of someone taking this to judicial review (or persuading Michael Gove to clarify this in the Admissions Code), there is no way of challenging this.

Of course, and what I think happens is that there is very little, if any movement around here, especially as so many of the places go to siblings. I'd just like to know if this is actually the case.

I also suspect that despite two of the schools being in our catchment their popularity and the pressure on places this year both means that we will be pretty far down the waiting list. And if its never gone down far as us before I can pretty much guarantee it won't go near us this year - and that would give me further cause to look at schools more further afield and their waiting lists.

Ah sorry, cross posted with you prh47bridge. Thank you. I don't think I'll be the one taking it to a JR but its helpful to know what the position is.