Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Primary school applicatin - NO OFFER POSSIBLE!!!

34 replies

piupiu · 16/04/2014 19:37

I've just received my email about my primary school application in Sutton and it says that they are unable to offer my child a school place ANYWHERE!!
Has anyone else heard of this before?
Here's hoping it is a practical joke...

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

BigArea · 16/04/2014 19:38

Holy crap

BigArea · 16/04/2014 19:39

That is ludicrous OP. Is there contact info on the email?

MarshaBrady · 16/04/2014 19:39

No way that is bad! Are you in London? (if you can say)

LineRunner · 16/04/2014 19:40

Sutton in Surrey?

PourquoiTuGachesTaVie · 16/04/2014 19:41

How is that even possible?

financialwizard · 16/04/2014 19:41

I'd be on the phone kicking up a stink about this quicker than the admissions team could log onto their computers.

ShadowFall · 16/04/2014 19:42

I thought that legally they had to offer you something?

TIL3 · 16/04/2014 19:42

Do they mean they just can't offer you any of your choices? Surely they have to offer a place somewhere. A friend had similar last year, where they didn't get any if their choices and so had to wait until the next day to speak to someone send find out where they'd been offered.

htm123 · 16/04/2014 20:14

DO NOT PANIC! Stay calm. 5 years ago I was in the same situation. We contacted the Surrey CC Admissions. Then weeks later we were offered a place at a satisfactory school which wasn't on our list. Two months later after accepting the school place at the satisfactory school, we received another letter with an offer for a school place at our second choice stipulated on the list. Don't panic but be proactive. Good luck!

htm123 · 16/04/2014 20:17

People move and change their minds about the school places, some choose to go private, etc so places will become available eventually. I was on a waiting list anyway automatically.

sixlive · 16/04/2014 20:20

Quite common unfortunately in some parts. You may find that next week you will get an offer from one on the list as they will add a bulge class.

mumofthemonsters808 · 16/04/2014 20:20

Good God and I thought my situation was bad. I thought you had to be offered something, at least a place somewhere. I'm sure it will get sorted.

Original poster

piupiu · 16/04/2014 20:21

i thought that they had to offer you something too - bit no, it says NO OFFER on the letter!
We already had to go private with DD1 because they were unable to offer us anything when we moved to the borough 2 years ago and she still hasn't been offered a state school place despite being on all the lists. People move away but people also move in, and if they are closer to the school than you they jump the queue.
We are absolutely devastated that this has happened to us again, especially as we have already spent all of our savings on 2 years of private school fees :-(

OP posts:

sexydogshavesurprisinglyhumana · 16/04/2014 20:22

Good grief.

Any helpful advice with it?

addictedtosugar · 16/04/2014 20:25

Round here (different area), if none of your choices were available, you got a no offer letter. When you rang admissions, they told you where had places.
Although it sounds like you are in a oversubscribed area than us.
Ring them first thing, and see what you need to do to start trying to get a place.
Sounds like a nightmare with your oldest too - which means you have lost any sibling priority also.
Hope you get some answers soon. there are also loads of very, very knowledgeable admissions people about, who I'm sure will come up with better advice soon

AllGoingSouth · 16/04/2014 20:38

This happened to me 3 years ago- same area. If you ring admissions they will let you add your name to as many school waiting lists as you want. Also in a couple of weeks you will be able to find out your position on the waiting lists of all the schools you listed.
In my situation when I rang to find out the waiting list position they advised that there was probably going to be a bulge class added at a school I wasnt on the waiting list for and did I want to be added to the list. This is the school that my ds ended up going to and is still at. The offer of a place came through in the middle of May.

TIL3 · 16/04/2014 20:59

I don't understand this - the council has a duty to provide all school age children a school place. I guess you'll find out more if you call in the morning, but surely they have to offer something?!

RueDeWakening · 16/04/2014 21:02

piupiu, I'm also Sutton. We got our place for DS, but he has an older sibling so we had priority.

Having said that, this has been going on for a few years now. Get your name down on waiting lists - any school you'd be happy(ish) to accept. Sit tight - the council will, once again, be trying to put in bulge classes at as many schools as can take them. Things will move in the next few weeks.

I know it's horribly stressful, but play the long game - it's not over yet.

Where abouts are you in the borough? Is it worth looking at eg Woodmansterne, Croydon schools, Merton schools? PM me if you want :)

admission · 16/04/2014 21:09

The LA does have to make an offer of a school place to each pupil. It does not however have to do it absolutely as of the 16th April. What the letter obviously badly written is trying to say is that you were not far enough any admission criteria order to be offered a place at one of your three preferences and there was no obvious alternative school in the near locality.
Many LAs have this situation but they will now look to allocate you a place ASAP and as others have said part of it is around people rejecting, not needing places and part is around the LA convincing schools to take more pupils.
Do apply to go on the waiting list of all schools that you would accept and do appeal for the three schools you expressed a preference.

tiggytape · 16/04/2014 21:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

piupiu · 16/04/2014 21:10

That's quite comforting to hear allgoingsouth.
Problem is we are right at the bottom of the borough. Most of our closest schools are all in Surrey and our daughter's private school is down there too. So if they offer me something in the North of the borough i will have 45minutes between each school drop off!

OP posts:

ImAThrillseekerBunny · 16/04/2014 21:18

They haven't offered your DD1 a place in 2 years ?!

Is that even legal? Surely they could have offered you something somewhere?

In a nasty sort of way the fact that this year is more crowded than ever might possibly work in your favour because bulge classes tend to come in a minimum size of 30 so it might give you a little bit more room to manouevre, in which case your DD1 would become a sibling and have first dibs on any subsequent place. Clutching at straws here, good luck.

RueDeWakening · 16/04/2014 21:18

tiggytape the problem Sutton have had is that they simply haven't offered schools to all children for a September start. A bulge class was put in at one school in October last school year, for a start after October half term.

RueDeWakening · 16/04/2014 21:19

Sorry, haven't been able to offer places, that should say.

Original poster

piupiu · 16/04/2014 21:29

October?! Crikey. But my son turns 5 on September 11th. Annoying thing is that based on catchment he would have got in to our first choice last year.... if he had only been 12 days older.

OP posts:

Flip

1 2

Swipe left for the next trending thread