primary appeals

[lozbrownfox07]

We didnt get any of our three choices for our daughter. Can anyone explain this to me, we didnt get our first choice school but a friend we know got the same school but it was her second choice. I dont fully understand or dont want to believe its about post code lottery. the school we have been allocated as an inadequate ofsted.

It doesn't matter that it was her second choice.
You putting it as your first and her, her second would not put you higher up the admissions ranking.

the school or LA rank everyone who has expressed an interest in their school according to their published admissions criteria. the LA then allocate the school based on the highest expressed preference that they qualify for. So if your friends first choice school admitted 30 but she was 34 on the ranking but 20 out of 30 on the ranking list for the second choice school then she would be allocated her second choice school.

Does your friend live nearer the school than you or have a sibling at the school or statemented/looked after child? these are all things that could put her child higher up the ranking list for that school than yours. I hope this makes sense! I am sure someone else will explain it more clearly!

If you are not happy about your child's school allocation accept the place anyway though this might feel strange. Unless you can home educate or go private then you need something to fall back on. next, make sure that you are on the waiting list for as many schools as you can within an acceptable distance to you-this might mean going further afield than you had first considered if your are really unhappy with your school allocation.
If you are in a highly mobile area (urban/city/London) then you may be offered a waiting list place over the summer. All is not lost!

Good luck.

Where you put a school in terms of preference does not affect your chances of getting in. It affects which school you are offered once you qualify for it.

So the local authority take everyone who has put School A anywhere on their list and rank them according to the admission criteria. So, for example, at our school, looked after and other priority children first, then siblings, then distance. They then have a big long list of children and take the first 30/60 whatever children to fill School A's places.

The only time preference comes into it is in making sure you only get one offer. So say the person at number 5 on the list has put School A as second preference but has already qualified for their first choice school (School B), the computer will cross them off the list for School A and take the next person down on School A's list instead.

So it's all about admission criteria whether you get in or not, not about prefrences as such. It isn't a postcode lottery, but it can be a bit of an 'admissions criteria' lottery in that some people have a good chance of getting into lots of schools, and some people struggle to find one that they qualify for.

As others have said, it's about how well you fit the school's admissions criteria. Your friend obviously fulfilled the school's criteria better than you did - it could be for something as simple as living 50 metres closer.

Where you placed the school in your preferences is irrelevant, except for ensuring that you only get an offer.

Some schools do use lotteries/random selection within some admissions categories. If they do, it will be mentioned in the admissions criteria. (All the schools I have heard of using lotteries/random selection are secondary schools).

Thanks for your replies but i feel that i have applied completly wrong and have put my daughter at a major disadvantage. when i applied for the two community primary schools there was no set critera for me to refer to - it was a standard LEA application form. We are not religious and she is an only child so if thats the criteria we will always be at the bottom unless i live on the doorstep of the schools. Thanks for your advice and i will be putting my name on waiting lists of other schools.

Yes, if non religious, non sen, non LAC and without siblings you will always come low down on the list and will be dependent on the distance criteria. But then, so will everyone else in the same position

The admission criteria for every school in your LA are in the admissions booklet that will be on their website and should have been sent to you with the form.