Anyone without a school place or a low preference!

[MacademiaNut]

Tell me how are you coping???

What options are you considering?

Tell me it's just not me that wants to punch other mums who have their first choice and berate everyone who has an elder sibling...

I am sick of feeling like a social pariah for actually wanting and not getting the best local school.

Should I write to the local paper, start tweeting, fob in anyone I think was potentially being fraudulent ...

Or keep quiet and keep my fingers crossed.

I feel ill I can't be like this until Sept...

Same position as you but for secondary. It's on my mind constantly I can't sleep at night.

I very nearly did smack one of the mums at school when she was bragging she got 1st choice. I am genuinely pleased for others who got what they wanted but she was sneering that we didn't.

It is such a stressful time and my Dd thinks I can fix it for her. She doesn't need this stress on top of sats too.

Good luck

Secondary is even worse I imagine

I am like a statistics machine. I know how many parents rejected places last year and what that did to distances. What I don't have is a crystal ball or a magic wand.

Right I'm writing to the local paper...

I have found out the child of uber mum has got her child in. The priest has signed her form for full church attendance when they never go. I haven't seen them yet as we are not back at school until Monday. I think I had better avoid her or I might say something I regret.

You could always contact the school and say über mum lives much further than us and ask if they made a mistake with your distance? You could always add that they normally go swimming or something on Sunday mornings so don't think they are churchgoers. Maybe that's enough to trigger a church record check?

I don't know. In seriously thinking of contacting the council about a family who rented at extortionate expense for a few months then left 3 weeks after application date. It's borderline, but I'm just past caring.

There is a ghastly atmosphere at nursery. We've been told not to discuss overtly as parents are so upset.

I was in your position last year. It was such a stressful time and I felt like crying every time I took DS to pre school and heard other parents talking about induction meeting etc. thankfully we won our appeal so it all worked out in the end.
Good luck to anyone facing this horrible time.

OP, that family may well have behaved fraudulently (the renters) and you can contact the council if you wish.

Was it an ICS appeal? I have seen a report from our LA and no one has won at that type for 4 years.

It is impossible to tell if the school has made a mistake with your application as in our case, the school are refusing to give distances as its a church school.

More rage.

Plus our LA provided a grand total of 8 bulge classes only 2 of which were public knowledge prior to 17th April. It is just not giving parents a chance...

I'm going to today I've decided. Zero tolerance . Plus any others I find.

I am so sorry to be feeling like this.

Yes it was an ics appeal. We had a lot of email evidence and letters to back up our arguments and the panel decided that the admissions authorities had not correctly followed the school admission policy, which had they done we would have been awarded a place.
I know exactly how you feel and this time last year, if I knew that someone had made a fraudulent application I would have reported them.

Right off to study the school admissions policy...

To be fair, the council cannot always announce bulge classes until it gets a better feel for which schools are full etc. Bulge classes depend on funding, overall space etc and cause knock on problems for sibling priority etc. Unless you know pre jan 15 deadline, I'm. Not sure it helps anyway?

"It is impossible to tell if the school has made a mistake with your application as in our case, the school are refusing to give distances as its a church school."

I believe they have to provide this if you appeal, but wait for an expert!

I think the council didn't announce the bulges to try to get as many parents as possible to opt out and go private. I think that's unethical but probably not illegal.

I think it makes a difference as you would be more likely to apply for a school if you knew in advance there were 90 spaces rather than 60 as the catchment would be larger? It lets you hedge your bets better.

I am now wondering if there will be any more bulges announced that may benefit us (about 90 kids with no place and 150 got allocated a non preference).

It seems like bulges are the best way of ensuring more parents come off waiting lists.

Clutching at straws really...

I think I may email the LA and ask them exactly how I am supposed to ascertain if they have made a mistake or not...

If there are 90 children without places I would expect the LA is hastely negotiating for bulge classes (unless it has lost about that number to private). It has a legal obligation to educate the children somewhere, and can also force schools to go over their PAN.

All you can do is phone the LA and see how much the waiting lists are moving, and be aware of any free schools etc. opening. I would ask to be on the maximium number of waiting lists too.

Did you get a place you didn't want or no place at all OP?

DD got allocated the worst school in the whole area last year, I cried my eyes out and as a few of DDs friends were offered the same school and most of her nursery didn't get their first choice the atmosphere at the gates was horrible. Luckily FIL offered to pay for private once he'd seen how terrible the school we were offered was, so we were ok, a few of DD's friends who were offered the same school got offered other schools a couple of weeks later (not necessarily 1st choice schools but better than the original offer) as the council added some bulge classes so there were suddenly spaces popping up, if there's that many without places hopefully something will come up for you soon.

I would report anyone who you think has acted fraudulently let the council do their job and investigate. I have actually done this myself.

It's an awful predicament for you to be in and why should people who cheat get away with it.

There is a church school near us and they have a requirement that you attend twice a month and are 'actively' involved, although they don't take registers so I'm not sure how its all recorded and its all a bit dubious. Unfortunately at some church schools especially it is a case of who you know.

I know how you feel, I can't get it off my mind either. I'm lucky in that all the Mums seem to be sympathetic to my situation. Not really sure what I'm going to do, I'm still taking the news in. I walked past our allocated school yesterday and the playground alone makes me feel depressed.

I do wonder with our 1st choice church school whether the vicar is so over the moon that families are taking an interest that he signs anything...you never know. Although I did ask the Admissions lady what happens if you only have 18 months attendance (2yrs is the min) and they said it wouldn't meet criteria. They normally get just under half church applicants so it is still a community school, in theory anyway.

We do have a place but it was 6th choice. We put it to avoid a place at a poorer school at the other side of the borough.

I am going to maybe see how many are in our situation as our 2nd choice school took a bulge last year and is scheduled to next year, ie, they have the space. Maybe if there are enough some pressure can be put on the council. It's hard to tell where the 90 kids are though. I think the councils plan is to divide and conquer by offering low preferences so as many trickle out the system as possible. Cynical moi?

They won't add bulge classes for people who got a place but not a preference.

That's not how it works - if there are spaces at your preferred school, you get them, if not, you don't.

It's in the best economic interest of the council to ensure each school is full before adding bulge classesz

Accept your sixth preferance and go on waiting lists for others.

I am sorry, ands as for ther mu that got pirest to lie...I would seek revenge

The only thing I would day is people DO move house, and places DO come up

so grass anyone that has been fraudelent IMO, and get names on lists and have hope

I hate being made to feel bad that I am unhappy with 6th choice.

If I had a pound for every time I heard it's just as good as the schools we preferred over it, I'd be able to afford private.

If I didn't care where my DC go to school I wouldn't have spent days visiting and asking questions or reading reports. I have read the reports and sorry the school is nowhere near as good.

If it all schools are good enough then why have Ofsted (well indeed) and why give any preferences at all? Why not allocate everyone?

Another fact that riles me is that another school recently expanded over the 1/2 we prefer, despite being by far the least popular school for miles. I queried this with the consultation and was told they didn't want to expand our preferred schools as they were too close to the edge of the borough and would get too many applications from other boroughs. Ie, the council are more concerned with managing their pot of cash than satisfying demand from their borough tax payers parents!!! If our school has expanded we would have a place.

Boy I am really ranting now

Oh and the neighbouring borough had PAAs whereas our LA does not. So our schools are open for business from other boroughs, but their schools are effectively closed for our residents.

I am just seeing unfairness everywhere with this process sadly.

Oh and the neighbouring borough had PAAs whereas our LA does not. So our schools are open for business from other boroughs, but their schools are effectively closed for our residents.

I am just seeing unfairness everywhere with this process sadly.

So mad I am posting twice