Waiting list question

[Edenviolet]

Ds1 is number 4 on list
Dd2 is number 3

If one gets a place will the other them move up the list due to having a sibling there?

Has anybody been #3 or # 4 ? How long did you wait for a place ?

If one gets a place it's because they have moved to first thereby the other would be the new first anyway. Wouldn't they?

Sorry should have said ds1 is year 2 dd2 will be starting reception in sep.

I know its hard to predict how long they will be on the list but I'm seriously thinking of not sending dd2 to school till she gets the place from waiting list. But then I worry it will take ages..... Hard decision.

Ah ok! I guess it would depend on whether the people above then also have siblings or still meet a higher criteria than you ie live closer.

Its so hard to know what to do!

It will also be difficult if there's a big delay between them getting places although I'm hoping if that happens we may be able to try and use the medical route as I need to be near dd (and I don't drive) so couldn't feasibly have them so far apart just in case but I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

In our school if dd2 got a reception place then ds1 would go to no. 1 if no other siblings on the waiting list. And at the start of ks2 so year 3, a space would be made because no infant class size issues.

If ds1 got a place, dd2 would go to top of waiting list if no other siblings living closer, but a place would only be available when class size drops to 29.

So worth your scenario, would be hoping for a reception place.

If I did not send dd2 to school in sep and gave up the place she already has would the fair access thing apply to her for a reception place putting her above others on the list?

I'm desperate to get her a place as need to get school the relevant medical training to enable her to attend.

Ds1 will be going into yr 3 in sep so would that mean if dd gets a place he would very soon after then? Sorry I'm confused by how it works!

If I did not send dd2 to school in sep and gave up the place she already has would the fair access thing apply to her for a reception place putting her above others on the list?

No, the Fair Access Protocol would not be applied in this case. Your DD has a school offer and that is all the LA are obliged to do. Fair Access Protocol is usually applied when a family move into a new area and all the schools within a reasonable distance are full. The LA will then look at each school before deciding which school is best placed to accept an additional child under the FAP - it is not necessarily the parents preferred school, it is the school the LA believe will be least disadvantaged by accepting an additional pupil.

120 in reception

90 in other years (school has just expanded to four form entry)

Its completely my fault. Dcs have been at a really lovely school further away but I can't manage the journey anymore and due to dds health needs I really need one within walking distance of home. I've mucked up by not applying for it though, she would have got in if I'd put it first as distance limit was 0.71 and we are 0.47 I'm so stupid.

You do not have to relinquish the reception place if you decide on a later start.

What you need to do is defer it (and parents have the right to do this, but she must start at some point during reception - it cannot be held over until year1).

You need to inform the school in writing of your intention to excercise your right to defer and state when you want her to start (say January). That gives you quite a bit if wriggle room, and you can always renegotiate her start date if the other place comes up.

If it's a four form entry I'd be quietly confident about your DD moving to the top of the list by September actually.
And number 4 in a three form for juniors, I think you can be hopeful there too. :)

There a few things to check here. Firstly what does the admission criteria say about siblings, does it say you will get sibling priority if you have an older sibling at the school or does it just say if there is a sibling in the school the other sibling will get sibling priority. It could be that if DD2 is offered a place that this does not give sibling priority to ds1 and move them up the waiting list if it says older sibling.
With 120 in reception, any appeal will be an infant class size appeal, so I am afraid unless a mistake was made, there is a very low likelihood of winning an appeal. If you apply for a place for DS1 now and are rejected because they are full, you could appeal for a place. Given the time of year any appeal will not be for at least a month and it would therefore be for year 3 starting in September. Given that reception has just gone to 120 and the school is becoming a 4 form entry I would definitely appeal on the basis that they can accommodate more than the 90 in the year group if they officially become 4 form entry plus of course the other issues that you have. Obviously if you are successful in getting a place in year 3 then DD2 will get priority as a sibling.

I think it just specifies a sibling not older or younger but I will double check.

There is no basis for appeal as we didnt put this school on dds application form as at the time wanted her to go to the school ds1 is at. Unfortunately our circumstances have changed and we need a school within walking distance now so are having to put them both on the waiting list.

You can appeal though for your year 3 child. The grounds for appeal once out of years r-2 are easier, as it is a balance of prejudice one. If you can argue why DS needs to go to this school (local, friends and then anything special it offers which fits with his needs).

My DC's primary regularly has over 30 in a class for KS2.