Moving to UK - Help with School Admissions

[Wayoutwest]

Hi,

We currently live in Australia but are seriously considering a move to the UK by end of this year (husband British).

We have 3 children ages 3, 6 and 12. Our 3 year old has special needs but will probably go to a mainstream school (with support for speech therapy and Occupational Therapy).

One of the biggest issues is what quality of schooling we can expect in the UK and reading up on the subject indicates that the best schools are really hard to get into (as you would expect). Our local primary school in Australia is very good and if you live in the catchment area (about 1 mile radius) then they must find a place for your child even if fully subscribed. This provides certainty when choosing where to live.

We are planning to move to Surrey, no firm location yet but likely to be one of the larger towns with good choice of schools (e.g. Guildford). We have never visited Surrey, the only information we have is based on internet research and my husband's feeling on where a good area to live would be. We would rent for first year or two and plan to live in a nice part of town. Entry to school would probably be in January 2015 term.

I would really appreciate some help with the following questions as we are completely new to the UK school system.

1. We plan on renting in an area close to good schools in the town we settle in, does this usually mean that we would automatically get a place at the local school if in the catchment area? My concern is that I called a couple of schools who said 'sorry we are full'. Does this mean we may have to take places in whatever schools are not fully booked which may be a significant distance away and also be of a lower standard? What degree of control do you have with the application process, can you appeal? In general, is there a much higher demand for schools in the UK than places available?

1. Some primary schools in UK have extra facilities for kids with special needs (such as speech therapists) but most do not. If your child has special needs, does this give you more influence with where they can go to school? If our 3 year goes to a school without any allowances for special needs, can they request additional assistance (extra teachers, etc)?

1. Our oldest daughter is attending Catholic High School in Australia. Catholic schools here are generally private (but fees lower than independent schools). With catholic schools in the UK, are these generally free to attend or does it depend on each one individually (sorry this is off topic with Primary Schools).

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated, we just want to understand some of the practical issues with admissions to schools in UK as this will be an important part of our decision whether or not to move oversea.

Thanks,

The ages you are looking for are not natural entry points in UK system, so they are classified as "in year" admissions . You could look at new.surreycc.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools/school-admissions/in-year-admissions as a starting point but it would ultimately be down to whichever school nearest to your home has a vacancy although you can go on waiting lists if you prefer another. Worth making contact with the LA to ask their advice on timing applications.

Presumably 6yo would be year 2, or possibly 1 if only just turned 6, and for that age group class sizes are capped at 30 which limits options. Your 3yo is not due in school until September 2015 so you would make a normal Reception application in January for this, were you settled in an address by the deadline. SEN provision is not universal as you have identified, depending on needs it may be possible to get funding for a LSA but this is very tight. If you can get assessments done and into the NHS/LA system asap it would be an advantage. Some services are provided by NHS rather than LA/schools and waiting times can be long.

You could look at RC secondary schools for your dd but demand usually exceeds places for state ones. You'll find a list of state secondary schools here . There are also some private ones such as St Theresa's in Effingham but they tend to be £££. good luck.

Hi there.

1. We plan on renting in an area close to good schools in the town we settle in, does this usually mean that we would automatically get a place at the local school if in the catchment area?

I'm afraid not. Your children would be placed where there is space, which could be some distance away - general guideline is around 45 minutes travel is fine. They could be placed at separate schools. If the only school offered is more than 2 miles (for under 8s) or 3 miles (over 8s) the child will get free transport, but this could be a bus pass and doesn't cover parents. In rare circumstances, local schools can be forced to take a child (something called the FAP) but this is only if no schools in a large radius have space.

You can appeal; for infants/juniors (Reception, Y1, Y2) it is very hard to win an appeal as class sizes are capped at 30 and there are only very specific reasons to exceed that (essentially the admissions authority has made a mistake); for Y3 +, it is slightly easier, you need to prove the detriment to the school of taking your child is less than the detriment to the child in not getting a place. It's still not easy though, and if the school has already taken one or two in over it's limit it will be very hard indeed.

You can also go on waiting lists; in most schools, having a sibling attend puts you somewhere near the top of these lists. When it comes to finding a reception place for your youngest, this may help you as the sibling rule will enhance their chances of getting into the same school as one of their siblings. Or they may well get a place in your local school if you live close enough, as reception admissions are normally done on distance from school.

1. Some primary schools in UK have extra facilities for kids with special needs (such as speech therapists) but most do not. If your child has special needs, does this give you more influence with where they can go to school? If our 3 year goes to a school without any allowances for special needs, can they request additional assistance (extra teachers, etc)?

If your child has an Education, Health and Care plan (used to be called a Statement of Special Needs, these are being phased out) then you may get more support, but getting one of these is likely to be a long process and require quite significant needs, so I would get the ball rolling immediately you get here. EHCs will enable you to state the school they attend. It may well be the case that the authority doesn't consider your child's needs significant enough, and will suggest that SEN Support within school is sufficient, which will lay out what your child needs in terms of support, which is expected to be offered by all schools. Some schools are better than others at this, but you won't be able to pick and choose on this basis.

1. Our oldest daughter is attending Catholic High School in Australia. Catholic schools here are generally private (but fees lower than independent schools). With catholic schools in the UK, are these generally free to attend or does it depend on each one individually (sorry this is off topic with Primary Schools).

Plenty of both here! Depends where you are. Some Catholic schools will prioritise those who can prove many years of devoted attendance, which may prove an issue, but not all do. St Peter's in Guildford, for example, prioritises baptised roman catholic children who live in certain parishes. If they have no waiting list, this is irrelevant of course, but it's worth bearing in mind as waiting lists will be ordered in the same way.

Essentially, it's a bit of lottery when you first arrive. But getting on waiting lists for all acceptable schools will help, as will living close by the school you wish the 3 year old to attend (checking admissions criteria closely, they do differ). Get in touch with the Local Authority re. the EHC quickly, but don't place all your hopes on it as it's a long process with no guarantee.

LIZS and PatriciaHolm,

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond, the information you provided is very helpful.

There is clearly a lot more demand for school places in the UK compared to Australia and of course the system must be fair. It seems that in the short term we may have to compromise on our choice of school, maybe when we are established in the UK things will get easier. I guess there is always the choice to go private but with 3 kids this will be incredibly expensive.

At the moment we live within walking distance of the local primary school and our 12 year's high school is 10 mins drive, it will be difficult to compete with this but I am sure there will be lots of other great reasons to live in the UK which will make up for the potential issues with schools.