Waiting list for primary school

[Kittymautz]

Hi, I don't have children myself so would be grateful if any MNers could share their experience on this.

We had new neighbours move into the flat below us a few months ago. They have a six year old daughter, and immediately contacted the local council about getting her into a school locally, and we're told they would receive a letter in September.

Last week the father told me they had been allocated a school, but it was full and their daughter is 'on the waiting list'. I'm wondering how this works, i.e. how likely it is for a place to become free in the short-term, what happens if a place doesn't become free, does the child just never get a school place?

In case anyone wonders why I'm interested, well, a) I'm genuinely curious about how the system works and b) if there was any advice I child pass on to the parents to help them get their child into school I would c) for selfish reasons, as they are the best (cleanest, friendliest, helpful, just all round nice people) tenants we've had below us in nearly 20 years, and we would like them to stay long-term.

I feel so sad for the little girl, she's such a sweet child and is really missing going to school, making friends etc.

The LA cannot put a child on the waiting list and then wash its hands of the problem. They must find a place for the child somewhere. If there are no places available at any schools in a reasonable distance they should tell one of the schools that is full to take the child. The parents should appeal for any schools for which they have been rejected and keep pushing the LA to come up with a place. They should be clear with the LA that they have an obligation to find a place. And they should definitely resist any suggestion from the LA that they should home educate their daughter.

This isn't right- I think there must be some misunderstanding. A child can't be 'allocated' a place at a school which is full. The child can (and should) be placed on the waiting list for the schools which the parents have applied to- but if there are no spaces, the council must find a place somewhere in the meantime. It might be a place further away, at a less desirable school, but they must be offered something. And if it's beyond a certain distance, the council must also provide transport.

I would recommend that the parents chase it up with the council- perhaps they have misinterpreted their letter?

Could they have misunderstood or perhaps been offered a space at a school further away but chosen to turn it down and wait a place at a particular school ? As she is only 6 class sizes will be limited to 30 maximum so they could be in for a long wait for another child to leave. She may not even be at the top of the waiting list.

Are you sure they can't be allocated a place at a school that is full?

My dd2s class was so oversubscribed that there wasn't room for them all in the classroom and some of them, my dd2 included, have to sit outside in the corridor for their lessons.

If that isn't a full school I don't know what is.

What I meant was that they can't be placed on a waiting list and told that it is their allocated place. If you are allocated a place at a school, you can start there- no waiting.

MrsADV your daughter's school may seem full, but clearly someone has decided that it had the capacity to tale extra pupils- as crazy as it may seem.

MsAdorabelle: here it means full in the sense of the legal limit of 30 per teacher. Schools with enough staff, and classes under 30, may indeed have to take on more pupils up to 30 and that can mean temporary classrooms (even in odd spaces).

Thanks for the replies. I possibly used the wrong word when I said 'allocated'. When the father told me about the letter he told me the name of the school that the council named in the letter, so I used the word 'allocated', but I haven't seen the letter myself.

I got the impression that the parents didn't ask for any particular school but just asked for any school they could get, if you see what I mean.

I will mention to them that they should contact the council again and insist that the child is given a place.

To complicate things, the family are from another European country, and the little girl only has minimal English at the moment, so her parents really want her to get into school and learning/making friend's ASAP. In the summer I did talk to the parents about getting some books and helping the girl learn to read some of the English words she knows, (as part of a general chat about learning etc) but they said they are worried they will teach her wrongly, and would prefer to wait until she goes to school. They do talk to her in English a bit, but obviously not the same as going to school.

The parents speak fairly good English but are obviously not familiar with our education system, rules etc.

Are you sure they can't be allocated a place at a school that is full?

No they can't. They may be at the head of the waiting list but there is no guarantee they will stay there. If someone else moves into the area and is higher priority according to the school's admission criteria they will go ahead of this family on the waiting list.

I think they should ask to talk to their local councillor about the situation. There is too much risk that they have misunderstood something important.

We still have kids coming into our school. The class my dd2 is in is too big for the classroom but the class above her has space so they're still letting people in.

Quite why they can't swap the rooms around I don't know.