In-Year School admissions for returning resident (reception/year1)

[paula70]

Hi All

Weve been living abroad for a number of years and we are now considering returning this year to the UK with our two kids. The issue is with the timing of school admissions. We are planning on returning towards the end of this year to the house that weve been renting out. It has 3 decent schools nearby (10 mins walk or drive) but theyre all oversubscribed going by the last ofsted reports. So we are concerned if we do an in-year admission we might end up with a long school run miles away if they cant get into any of these nearby schools. So going at the end of this year allows us to do a proper year start admission request in January for September 2016 to the schools we want.

Anyway, the main question is. If I was to go a month earlier to look for a new job, get the house up and running , could I apply for an in-year school admission for my kids before they are back in the UK to speed up the process of having them back at school. Do the kids have to be resident in the country to apply? Is there a time limit for how long the local council should take to find a school place for children? And also considering the appeals process if they were to give us a school miles away rather than something locally.

Thanks

An 'in-year' admissions application is a bit of a misnomer, as it actually refers to all school applications made outside of the normal round, ie January before a September start for reception or junior school place (if applying for a separate junior school), or an October application for a Y7 place the following September.

If applying for any other school place at any other point than those detailed above, it will be an in year application, so applying at a different point in the year makes no difference.

How old are the children?

Hopefully an expert will be along to answer the residence question.

Hi most schools have a few free spaces for children in catchment - as u know the schools - ring them and ask.

Thanks, its more the case of if I can apply for admission when I arrive in the country so that my kids (Ages 5 and 7) will be able to start school as soon as they arrive a month or so later, or would we have to do the process once theyre resident in the country, which would take more time.

"Hi most schools have a few free spaces for children in catchment - as u know the schools - ring them and ask."

Thanks, I did contact them via email but they said all applications are now processed by the local council. I guess I could send another email asking if they have available places.

Depending on the area, schools may not have a few free spaces if they are undersubscribed, but in England they are not allowed to hold these places for children in catchment. If a place is available, then it must be offered to any child that applies. If more than one child applies for the place, then they must allocate that place in accordance with their published admissions criteria.

If the LEA is co-ordinating in year admissions, then you submit a form with your chosen schools in preference order, and they will allocate accordingly. I am not sure of the timescale for them to do this, but if all your chosen schools are full, they may offer you a place at another school; they have then met their responsibility to find a school place.

If the schools hold a waiting list, you can ask to be put on them. If one child gets a place, the other will then go up the waiting list if there is a sibling criterion.

Appealing for an infant place will be difficult, and is usually only successful when a mistake has been made.

That all sounds very negative, sorry- you may well be successful in finding a place for both children, particularly if you live nearby. There just aren't any guarantees.

Hi most schools have a few free spaces for children in catchment that's not true.
Do you really think that at present when schools are really pushed for spaces they would save a few spaces "just in case"?
If they're 5yo and 7yo at present you're looking at reception and year 2 (probably) in which case you're looking at infant class size situation. The 7yo should have more chance next year when they're year 3.
If they're full, they're full and being in catchment makes no difference.

I would suspect that the children also have to be resident, but I don't know, nor do I know how they would check that.

The children have to be resident for you to apply for places for them. The distance criterion is based on where the children are resident and not where their parents are resident (think parents who may be separated and live at different addresses). So I'm afraid you will need to wait until the children are here. Also, if you are making an in year application then if a place becomes available you are expected to take it immediately, certainly within a few days. So you couldn't apply when your children were still abroad and hold onto the place until they come to the uk.

It will massively depend which LA. If a school has places free you can apply and get a place from any address - if no one else is on a wait list.
Our school has kept a place open for someone for a 1/2 term - they accepted but finished the term at their old school.
In our area tho most schools are full so you have to go on the wait list. If offered a place you have to accept within 2 weeks and some schools expect you to then start the following week etc

Hello I am currently in your position but i have already moved into the area. Trafford admissions would only allow me to apply for a reception place for my son once contracts had been exchanged. Our sale dragged on so we only actually exchanged 2 weeks before our move date. We officially applied for our catchment school the middle of jan this year. We are now in April and I'm still waiting for a school place. They offered me a few others but they were quite a distance from our house. I have another child who will be 2 soon and I didn't want to struggle getting him into the same school as his brother further down the lane because of the distance criteria so I'm holding on. I rang them last week for an update. The 2 schools which are a 15 min walk are full, the closest they could offer is a 25 min walk so I now need to decide whether to just take it and drive them instead which I didnt really want to do or hold on for a place which might never come :-/ what are the 3 school near your house ?

Ps the lady you need to speak to in admissions is Jane parr her email is [email protected]

Sarah where are you on the wait list?

There are so many 'rules' to this.

Call your admission authority where the house is situated. You may want current information, which may be indicative of the schools which may have places. Of course this changes. Where I live, there are places at 'undesirable schools'. Anyone can call up and get that information.

So if you own the house, you are moving back to that exact house, then get an application form online from your council (online even) and apply for the school you want. It may be a rule that you have to be all resident in the house, but if you are talking a matter of weeks, and it is your house, it's not going to change distances to school and when going on waiting lists, the time you go on it can be important. Yes, this may be a minor rule break, but if you are living there, I would apply asap regardless if the children are two weeks behind you.

If they don't have spaces, then the council will tell you where does have spaces. In fact, they will tell you NOW where has places for the years of your children.

After applying, you can go on waiting lists etc.

Once you get either child into an acceptable school, the other will likely go to the top of the waiting list. You can put them into a different school whilst still waiting, just keep on top of the admission people and the school office to ensure they are aware you wish your child to remain on the wait list. You could put each child on a wait list at the other school too.

As to whether the children need to be living here... If you are talking months, then I would wait. If weeks and you have the ability to be flexible, then don't wait.

I am lucky though to live in a borough that does things properly, doesn't have staff who give out wrong and unhelpful information working in admissions and seemingly haven't lost an appeal in the borough (for Reception application) for many years. Always been crystal clear to me.

Bear in mind the admission folks will be very busy right now with Primary admissions, it should quieten up again in a month.
Also in September when schools open again. V busy.

And don't try to get information through the summer holidays when schools are closed, the council won't know the answers. For example, one of my DD classmates didn't come back at all in Sept. The place was filled two weeks after the start of term straight from the waiting list.

"Ps the lady you need to speak to in admissions is Jane parr her email is [email protected]"

But presumably only if you're moving to Trafford, OP .

I am afraid that you are caught in a bit of a no win situation. Most LAs are strict about only being prepared to allocate places once pupils have moved to an address and will also allow a limited amount of time to take up the place - typically no more than half a term.
The situation for in-year applications is slightly different from one LA to another because whilst it is the LA that actually offers the place formally, it is quite often the school who say whether they will admit or not. You certainly need to establish exactly what the process is for your area and the best way is to speak to the schools themselves to start with.
You will also have the issue of the infant class size regulations to contend with, certainly for your younger child and possibly your older child. That will limit the class size to 30 under most situations up to and including year 2. Any appeal in the circumstances that you relate would almost certainly not be successful because of the very limited ability to admit in an infant class size case.
There is also no way that any school keeps school places that was made illegal a good many years ago. They either have open spaces available or they are full and will then make a decision whether to admit or not.

Hi Almostapril my son is currently at the top of the list but that could change if someone with a greater need move into the area :-/

Yes theknackster that is correct ! I've just joined this site today and I thought I was on a trafford board. I didn't realise it was more widespread.

Sarah that's a tough call! Can he stay where he is at the mo? So hard to know if one child may leave soon??

Almostapril yes he can stay where he is but its a pain :-/ Im currently driving him to his old school which is in heald green and picking him up at the end of each day. I'm a stones throw from the village. He is on the waiting list for the willows. It's heyes lane they have offered me amongst some others further out which I wouldn't consider. I'm thinking about adding cloverlea to my list of options as although it's the other way it's still only 16 min walk (according to my app). It's also difficult as I don't really know much about the schools so I'm hunting for info on this site ha ha

I'm also conscious he will be going into year 1 in sept and I'd really like him to be starting a fresh in a new school :-/

Well I have three friends with DC at Heyes and they rate it highly if that's any use ?!?

I should have added that two moved to the area as Heyes was there first preference.

Thanks that's good to know! The only problem is the 25 min walk (according to the app). I'm fine just not sure their little legs could take it. I'm almost certain it would take longer than 25 at child's pace. Youngest would be in a pram for the next year atleast. I might test it out with them and book a visit as I need to sort this school situation out before the end of the school year. Also need to keep in mind that place could go :-/

Try scooter or bike? I'd book a visit for as soon as they are back - it's a lovely school from what I hear