Not got first choice of reception class.

[Belgrave43]

My daughter attends the school nursery and is the only one out of her class not to get a place, we live 0.863 of a mile away and are second on the waiting list.
I have already put an appeal in and would like to know if there are any parents who have had a successful appeal because I don't hold much hope at the moment.
My daughter is heartbroken and asks why she can't go to school with her friends.
They are sending her nearly two miles away which I am told is within walking distance, for a four yrs old that is to far in my opinion.

There are lots of knowledgeable people on here who will hopefully be along in due course to advise. On what grounds are you appealing? Do you think there was an error in the allocation?

You can look at last years appeal stats on your council website.

Unless they've applied the admissions criteria incorrectly though, you won't win. You're more likely to get the wait list place.

In our area appeals are never upheld.

Why did you put a school two miles away on your preferences if you think it's too far? Or did you not get any of your preferences?

What are the application criteria? Your appeal is only likely to be successful if you can show there was a mistake in the application process e.g. they have the wrong address down for you & thought you lived too far away.

Attending a nursery school does not give an automatic right for you to get into the reception class of the same school. That is down to the school's admission policy. It sounds like you have failed to get in because all the children who have got a place met the admission criteria, but you live further away than the others, so you have not got a place based on the distance from school part of the admission policy. You were, presumably, aware of the admission policy which details the priority of entry to the school.

The home to school transport criteria is always that under two miles does not qualify for transport, so you are no different to anyone else and you have to make your own arrangements. Would you have expected to walk 0.863 of a mile? That is also quite a long way. It is upsetting when you do not get the place you want. However, children rarely make friends for life at Nursery school and a new start is never as bad as it seems. I would find out about making an appeal because the waiting list can alter when appeals are heard. Lots of people on MN can advise on making an appeal.

Sorry, I see you have put in appeal.

Thanks I didn't know I could do that, I will give it a go.
The other schools near us are Catholic, not possible as she hasn't been christened. One other with I have done training in myself and did not like at all, so the only other one was nearly two miles.

Did you apply to the catholic schools?

It is usually possible to get in if not christened/Catholic/religious, if the school isn't oversubscribed by Catholics. Usual admissions policy is in care, siblings, practicing Catholics, practicing other religion, distance. Our local on takes about 5 on distance per year. Might be an idea to get on the wait list as a back up?

Sympathies - our catchment is 0.6 of a mile and we only just scraped in, we live right on the boundary. Seems unbelievable really.

Yes, people have sucesful appeals, but they seem to focus, at Reception stage, on a mistake being made that denied the child a place. Do you think a mistake has been made?

The distance from school can be misleading. In some areas, it would practically guarentee a place at a school. In some areas it may be 0.6 miles too far.

Did you put any other prefered options down on your application form? Are there any other schools in the area you would prefer instead of your allocated school? It may be worth going on those waiting lists also.

My Son didn't get a place at the nursery school he was at (we knew it was a high risk, but the logistics worked for that year), and so started in YR with 89 kids, of which he knew a handful. He has made loads of new friends. At that age, friendships can be transient, so I'd reassure your daughter that she will meet lots of new friends, and if the others live close to you, she can still play with them evenings and weekends.

If you do end up with the school 2 miles away, could your daughter bike or scoot?

I live just over two miles from our school and, believe me, biking with a 4 year old or scooting takes forever. Then you have to get back home and do it all over again a few hours later! Try and organise a lift, or get a bus for part of the way if possible.

Thanks for the positive comments. Just hope she doesn't remember this when she's older. It's going to have to be a bus for us which is definitely another expense I could have done without as I am sure others know.
Fingers crossed she gets a place.

Look into a bike with a tagalong/towbar. Easier to tow a tired DC than cajole them along, plus it's much quicker for you to get home afterwards.

The big question is whether or not this is an infant class size case. If any of the classes in Reception, Y1 or Y2 would have 30 pupils if the school is full your appeal will be heard under infant class size rules. That means you can only win if the admission criteria break the Admissions Code, or there has been an error which has deprived your daughter of a place, or the decision to refuse admission was unreasonable (which is interpreted as meaning irrational). If classes are smaller you stand a better chance as you can argue that your daughter will be affected negatively by not attending this school. You can appeal even if you do not have any evidence of an error. You may strike it lucky. Occasionally something emerges during the hearing that shows a mistake has been made. But you need to be realistic about your chances.

I'm afraid the 2 mile walking distance is laid down in law. If the school allocated is more than the statutory walking distance away (i.e. more than 2 miles away) your daughter would be entitled to free transport. The distance goes up to 3 miles when your daughter reaches 8.

The fact that your daughter has not been baptised does not stop you applying to a Catholic school. If there are not enough Catholic applicants to fill all the places they have to offer the remaining places to non-Catholic applicants.

Thank you, for the last comments, putting it in a way that made sense.