Need advice on what to do re allocated infant school place

[suitcaseofdreams]

Looking for advice/input on this - will try to keep it short

Have just applied for reception places for this coming Sept but I live in an area with infant/junior schools so you re-apply for places for Yrs 3-6.

When doing my application for this Sept for reception I wanted to put my small village school top preference but was concerned that this would leave limited options at Yr 3 as the two nearby junior schools both have nominated feeder infant schools which take up all places.
Was reassured by one of the local junior schools expanding to 3 form entry meaning there would be space for both the feeder school plus my local village school. So went ahead and was allocated my village school.

Have found out today that feeder infant school to the expanding junior is taking a bulge class in Sept meaning that it will then take up the spaces at the expanded junior in 3 yrs time. There is now a very strong chance that in 3 yrs time there will be no places at either local junior and I have no idea where they would then allocate next but likely to be long distance away.

All this is complicated by the fact that I have twins so will be needing 2 spaces at Yr 3 not just one and if it did have to go to appeal I'd be looking at 2 appeals.

SO, question is, do I stick with initial choice of village school (being the school I wanted them to go to originally) and worry about all this when the time comes?

OR, do I try to move them now to one of the feeder infant schools so I am guaranteed a place in Yr 3 onwards?

Should add that one of the feeder infant schools appears undersubscribed (had v bad OFSTED around application time) so we would potentially get places there although I have not yet rung LEA to ask

Thoughts appreciated, am tying myself in knots about this and not sure whether it's silly to worry about something not happening for 3 years...

Thanks in advance!

Where are you?

Because if England, places for Sept 15 were allocated in April, so you may have less of a choice if your preferred schools are already full.

So is village school a through primary? If not where does village school feed into?

In England, and yes I am aware places have been allocated and I may not be able to change at this stage - but equally there may still be spaces particularly as one of the feeder infants was under subscribed due to recent poor performance.

Village school is infant only which is precisely my dilemma. It doesn't feed anywhere - was supposed to be secure feed into local junior which was expanding to 3 form entry to make that possible but now that school's feeder infant has taken a bulge class it has left my village school with nowhere to go for this year of entry

You can change schools at any time but your choices will be more restricted at this stage as many schools will be full. But if you apply for a school that has places they must offer you a place.

Pupils from feeder schools aren't guaranteed places. They just get higher priority. In many cases that amounts to the same thing but if there are spare places in a feeder school there are likely to be spare places in the junior school at the appropriate time.

My view is that a lot can change in 3 years. The junior school may abandon feeder schools altogether, build additional classrooms or take a bulge class. Even if nothing changes you may still have options. If the feeder school with spaces still has spaces in Y2 you could transfer your children at that point. So personally I would leave your twins where they are and take another look at the situation in 2 years time.

thanks prh47bridge - I understand that children from feeder schools aren't guaranteed places but the way the criteria work is that the priority goes (after the 'usual' ones like looked after/SEN etc) to siblings, then feeder school, then others by distance. No 'others' have got in in past 4 years so I doubt that will change in the future

I am wary of having to change twice (ie from current allocated school to alternative infant to junior) as this would I suspect be very unsettling

I was very happy with my original choice when I thought they would have a secure route to juniors (along with the other children in their infant school) but I feel considerably less happy about it knowing that I may be in for a very stressful time when it comes to junior applications - and hence why I'm thinking it may be better to get them into one of the feeder schools before reception starts in Sept and then I won't have to worry about it

will give LEA a call on Tues and ask them what vacancies there are/how the waiting lists look

I am puzzled by the bulge class as having visited the school I simply can't see where they would put another class which does put me off...even if I could get them in there

thought it was all sorted, so frustrating....

Hi u could transfer in the last summer term of infants - if its a feeder school they can meet their new class mates prior to juniors - in reality less stressful.

But mumofthree, you will have had to apply for places and places will have been allocated on April 16th meaning that there may be no places to transfer to.
I would check what places are available now in the two feeder infants as it will be a lot less hassle to do something about it now than sometime after your twins get settled in the village infant school.

I'd go with the school you were happy with too. Lots of time to sort this later.

Where do children from your village school go after Year 2?

Quite a few go private temporarilyjerry, but that's not an option for me. The rest it has varied over the years depending on where there are spaces, there has never been a 'secure' path to state juniors. One was promised with the expansion of the juniors to 3 form entry which is why I was happier with village school than I would otherwise have been. But now they have put bulge class in at the other infant school (which is closer and has priority feeder status to juniors) I am worried about where we would end up...in theory could be miles away if they just allocate somewhere with space...