Reception class waiting list

[Coupey1]

In need of some advice my dd has not got a place for reception this September & is on all the local school waiting list he is 8 for 1st choice & 12 for 2nd choice & 15 for 3rd choice a lot of people have said there is a lot of movement over the summer holidays but can't see there being that much movement that he would get a place anytime soon my dd isn't 5 till may so just wondering if it would be better for him to stay at a nursery till a space comes up any advice on waiting list this late would be great thank you x

[Coupey1]

Hi tiggytape think I will just wait it out on the waiting list why dd is still at nursery & just hope for the best will also see where has availability & maybe defer for a while thanks again for all the advice x

[Coupey1]

Peterparkersays I thought it would be hard for them to agree but was hoping it wasn't impossible just can't imagine dd going to school full time at this age dd really suffered settling into nursery seems so unfair 4years old seems so young for this how did your dd find full time school being an summer born x

[PeterParkerSays]

Coupey you can e-mail over the summer - staff will still be checking e-mail. I have an August-born DS who definitely would have benefitted from delayed entry but we weren't allowed.

You will need evidence from experts, consultants etc. to prove a need for your child to hold off Reception for a year. Wanting it to happen because they would benefit isn't enough unfortunately.

[Coupey1]

Thank you admission for your advice I haven't spoken to the head teachers of the schools I have applied for yet as I wasn't aware this could be a possibility & will now not be able to speak to them until September however if I was to accept a place now my dd would not be entitled to 15 hours in nursery as the funding will go on the place I would have expected is that true & I strongly believe dd would benefit so much from another year at nursery especially with his Speach delay thank you x

[admission]

To be clear if you are thinking in terms of delaying for a full year,with an assumption that you will start in reception in sept 2016 then you need to be getting that agreement with the la admission team now at an agreed school. If you leave it then they will simply say no, child is in year 1, assuming there is aplace available. Whilst there has been quite a lot in the press about this the reality is that many la are still very reluctant to agree to this. So my advice would be to establish where there is a place available and accept it. At the same time as accepting get the la to consider a twelve month delay based on your child's development todate. If the la will not accept the 12 month delay then speak to the school and tell them that you will not be defering entry for your child till after easter 2016. That then maximises your chance to get a school you prefer

[Coupey1]

Hi tiggytape was thinking of that myself but someone said the 15 hours of education he is entitled to would be taken on the reception class I had accepted even if I defer till later in the year so would he still be entitled to 15 hours in a nursery as well was abut confused about that ?

[Duckdeamon]

Don't assume the LA will agree to out of year admission to reception - the vast majority are not at all positive about this.

[DeeWe]

Another that thinks you need a plan C.

The thing is that if you are in a high movement area, unless they're talking about children going private, there's people moving in as well as out, so you could find in May that you're further down.

Our infant is 60 intake and they've never in my knowledge got to number 8 on the waiting list. In ds' year they got to the summer term of year 1 before anyone left, and then 1 left in year 2. And neither the children who got the space had been on the waiting list at this stage as they'd moved into the area. Only about 10-15 siblings, being an infant school not primary.
Dd1's year had about 5-6 children change over the infants (again those coming in were new movers to the,area not long term waiting lists) and slightly fewer for dd2.

[Coupey1]

Thanks everyone for your advice I have found out I am no 2 for a out of borough infants school too which makes me feel a bit more positive I am worried still as would have to find a place for him for year 3 if he was to get this school they are also very flexible about part time entry for summer born children which covers my worry about him being ready for full time school my other option was to reapply for a reception place next year as I was advised I could do as long as LA agrees but there is also a lot of worry with doing so as I heard this can cause problems with being accepted in secondary school out of age ( I know this is along way off ) just wish it was not this hard to get your child into a primary school x

[Inkymess]

Op I think you really need to think about the effect on him of starting very late into school when his peers have settled into school life. 8/60 not turning up or leaving is high. We get 10-14 out of 90 most years but transient area and people move into it to. We get KS2 children taking places further up the school too which come up then younger siblings then get priority. A friend of mine has been no 13, 9, 12, 16 on our waiting list at different points this year. She missed the distance criteria by 0.01

[FishWithABicycle]

Being 8 on the list doesn't mean that 8 places have to become available before you have a chance. If a single place becomes available obviously they will start at the top of the list, but some of the people in spots 1-7 won't accept that place anyway - e.g. if their child has now started at a less preferred school and the disruption of changing school outweighs the benefit of getting the place.

[Bunnyjo]

No, bingandflop. The OP was offered a place by the LA and they rejected it; therefore, the LA have fulfilled their statutory obligation. They are under no obligation to offer another school place.

prh47bridge and tiggytape are very knowledgeable when it comes to admissions and I would follow any advice they give. If I were in your position I would contact the LA and find out which, if any, schools have places available and work from that position.

Whilst you can leave your DS in nursery until July 2016, you have no guarantee of being offered a place at any of your preferred schools. Good luck, OP. I think you need to be realistic about your chances of getting your DS in one of your preferred schools. Relying on there being enough turnover at any of the schools is very risky, so I agree with others; you definitely need a Plan C.

[bingandflop]

Ah ok thanks x

[Duckdeamon]

I presume so, but the place could well be in year one and/or at a school OP doesn't want.

[bingandflop]

Does the LA have to allocate a school once he is compulsory school age?

[Duckdeamon]

Agree with Pps that declining the place offered was inadvisable. What if no place comes up at a preferred school?

if you seriously want to put in a request for your DS to start reception a year late you will need to explore this with schools and the local authority - lots of local authorities are very unfavourable to this, and it won't make admission to a popular school any easier. There is a useful Facebook group called something like flexibility in school admissions for summer born children.

if he goes to a faith school, you can request that he not participate in workship or lessons where religion is presented as fact.

[Saracen]

"Ideally, if nursery is your plan B, you also need a plan C in case you get to May next year and are still on the waiting list for each school."

I agree that a plan C is needed. However, providing nursery has a space, it's likely he can stay there for all of next year. He wouldn't have to leave in May. For children who aren't yet attending a state school, the free nursery hours are available until they reach compulsory school age, which in his case will be Sept 2016.

[hibbleddible]

It is a pity you rejected the place offered.

The only option for you will probably be to keep him at nursery and wait for a place to come up.

The difficulty with areas with a lot of movement is that people both move into the area, as well as out, so you may find your position on the list stats the same or even goes down.