Late admissions - Redhill - No places :(

[Lostandlostsomemore]

Moved to redhill on Monday, I know it's the worst time possible to move with son starting reception in September but landlord was selling and this was the most secure property we could find within our budget etc.
We completed our application listing 4 local schools, catholic as 1st and COFE as second as we are a religious family and then the 2 other closest to our house.
Found out that we could request vacancy info from the admissions team as to what schools had vacancies after the offers were made and within 5km there were....0 :-( I then requested 10km and there is only 1 in Banstead, 8 miles away. I do drive and am at home but the petrol cost is worrying me I would probably have to stay in Banstead all day rather than drive home after drop off just to save petrol costs!
But I feel like I should add it to my list as there's no other options and he legally has to start by January as winter born.
Awful :-( I feel awful for putting him in this position

No, they will now know I can't financially afford to drive him 8 miles to school and back every day off my own back. That's not a lie, it would work out at about £100 a month and that's with me staying in Banstead all day without coming home, so I would have to entertain my 3 year old daughter outside all day long even in the winter.
This isn't a local schjol, it's 8 miles away. I should have only ever considered it as a last resort when they offered it to me but obviously I want a school for my son and worried when that was the only one on the list.

Have you tried Lime Tree and Furzefield ? Also worth considering South Nutfield , St Catherine's Bletchingley which are only a few miles away. The rc school was only over subscribed by a few in the initial admissions application and like the c of e has a fairly diverse and potentially transient community which may well mean some no shows come September, so don't lose hope.

No, they will now know I can't financially afford to drive him 8 miles to school and back every day off my own back

If your son is eligible for free school meals the rules are a little different and you may be entitled to free transport. If he is not I'm afraid it is not the LA's problem. Whether or not you think they know you can't afford it is neither here nor there. They are not legally obliged to provide free transport in your current situation so it is very unlikely they will do so. I wish I could give you better news but you are relying on either the LA being willing to make a goodwill gesture (unlikely when budgets are being cut) or winning an appeal against the LA's refusal to provide transport.

If they offer the school 8 miles away but he is not entitled to transport it will be because there is a nearer school with places. Could you ask for the nearer school should this situation arise.

I live in Redhill and was affected by the shortage of reception place for Sept 2015. We were initially allocated Horley as we couldn't get into any of our 4 closest schools. We have got into Salfords now on the waiting list. It is in special measures but I would recommend having a look around the school as they have a new head since the Ofsted inspection and a lot of new staff. I feel confident they are doing a great job turning the school around (still a bit annoyed I won't be able to walk my DS to any of our local schools though). Feel free to PM me if you need more info as I've been speaking to councillors about the situation so may be able to offer some local advice on which schools are likely to have space that are closer than Banstead.

ProudAS that would be worth a try, but chances are they'll allocate a bunch of waiting list places as soon as schools are back, so that place may already be gone too. It's a minefield. I'd have a go at challenging the transport situation if it came to it on the grounds that you applied in good faith to what you were told was the nearest school with places.

op, are you sorted yet as another poster has mentioned there may be Reception vacancies at Merstham Primary www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2468941-to-decline-an-offer-of-school-place-that-was-3rd-preference

Salfords was also mentioned to me which places too op

and he legally has to start by January as winter born.

Utterly incorrect. He needs to be receiving "an education" from January. That doesn't have to be formal/structured and it doesn't have to take place at a school.

They mentioned to me when I suggested I may home educate through reception that it gets very " messy " as I would need to attend all sorts of courses to ensure I was familiar with the correct syllabus and that sometimes home education is a child protection concern so also something they are aware of!!!

All complete and utter bollocks. I'd be reporting whoever said that!

All you would need to do is write saying that you're providing his education at home. You don't have to let them visit, and they most certainly can't dictate that you follow any syllabus whatsoever! The LA may not like it that they have no rights where home-schooled children are concerned, but that doesn't mean they can lie about it!