Is it too soon for a September 2017 reception support thread?

[BellaGoth]

Anybody about to embark on school applications and want to chat? I don't know about anyone else but I think I'll need a place to get advice / support over the next year!

DS will be 4 in January and I think will be very ready for school come September. Our catchment school is single form entry and very over-subscribed but we live quite close so fingers crossed we'll get in!

First school tours next week, quite looking forward to it!

Amy I hope you get it sorted. In my case I would go on the waiting lists for other schools if I knew how to

No in our area you have to ring each school individually to be put on the waiting lists. Can you see anything helpful on the schools' websites?

In my area you automatically go on waiting list for your higher preferences but I think all areas are different

Also the advice seems to be not to decline the offer, however bad it is, because the council won't be obliged to offer you an alternative if you do. I'm no expert though!

Also the advice seems to be not to decline the offer, however bad it is, because the council won't be obliged to offer you an alternative if you do

I get that, but I've had no choice but decline it. Sending my older children to that school led to me all but having a nervous breakdown and I was very unwell for a long time. It's just not a realistic option to even consider it.

I think my area is one where you're automatically considered for higher preferences but only if you accepted the original offer. I've no idea how to manually get on waiting lists for schools I will consider so I will email them individually next week and ask. The whole thing is so stressful

Do I have to go on waiting lists via the individual schools or through the LEA? I'm really not clear on what to do next.

Yes I'm absolutely sure I had to reject the offer, it wasn't taken lightly, there's a lot at stake and I'm certainly not trying to deliberately complicate things for myself. If there had been any possibility of accepting the place I would have done.

Got my first choice for DC4, v relieved. for those who didn't and are struggling. In the village next to us, if you didn't have a sibling link you had to be within 0.3 of a mile to get in. There are a lot of disappointed families.

I have done thanks @tiggytape, automatic reply said I'll have to wait up to three days for a real reply

I've also contacted two schools to ask them as well

Guess I'll just have to wait now and see what happens

Waiting for a London school here. It's DC1 so not been through this before. I'm a little nervous, not ridiculously so but a bit. We are (very) lucky to love in an area full of good (albeit oversubscribed) schools. I filled my list with 6 schools including the 3 nearest and 3 out of the next 5 nearest (iyswim) so whilst I really want our first choice, it wouldn't be a disaster to get our 6th - just inconvenient. Fingers crossed...

Ok I will and thanks for your help. I'm not sure if I'm still on the waiting list for the two schools I chose but was refused, so that's something I want to find out when they get back to me. Their emails are incredibly confusing and they said that they've given reasons why we were refused and offered the one we were, but there's no reasons there at all. No wonder I can't make sense of anything

Those things don't apply to me but thanks for the info anyway. I knew it was a long shot to get either of my choices because of distance and no siblings there - my other three are in secondary school - but to not be offered any others than the bad one seemed really shit. Apparently it was ranked 30 whatever that means!

@BellaGoth I can't see anything about it on the websites but I've emailed the schools anyway

In the meantime it's gonna be very difficult to take my son back to my first choice for nursery on Monday, I'm not sure him going back is a good idea now this has happened

Herts admission statistics are out already - might help some if you look at last distance offered. In my experience the emails come through between 3-4pm.

I got a reply now, saying he'll be on the waiting lists for my preferences until Xmas and if I want to apply for other schools I need to send in a late application, which I've already done anyway. They asked me to let them know what I want to do so I replied and even explained I'll take any other school in the city before that one

That's a start, No. Is it worth starting to research other schools too, just in case somewhere else has spaces?

Does anyone know where the outcome would come up on eadmissions? I've had a quick look and I can't work it out!

Thanks Tiggytape
I'll just go back to nervously waiting!

Yes I'll do that Bella, I wanted a particular school because that's where my son knows but I would have taken anywhere else other than the problem school if only it had been offered. To get only that one offer out of a city full of schools and when it wasn't any of my choices has really bewildered me, you'd think there was more chance of winning the lottery than that happening. If he doesn't get a place at the preferred school by Xmas I wil keep re-applying however futile.
Ironically I'm currently in the process of buying my flat in order to sell it and get moved away because the horrible school is too nearby and I've found it too difficult to leave the past behind with it always in my face, iyswim, so this just adds insult

I got first choice!!! So relieved after my cock up with the paperwork.

Good Luck everyone!

First choice! Yay. Got to go through this all again next year with DS's secondary application. I fear today's nervousness was just a drop in the ocean compared to that.