Reception Application September 2016 in Epsom

[Shang]

It was really frustrated situation for us, please anyone can give some advice. we are moving to Epsom, we bought new build house which suppose to be completed in December last year, unfortunately it has been delayed until the end of Feb. this year. So we can't move in until it complete. We submitted the reception application for my daughter on time (15 Jan 2016), and attached exchanged contract as proof of address, because we definitely will move in at the beginning of March. However, surrey council county emailed me said unless we move in on or before 10 Feb, otherwise they can't process application, and more like we will be on the waiting list after the national offer day.

What should I do now? it is unfair we couldn't get place just because we couldn't move in before 10 Feb, and what if we are on the waiting list, how long we will be wait for get a place, we are only 0.1 miles away from Stamford Green and 0.5 miles from Southfield Park.

Please anyone has any suggestions or have experience about that waiting list, whether school will have place after national offer day?

I understand why you think this is unfair. However, many councils would have insisted on you moving in by 15th January. Whilst some councils will accept exchange of contracts as proof of address they are not required to do so.

Once you have moved Surrey will have to process your application and come up with a place for your daughter somewhere. It may not be at one of your preferred schools and could be some distance from home but she won't be left without a school at all.

Your position on the waiting list will be determined by the admission criteria. For Southfield Park the maximum distance for initial offers last year was 0.14 miles so you may not be that close to the head of the waiting list. Indeed, even if you were living in Epsom already, it is unlikely you would get a place. The good news is that the picture for Stamford Green is very different. Last year they were able to offer places to pupils living up to 0.95 miles away. You should therefore be at, or very close to, the head of the waiting list which means there is a good chance of getting a place.

There is clearly a date beyond which Surrey cannot carry out all the necessary work to allocate places on the 18th April and count you as an on-time applicant. That is obviously 10th Feb.
If you are missing that deadline for moving then I am afraid that Surrey are correct that they cannot use that address for admission purposes. However what is not clear is exactly what is happening. Are you already in Surrey and just moving a short distance? If so then Surrey should be allowing you to be an on-time application but using your current address. You then take the chance that the distance is such that you can be allocated a place.
If however you are currently living outside Surrey, then the application has to come through the current LA. You can still put down the schools you want in Surrey but given the timing they will be counted as late application and be at the end of the queue.

prh47bridge and admission, Thanks for the advice, just wondering what if we have to go for the waiting list, should i contact with school or surrey council, and can i get more information about how many places coming up for previous years. I knew every year the situation might different.

SG had a bulge class last year which extended their distance, but at 0.1 miles you should still be high on the waiting list. Realistically, you'll be allocated Epsom primary I expect and will have to wait it out. You can never tell what the movement will be - DDs class had 2 leave in reception, DS's no-one left until year 2.

You should automatically go onto the waiting list for schools higher up your list that you didn't get, but it's worth reminding the council that you would definitely want to do that as soon as results come out. You won't be in the priority catchment for Southfield park (assuming you are where I think you are, by the back gate to SG), so are unlikely to be high on the list there I'm afraid.

The catchment admissions for Southfield park are inverse when it comes to distance - i.e., if you live in catchment admission is by furthest distance from school. So if you are def in the catchment the further you are away from school the better.

I think it will just be a case of waiting and seeing unfortunately, and getting on waiting lists. There is typically some movement by Sept, but obviously totally unpredictable.

Another school that isn't too far -and wasn't oversubscribed for 2016 reception admissions so might be somewhere you would be offered - is St Josephs (Catholic school). Epsom primary, which in recent years offered places centrally after preference admissions, was oversubscribed in 2016 as I remember.

Thanks for everyone's advice. Just wondering if anyone know last year or previous years how many places came up for Stamford Green Primary School, or anyone has experience about the waiting list for that school. We are very close to that school, and how likely we can get place there?

What happened last year, or the year before, doesn't really help realistically. But for what it's worth, I think SG did have a child leave in reception, of the 120 it took last year. It will take 90 this year. Chances are there will be some movement, as some will possibly go private or move in the first year, but it's impossible to tell. It's generally not a school that has a huge amount of turnover. My children both went there, and as I say I don't think anyone in DS's year left in reception.

PS - that doesn't account for people getting places on allocation day but refusing them of course though. This may well happen as that is when those with private school options will back out. So it may well be that you don't get an offer on allocation day, but stay on the waiting list and there may well be movement between then and the first day of school.