Primary school place question

[laurzj82]

Please can anyone help me with a question about school places..?

DD is 3 and will be starting school in Sept 18. I am worrying about the chances of her getting a place at our local school. DD is awaiting assessment but it looks like she may have ASD and definitely has sensory processing difficulties. She is super super anxious, doesn't say a word at preschool although chats all day at home so it's important to us that she gets in a school with a decent SENCO. In addition, I don't drive so getting her to a school further away is going 5o be difficult (fairly rural area).

We have 3 Ofsted outstanding schools nearby and 1 terrible terrible school. First school is 0.5 miles away and would be catchment school. However, they have an intake of 30. Last year, 27 were siblings which meant someone living literally opposite had to send their child to the terrible school over a mile away.

School 2 is 0.7 miles away. Also outstanding. Same as above. Only way we might have a chance is of we were members of the local church (we're not).

As well as the issues above re places and siblings, a housing estate has been built pretty much slap bang between the 2 schools. As the crow flies, these houses are much closer to the school than us. Apparently the number of houses being built warrants a new school but no plans for this yet and doesn't help us now!

School 3 is the terrible one. Has been on special measures forever. It was even terrible when I was at school. It's also tiny and I'm concerned about the SEN provision. This is going to sound snobbish but it is in an undesirable area and I am really worried about bullying especially since this has already happened (at 3!!) at DD's preschool. The school is so bad, lots of parents have homeschooled rather than send their children there.

There is another school 1.3 miles away which is Ofsted outstanding. I don't know much about it so would need to find out but can anyone tell me if we would be able to apply because it's not in our county? (We live right on the border of two counties).

Can anyone give me some advice or will we just have to keep our fingers crossed..? Thanks

"would be catchment school"

You need to find out if your area has catchments at all, and if it does where the formal catchment boundaries are. These can be changed (following consultation) but must be published before applications open, so parents know whether they are in the catchment or not. The criteria for schools with catchments would typically run (after SEN and LAC) siblings in catchment, others in catchment, other siblings, others out of catchment.

Yes, you can apply across a county border. You list the school on the form you return to your home council, and they do the coordination.

Do any of the schools you are considering have an 'exceptional medical or social need' category? You could apply for your DD under this category, but you need to have evidence (eg from HCPs) about what those needs are and - crucially - why they are relevant to school admissions, and why the school/s can meet those needs and only schools with features XYZ can do so.

All state schools will have a SENCO, but whether they are decent at their job won't come in to the admissions process. A known specialist in selective mutism however may well do so. It's about actual provision, not subjective judgements on whether the provision is any good.

I'm afraid transport issues - regardless of how large they look in your life - won't come in to it. Though free transport for your DC must be provided if the allocated school is over 3 miles away (and there was no nearer school with a place - budget cuts have meant most/all councils provide only the bare legal minimum now)

Some great advice and some things to look into. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.

The only thing I would add to Meditrina's advice is that you should check the admission criteria for school 2 carefully. It would be very unusual for them to require membership of the church. Normally they just require regular attendance. A lot of parents who do not have any faith attend church so that their child can get into the associated faith school. You may not have enough time left to achieve the required level of attendance but it is worth checking.

Is there any chance that you can move/learn to drive (I know some people medically can't though). Also sometimes the outstanding schools aren't the best for children with SEN so do look at them carefully. I know people who have been made to feel quite uncomfortable and as if their child is bringing down the level of the school and they have ended up moving. Schools get very little no money to help children unless you tick lots of relevant boxes and a quiet child is unlikely to tick those boxes. You need to visit all the schools to find the best one for your child not just the one which is good at ticking boxes and putting on a good show. Ultimately there is little choice in the system in many areas as it is over stretched and underfunded.