Croydon state primaries that emphasize play-based/creative learning?

[hkmama88]

Thanks for all the help on the skipping ahead issue! Another one - have posted on Croydon forum but apparently this one might be more helpful. TIA!

Hello - my family will be moving to Croydon from Hong Kong and from an IB school into a State School. We have 3 kids - 6, 4, 2. We are ideally looking for a school that is more creative in its approach, less test-focused, doesn't give tons of homework etc. We have read good things (thanks Mumsnet!) about Ridgeway Primary but would like a few more options - I will be visiting next week and will go see all the short-listed schools to get a feel for myself. Do you know of others in the area that have a more nurturing philosophy that I should consider and visit? We are flexible about where in Croydon we live and once I've narrowed down to a couple of schools will look for properties nearby. Thank you so much for any help - this has been an amazing resource for us!

I would call the council to ask where there are any vacancies. To some extent this research is pointless unless you know which schools have places. Once you know that then go and look.

@luchimangsho We are moving early to get applications in for 2018 (as we understand we need a CR address and kids to be in the country) by deadline. Understand we will need to take whatever is available now but want to be near the school we ultimately hope to get into. I understood that proximity was important?

Yes proximity is. But this only matters (the deadline for applications) if your child is going into Reception. Otherwise there is no deadline. You just go to the Council with your address and ask which class has vacancies. Then you go on the wait list for your preferred school. Mind you, some people never move off the waitlist for the most popular schools. So I would try to see that whatever school you get into first is excellent.

Also, I am an expat mum and we are doing a two year move from London to the US and back in 2 years so I know where you are coming from (and we are originally Asian). But on the whole most decent London state schools are not enormously different from each other.

Proximity is often a criteria that is high on the list, but your options will be limited anyway to schools that aren't full or will have places due to pupils leaving.

Hmm not sure but both my children went to Ridgeway (one will be leaving at the end of this academic year) and it really is a very kind nurturing school and yes very play-based. I live just outside the area now but lived in Sanderstead most of my life and it is a great place to live. Not that keen on the rest of Croydon myself. Gresham is another great little school but very small so unlikely to get in. Atwood is more academic than nurturing. I'm not keen on Selsdon Juniors or the Harris Academies. Warlingham Village is another nice school and Whyteleafe has a lot of positive reviews from people I know. Stay away from Hamsey Green Primary - horrible kids.

The deadline for applying for reception places is January 15th 2018 for entry in September 2018. This applies to children born between 1st September 2013 and 31st August 2014. If you don't have a child born between those dates then forget about the application deadline! The rest are in year admissions and you can apply at any time but will only be able to get a space if the school has vacancies (which is why other posters are telling you to ask the council for this information).

Thanks for your replies! So to clarify, when you come off the waiting list for in year applications is not correlated to your proximity to the school? The council won't give us info on places until we've moved as they said it changes so often.

It probably is. The waiting list is held according to the admission criteria, so if distance is the main tie-breaker and you move next door to the school you will probably be high on the waiting list (but not necessarily first as there could be a sibling above you etc). Are you saying you are prepared to home school until a place comes up at your preferred school (which may not be at the same time for your 4 and 6 year olds)? In which case yes, move as close as possible to the school you like.
The council aren't being terribly helpful because, while it does change all the time, it may be handy to get an idea of which schools have places and which don't even knowing that this could change before you move to the area.

As someone moving into an area with a child needing what is called an 'in year' place (ie not one that is at the normal point of entry to school), you are in a tricky situation.

Even moving next door to your desired school may not give you a place there, if the year group is already full and no-one moves.

On the other hand, if you live too far away from your desired school, then you won't be top of the waiting list if a place DOES come up.

Furthermore, it is very hard to 'hedge your bets' by living reasonably close to several schools, just because of the way school 'intake areas' work.

The only way you can be certain of getting a specific school in your situation is to go private.

To maximise your chances of a decent state place, then moving close to a good school which typically has a highish turnover could be helpful (a school which always has places is unlikely to be a good one). Asking the council the specific question 'Please could you give me the number of in-year places given in reception, year 1 or year 2 at the following 4 schools over the last 5 years?' will give you an idea of turnover.

Or you can just move, apply, and hope. On the positive side, if you are in the country, and a place arises anywhere that isn't immediately filled from the waiting list / if you are the top of the waiting list, that place is yours - you will have to take up the place almost immediately. Also, you will have to be found a school place ... somewhere ...

On the negative side, you will have to decide what to do if the place offered is undesirable - do you take that place and stay on waiting lists for all your preferred schools, or home educate temporarily until a place comes up? If you do decide on temporary home education, it will need to be a valid option for you until the start of year 3. At that point, class size limits are relaxed, so while a school may refuse to admit a 31st pupil into Y1 using Infant Class Size law, they may well accept a 31st at Y3 if you appeal.

The thing the process lacks is certainty for you, which is a real pain when you're moving from abroad. As I say, the only certainty would be a private school with a vacancy.

Also, when should the 4 year old be starting school? They are the child who the deadline is important for if they turned 4 after 1st September this year [ie if they are due to start reception]. Then you really do need to be in residence by 15th January.

If they are already in reception, then you have TWO in-year places to find, and should be aware that it is VERY likely that these won't be in the same school.

having a sibling starting in reception, and going through the 'normal' application process MAY be helpful, if you study sibling policies very carefully. Most over-subscription criteria ONLY give priority to YOUNGER siblings of existing pupils. However, some don't specify, so if you get a place for your middle child to start reception in September 2018, then your older child would become a 'sibling' for admissions purposes in these schools and might jump to the head of the waiting list once their younger sibling has started. Although that doesn't help at this point, you may be able to use it to minimise time at a non-chosen school for your 6 year old.

I'm sorry to sound so gloomy and as if it is so complicated - however, in many, if not most,. urban / built up areas all over the country, there are barely enough school places, and certainly not enough 'desirable' school places, and this makes moving into the area with an already school-aged child stressful.

Thanks @cantkeepawayforever and @BananaDaiquiri. Lets say we know that Ridgeway is our top choice and we find a home within 100 metres. Assuming there are no siblings on the waitlist for the Reception and Y1 place we need, if a place comes up, we would be at the top of the list? or people who had been on the list for ages (but lived further away) would be at the top of the list? Also - do you think being there beginning of January would help as there might be more movement over Christmas than end of January? Our 2nd child turned 4 in July 2013 so she would already be in reception and #3 will be going into nursery. Cannot thank all of you enough for taking the time to respond to all of this.

Waiting lists are kept in the same order as the original oversubscription criteria - so in Ridgeway's case, siblings before distance.

So a sibling living further away would be ahead of you on the waiting list, but a non-sibling who had been on the waiting list for longer wouldn't.

They do seem to have a 'non-directional' sibling policy, which may be in your favour - if you get a place for either of your school age children, the other will get sibling priority on the waiting list from the point at which they start.

Great, thank you - hopefully that actually means that having kids in 2 classes might help us. Based on everything you have said, we will try and get a home nearest to the schools we most like. We would be willing to home school until a place came up that we were happy with.