Waiting list criteria

[JennyJ77]

I am looking for some general info and wondered if people could help. We now have children in different primary schools (age 4 and 6) as we moved very slightly out of catchment and therefore are placed below children in catchment. We are in 10th position on the list so realistically will never get our youngest son into the older one's school. For me it would make sense to prioritise siblings on this waiting list as getting between two schools which have the same start/finish times is a nightmare and the situation is also impacting on both schools. Does anyone know of schools who do this, or who have come up with any other good solutions to this problem?

Some schools will have a general “siblings” criteria.

Many have moved away from that to stop people getting the eldest in and then moving out of the catchemebt but still getting places over local children.

There are arguments for and against both but I am generally of the view that if you move away from the school then it’s not fair to gain an advantage over people closer

Is moving the eldest to the youngest school not an option?

The LA for my area prioritises siblings out of catchment over non-siblings, but not over non-siblings in catchment. I'd have thought that that would be the case in most areas.

The obvious answer would be to move the older one to the younger one's school.

Waiting lists are held in the order of the oversubscription criteria for the school. Plenty of schools will prioritise siblings over catchment on the waiting list but those schools also prioritise siblings over catchment in their admissions criteria.

Is the older child on the waiting list for the younger child’s school? The other option is to look at before/after school childcare options.

For us that would be the obvious solution too, as would make everyones lives easier and the other school is great, however our elder child has asd along with other issues and reacts very badly to change so we are reluctant to try! He's also well set up with support at his current school and knows the teachers well so that's another reason why we want to try and avoid moving him if possible.

I'm interested to know if anyone knows of schools who prioritise out of catchment siblings on the waiting list (when they are below in catchment in general subscription criteria).

A waiting list, if held, must be held using in the same criteria as the oversubscription criteria so you won't find a school that changes its criteria like that.

PatriciaHolm - ok, thanks, that's useful to know.

I haven't personally come across any schools which have siblings out of catchment above other children who live within catchment. At the end of the day imagine if you lived a few roads away and couldn't get your child into the school because it was full of siblings who all live over 5 miles away. extreme example but you know what I mean.

Yep, definitely. Our situation is strange in that a lot of the children who are going to my elder child's school live much closer to the other school that my 4yr old is attending (the catchments overlap) so it's a bit unusual perhaps. I do find it slightly frustrating that I now have to use a car now to hurtle between two schools, instead of a bike/on foot so it's not great environmentally either!

Our local school prioritises siblings, no matter where they live. its a nightmare. people rent in the area, get one child in, move miles away and all siblings get in. Traffic is a nightmare, to get a non- sibling in you need to live within 200m of the school.
Ironically , the schools ofsted outstanding days are numbered.

I can't think any school would be able to prioritise out of catchment siblings over children who live in catchment. It just wouldn't be fair. I can understand your frustration, but as a parent in catchment, if my child wasn't a priority I'd be pretty ropeable.

Although 10th seems impossible, often once a child is settled in a school parents are reluctant to move them, as long as the school you want is not massively better than the other school. It is worth checking that if there is any priority for non-catchment siblings over children out of catchment without siblings, that it has been applied correctly. When the youngest is going into yr3 you could appeal to the school. If you are in an area where many people go private then there could also be a churn going into yr3. Quite a few families do 'state to eight', then private. Alternatively you could see it as a chance for your younger child to forge a separate identity away from their sibling which, although logistically tricky can have some benefits.

I think you should move back into the catchment area for the school you want given that moving your eldest into the other school isn't desirable. The rules are very clear and won't be varied for you in the current circumstances

You moved out of the catchment. Your driving to two schools is a situation of your own making, so why should you get priority over someone who has stayed within the catchment?

I reckon most on the list will be settled elsewhere now and would likely turn the place down. So you might be higher up than you think.

The rule is there to stop people moving into catchment of a desirable school, getting a school place and then moving out of catchment again.

Can you not do some school run sharing with other parents (on the basis everything seems very local) to avoid you having to run between both schools every day?

OP, regarding your environmental point.

Yes it is silly that people send their kids to schools that require car trips when there are schools within walking distance available.

But think, if you lived right next to a school, but had to drive your child to a different one miles away, because next-door-school was full of siblings?

That environmental point is very much in favour of distance as a priority over siblings.

If you don't want to drive to school, you don't move further away. If you do move, you change schools to a new, walkable one.

In your situation, the 'ideal' solution is not possible, because the space you were hoping for for your younger DC rightly went to a child who lives closer to the school, who might otherwise have had to drive to a different school.

So you have to weigh your priorities.
Not moving older child vs not driving/not having them at two different schools) vs not moving house. You can have two of the three. (Probably - if you move house, back close to DC1's school, you might still not get a place, although you would move up the waitinglist).

So which ones matter most? How bad would it be for your older child to change schools - if the benefit is that you can stay in your current house, have both children at the same school and can walk there leisurely together each morning rather than ferrying everyone about? How bad would it be to move house, back close to the older child's school, if the benefit would be that older child does not have to deal with the upheaval of changing schools, and hopefully you get to have both kids at the same school and can walk leisurely in the morning rather than rushing around in the car? And how bad would it be to continue as you are, dealing with two different schools and having to drive each morning, if the benefit is that you can stay in your current house and older child need not change from their current school?

Although bear in mind that some catchments are strange shapes so the OP might live closer than some people who are in catchment. Thankfully we have admission as the crow flies here.

Yeah, we do live closer than quite a few kids who are in catchment!