Applying for school place sept 2019 HELP

[Poppymak]

Hi I'm in a dilemma at where to send my child. There are two schools I really like one is outstanding but I'm out of catchment. The second is a new free school which has just started up this year and child would get into the school without a problem and it offer free morning breakfast club onsite which I would need as I work mornings till 2pm. Outstanding school has an onsite club which isn't run by the school and would have to go on waiting list for a place plus will have to pay. Free school is in lovely portacabin at the moment as building work starting after Christmas. I'm finding it stressful having to make this decision on my own as a single parent. Any advice please. Thank you

Well if you’re unlikely to get into school 1 because you’re out of catchment then ranking it above school 2 doesn’t hurt because you’d get school 2 if you didn’t get school 1. Ideally you’d have other runners in your list including a definite banker, try and fill all the spaces in order of preference so you don’t get allocated one that you’d loathe.

So maybe school 1, school 2 and then any others that wouldn’t be the end of the world in lower ranking on your list of preferences. That’s if you prefer school 1 to school 2 of course. Getting into before school club might be difficult but ours always has spaces so long as the moment you accept an offer you go on the list, because the year 6 kids going on to secondary make space for the new starters if you see what I mean.

Ooh, tough one. Would the free childcare make a big difference, financially? If so, I would say go for that as long as you like everything else about the school.

Have you been on a tour of each? Met the head? Spoken to other parents? How big is each school? What resources do thry have e.g. outside space?

Hi yes been to visit both schools. Free school said she is happy to answer any questions that I have also I'm welcome to come for as many visits as I want. Free school has 20 in reception as the school only opened up this year. They are building the school so in a lovely portacabin. Headteacher said there will be transition visits and also I have the flexibility to choose if I want child to do morning or afternoons the first week in September as the children do half a day for 4 days then full day the Friday. Outstanding school will have 60 children in reception. Hold will probably be in second group to start as they take younger children first for 3 days then older children get three days then all start. Will share playground with ks1. Bother schools well resources.

Does the free school have any other year groups or is it just starting with reception? Does it have any particular characteristics as a free school, like religion or anything?

Next year there will be year 1 and reception. They are building on it each year. That's why low numbers at moment. They are predicting around 40 reception children starting in September. No particular characteristics. Obviously no Ofsted for 2 years. Other school had Ofsted in 2006

If the free school has 20 currently and expects 40 next year, will they be running as 3 classes or 2 (mixed age group)? Even if they run 3 this is unlikely to carry on up the school. I'd personally find this school too small and wouldn't want my child being almost oldest all the way up school. What's your 3rd option? Where did people in your area go before the free school?

Ofsted in 2006? No Ofsted for 12 years?

Do you know what they're basing this idea of 40 on for next year? Applications won't be in yet will they?

Tough call. The free school could be lovely but I wouldn't really want to be in a school so small I don't think.

There can be real advantages in sending yr child to a new school. The small size means your child will get lots of attention and the pastoral care should be excellent. But it is a leap of faith. The main thing is if you liked the head teacher?

The numbers are predictions but the head has already told me that they have at least 26 first choice applications. Schools can usually have a look to see how many have applied. Slot of people have already applied but deadline is mid January. I like the idea of smaller classes which the free school would have and the head was lovely. They would have to make it work and try there best as it being a new school. Outstanding school is bigger 2 form entry. Also it would depend of child could get into breakfast club.

this is my advice look at what would really suit your own child rather than suiting everyone else. So would smaller class sizes suit your child ? or do you believe they will be better with a larger class size. Have you met the teachers ? If the head is lovley and supportive I think that makes a big difference

Are they guaranteeing smaller class size? If they have 60 kids altogether in Sept it would be at least 30k cheaper to have two classes of 30 than 3 classes of 20. Will they definitely go for 3 classes?

The 60 children is in the outstanding school not the free school. In free school they will split the class in two smaller classes if they get 30plus. A difficult decision to make, it's times like this I wish child's father was part of child's life. Pity he is a tosser!

If the Free school have 40 children in their Reception year, they might split that into 2 classes for Reception, but there is no way this would be financially sustainable all the way up the school. So don't get too sold on the small classes aspect.

My DCs' school went from 1 class to 2 class entry a while back but some of the upper years just filled up with movers so that last year Y6 had maybe 20-25 in each class; but all the lower years have now started at 30 and kept on being 30 bar drop outs.

So unless you get a large intake of those who have moved to the area post-Reception, or unless the school suddenly becomes popular with families who want to move schools, a Reception class that starts with 20 may stay at 20-25.

The point is that small classes aren't financially viable long term. So if there are 40 children in Reception, even if no one else joins that year group, it's highly unlikely that they'll stay as 2 classes of 20 all the way up the school - it's much more likely that mixed age group classes will be introduced to bring classes up to 30 children (possibly more in KS2).

OK if that's the case I'm guessing my DCs' school is not standard, though I know of another local school where a third Reception class has been introduced and AFAIK there are no mixed year classes further up the school, though the extra class has now reached Y3 I believe.

The 60 children is in the outstanding school not the free school
But the free school is expecting 60 in Sept isn't it? 20 current reception will be in year 1 and 40 in reception. I wondered if they guarantee to run 3 classes of 20 or if they will go for 2 classes of 30 each.

Lots of schools do go for mixed year groups because small classes are so expensive.

Lots to think about. Thanks