Help! Which Infant School do I pick?

[Mummylife2018]

Hi!

I'm trying to make a decision which three schools to pick. I've spent all morning looking up Ofsted reports and Performance ratings. Also photos of outdoor spaces etc.

The Nursery/Pre-School she is in right now, is over-subscribed. We are also not in the catchment area. The Ofsted rating for the Infant school is 'Good' and they have two gigantic fields and tons of outdoor equipment etc. In other words, the best outdoor facility in the district. It is also the school I attended and the Reception teacher is my old Year 1 teacher which would be lovely! However it is apparently majorly over-subscribed so that, coupled with us being outside the catchment, we have about a 0.5% chance of being given a place there...

There are 3 others I'm considering.

One is within our catchment area, has an 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating (I've had a tour of this one), is the school my father went to in the 1940s and is a great school. However their outdoor space is very very limited and to me, outdoor space is an important factor in school choice for us, as we have no garden 🤷🏼‍♀️ (Not much chance of moving any time soon either). I'm a disabled lone parent so sadly, I can't do much physical activity with her and she doesn't have her Dad in her life either. I'm already very worried she doesn't get enough outdoor exercise....

The other two are village schools (within 5/10 min drive), beautiful, small schools with lovely outdoor space. Have 100% performance ratings and Ofsted ratings are both 'Good' but again, outside catchment.

Which would you choose please? Helpful answers only pls. I'm new and I haven't come on here to be torn apart.

Thanks a lot!!

Oh apparently, the two village schools already have a number of children from outside catchment. So presumably that won't be as big of an issue as I first thought

Personally for an infant school I would choose the one closest to where I lived. I found the support network of other families nearby invaluable and my kids made so many friends that they still see.

Thankyou Tumpy

Definitely worth taking into consideration. I guess I was just thinking I should be looking towards the better Ofsted ratings? Then again, the closest of all IS the one with the Outstanding rating......

Or should I be trying to keep her at the school she's already at?

I don't want to drip feed but she is on the official waiting list for an ASD assessment. I didn't mention it above as I just wanted objective opinions based on the info given, then compare SEN provision separately?

I don't know what I'm doing really....

I know with her potentially having ASD, the best option would be for her to stay at the school her nursery is part of. However like I said, our chances are next to none as they're oversubscribed and we're outside catchment. So do I waste a choice on a highly unlikely option?

Also, does the application give you a chance to plead your case as to why your 1st choice is preferable? for instance if your child has a sibling there or SEN reasons etc? Or is it literally a case of choosing three options and press submit?!

Have you been to visit all the schools you are considering? Ofsted reports really can't tell you that much about the feel of a school. I wouldn't apply for a school without having a tour and if possible, meeting the head.

I would just go for the closest. What you don't want us to put the other, oversubscribed schools higher on your preference list, not get in, and then there not be any room in the closest outstanding one because other people had put it higher on their preference list.

It depends on the admissions criteria of the school. They won't consider SEN as a reason to get in over others unless there is a statement. Sibling would help but on some admissions criteria siblings out of catchment are lower on the list than non-siblings within catchment.

Meant to add that no, you don't really get to plead your class at all. It is all about the admissions criteria and there is no room for persuasion.

Also, with your daughter being on the list for an ASD assessment, I would definitely suggest that you speak to the SENCOs of the schools you are interested in. In my area, the nest schools for inclusion and SEN provision are not always the ones with the best Ofsted rating. See how welcome the SENCO makes you feel and how they can support your child.

Hamzilla, that isn't how it works with regards to preferences. You should always give first preference to your first choice, no matter how likely you are to get in. Your catchment school, or an undersubscribed school can be your last choice and you won't be at a disadvantage - same chance as getting a place as if you had put it first.

MrsKCastle gosh, you're right! Ignore me then, OP. And it seems that the school that advised us to put them as first choice else we might not get in were incredibly wrong!

I will go for the nearest school. It is very good to have friends close by for play dates. And then later in rainbows, ballet etc if she is interested. It’s actually an outstanding school too. If it’s a failing school then it will be a hard choice. I wouldn’t worry about the outdoor space.

I would seriously recommend that whichever school you choose, you hurry up and get your application in. Applications closed for primary school in our local authority at the end of November.

I would put the current school as first choice. There is nothing lost by asking for a place. Then I would put the nearest school as second choice.

This is what happened with our eldest. He went to an over subscribed school for nursery. We put it as first choice, but didn't get in and he got offered a place at the nearer school which was our second choice.

The national application deadline for England is 15th January for primary schools. Your application will be considered equally to everyone else’s as long as you apply before the deadline.
Put them in your genuine order of preference but include your local one somewhere in there.

Nearest school for me too. Although if you really like where she is now, you have nothing to lose by putting it as first preference just in case! I would look at Ofsted but it certainly is not the be all and end all. Also bear in mind that an Outstanding Ofsted school may not be the best for a "non-standard" child! Also take note of when the school was last inspected - it may be years ago and the school changed dramatically.

I understand why you think outside space is important, however it's also important to understand how it is used. DC's old junior school had extremely extensive school fields, however due to them not being usable when it was too cold/hot/wet/icy they only actually used them for about 8 weeks a year.

You don't mention teaching/results/size of school/ethos etc. All worth considering.

If its an equal preference system, you arent wasting a choice as long as you are being realistic about admissions criteria and have an insurance choice in there.

In terms of the SEN i really feel this is your main focus. It doesnt mayter how amazing the field is, if the school isnt grwat with ASD your child may not be using it. Mainstream schools handle things really differently.

I'd look at them all and ask for examples of adjustments they have made for kids with ASD recently.
First, check the criteria for each school - look up the boroughs the schools are in and "primary admissions 2019". Usually the criteria are those with a EHCP/exceptional medical/social need, looked-after children, siblings, then order of distance but possibly only within a defined area, but if its a church school it may be different. Only if the category for exceptional need covers your situation would it help.

As long as one choice on your form is a school you should get a place at, then might as well fill all the higher choices with any school you'd prefer. If in doubt, go for the easiest to get to.

Ignore Ofsted if it's more than a couple years ago - some 'Outstanding' schools haven't been inspected for 10 years. Unless the report raises concerns when you'd want to check those have been addressed, I'd ignore Ofsted altogether!

Thanks everyone. I've taken every word in.

Speaking with SENCOs is a good idea.

I really would like her to stay at her current school. I went there and have fond memories of the place. Big, purpose built single storey place and I happen to know the SEN provision is amazing.

So do they not take it into consideration if a child with SEN is already attending the Nursery there?

If she has an EHCP naming the school she will get priority (attending the nursery makes no odds)
If she has undiagnosed SEN, then she's treated the same as any other child and is granted a place as per the admissions criteria.

You need to visit. A visit will tell you more than anything on paper. The best results and stats don’t make the best school, neither do resources, for your child.

Your gut reaction will tell you a lot, meet the Head, their attitude will tell you so much.

My son started in reception this year. Due to sensory processing delays and awaiting multi agency testing for ASD it was so important for me to keep him at his preschool. The local authority became involved, got names of Dr's, referalls, letters etc and I was assured 'you won't have a problem, it's in everyone's best interest to keep him settled'. Fast forward to offer day and he got not a single one of his 6 choices. I was devastated, livid, you name it. Turned out only 2 of his pre school class of 24 didn't get in, my DS being one of them. To make things worse I was offered a diabolical school because it is on the next road to me. I refused and I said there is no way I will be sending him so they better consider another place elsewhere. This I was more than willing to act on top. He was not going to the school he was given. I had already explicitly stated safety concerns. I didn't appeal. I was too hurt by how the school handled the 'so who will be joining us in September' the lack of insensitivity was really bad. I actually withdrew him that week as he was offered a nursery place at the school I was trying to get him in to. His preschool phoned me saying can I just check I've heard right and he will be leaving us. I said yes and explained my reasons for her to say, oh its OK I just want to give his preschool place to another child. I was even more heartbroken. From April til June it dragged but it was alot of hard work.
Fast forward to June my ds was offered a place at the school he was now attending the nursery at. And he has loved it ever since and made the best of friends. For me the school application process was absolutely horrible. I felt like my child had been rejected. If I was to do it again I definitely wouldn't be so fixed on the ofsted rated outstanding schools as I was. The school he attends now wasn't even on my list and I'm so sad about that as its a lovely school. That's rated good and I cannot tell you how much he has come on since he started at their nursery. His pre school/school has an longstanding excellent reputation. However having been there for the 7 months he was I have no idea how they keep getting such a high rating. The schools in comparison, I know where my son is doing better, but you say your child goes there and straight away ooooooh that's the best school around kind of thing.
To quickly go back to the ASD assessments, as my son had only had 2 appointments and was awaiting the rest he was treated like another normal application. It is my understanding that this will be the case unless they are statemented.
School admissions I am glad I have another 6 years yet but God it was horrible.
I ended up reading the stats for our LA over 94 percent got their 1st choice. It's was only 1 percent that didn't get any of their choices. This is were my sons application fell. I have no idea how they do admissions but for 94 % to breeze through I found it abit upsetting

Not trying to be pessimistic but does the school you really want have a criteria for medical or social need? If not I think it unlikely anything you say can be taken into account. Infant class size regulations are very strict and they can only admit in accordance with the criteria and the fact that nothing is diagnosed yet means that there is very little the local authority can do to admit if you do not qualify for a place under distance.

Are they true catchment areas, ie defined areas drawn on a map where everyone within the boundaries gets priority? Or do you mean catchment as it is often used, to describe the general distance to which offers usually get made?

It’s worth checking the last admitted distance for each of the schools for the past few years. Not an exact science and no guarantee, but gives you an idea of how unrealistic or not options might be.

From what you’ve said it sounds like your order of preferences would be the current nursery school, then one of the village ones, then the one your dad went to.

Location would be one of the factors. Listen to your gut feeling too. I highly recommend visiting the school and meeting the head of the school. They should be able to tell you a lot.
Have a list of questions to ask them politely. Bring a pen and paper for note taking. Also check out the website of the school it is also a good source of information about the school. Listen to the gossip about the school children as well. Look beyond the numbers.
Good luck.
I hope you find a good school.

I think the outdoor space is slightly off-set by you having to drive on the school run. There is evidence that people in cities walk more than those in the countryside, so you should consider her being able to walk to school, it won't be long before she's walking without you. Try to look past age 5 in terms of activity, when shes older and can pop to a nearby friend and go to the park together, for example, then you'll be glad that school and her peers are not a cat journey away.