I've been so stupid

[Sonicknuckles]

We are within walking distance to the school my eldest child goes to even so we are out of catchment. I didn't understand the admissions process and my youngest hasn't got a place at the school. I really thought she would get in. I've been so naive.
To make matters worse I didn't choose a 2nd or 3rd choice as I clearly want my kids to be together at school.
Youngest goes to the village preschool and she comes with me every day to drop her brother at school and pick up (I am SAHM).
We have integrated into the local community. My youngest has made friends and their siblings are in my eldests class.
It is all so horrible and heartbreaking.
We have been offered a place in a village in opposite direction that you have to drive to.
How can I be in two places doing school run at the same time when there is considerable distance between them.
The system is a joke.
If I could turn back time I would have chosen catchment school for my eldest but there wasn't much in it distance wise and we didn't know the area that well or understand the processes.
Please help

Check you are already on the waiting list for your preferred school and also check out wrap around care offered by both schools, so you may well be able to drop one child off from 7:30am and be able to get to the other school in good time.

Are siblings not a priority at your DS's school? Am guessing not as your DD wasn't allocated a place. Are you on a waiting list for the school and if so, which position are you?

Check the admissions criteria for your preferred school. Is there a sibling criteria? If so, you should have got a place (unless there’s a huge number of siblings) and can appeal.

Accept the school you’ve been offered and make sure you’re on the waiting list of the one you want.

If the school you preferred gives priority for all siblings it would suggest that a mistake has been made, in which case you have good grounds for appeal.

I'm guessing the school only gives priority for in catchment siblings. That is becoming increasingly common due to parents who move close to a popular school to get a place then move away, relying on sibling priority to get their younger children in. Restricting sibling priority to in catchment siblings is a way of combating that.

Unfortunately you took a huge risk by only naming one school. If you had named your catchment school as your second preference it would not have made any difference to your chances of getting a place at your preferred school and your youngest would probably have a place at the catchment school. It wouldn't have got both children into the same school but it would be less of a problem for transport.

If no mistake has been made you can still appeal. Your chances of success depend on whether or not it is an infant class size case. If the school you want runs classes of 30 in Reception, Y1 or Y2 you are unlikely to win an appeal unless there has been a mistake. However, if they run smaller classes you can win by showing that your child will be disadvantaged if they don't go to this school. Arguments about problems getting both children to school are unlikely to carry any weight. Many parents face this issue. You need to find things that your preferred school offers that are not available at the allocated school and are particularly relevant for your child.

In addition to appealing for the school you want, I would get your child onto the waiting list for your catchment school.

It is possible no mistake has been made, as OP is out-of-catchment, so all catchment siblings and all other catchment children wouid have been offered places before non-catchment siblings were considered.

sonic - do not reject the current offer; do find out where you are on the waiting list for preferred school; do look in to before/after school clubs or other childcare options (alsomask around for anyone else in same boat as you who might be interested in a fair split of ferrying); and look at moving DC1 to DC2's school if the main requirement is for them to be together - at least find out if there are vacancies in that year group.

Our school does roughly - in catchment siblings > in catchment other kids > out of catchment siblings > out of catchment everyone else (obviously there are criteria like named school on EHCP and looked after children before that). Lots of issues in that area of town with parents moving in, getting one child in school and then moving a bit out for a bigger house in the past.

Could you move your eldest to the new school your youngest has got into if necessary?

We are on the waiting list number 6 but all above are in catchment and we aren't even though it's within walking distance so even though she's a sibling it obviously counts for nothing it's shit. I didn't realise and should have checked it out more thoroughly

Thank you. We've emailed school admissions to get on waiting list for catchment and I was told she will go to the top of list as all others on list are out of catchment.

even though she's a sibling it obviously counts for nothing

I suspect being a sibling means she is ahead of all other out of catchment children on the waiting list so it does count for something. It may not mean as much as you want but that is another matter.

Sorry to hear that OP? Do you know whether (a) the people above you on the waiting list are in catchment and (b) this is a normal occurrence for the school?

The reason I ask is that our local school had an unusually high number of applications one year and many in-catchment children and out-of-catchment but with siblings at the school children failed to get spaces. The parents got together and were able to successfully lobby the school to provide a one-off “bulge class” to the normally single year intake school. I don’t have children in that year, but it seems tot have worked out well for everyone.

Maybe have a surf around on social media and see if others are in the same position?

Thanks for replies. It does seem to be unusually high intake this year. The 5 ahead of her on waiting list are in catchment :-(

The 5 ahead of her on waiting list are in catchment

That may work in your favour if it turns out that a bulge class is feasible.

I think in your situation I would phone (not email) the headteacher as soon as schools go back and ask about the feasibility of a bulge class. I’d also be posting on social media and asking friends etc to see how many other parents are in a similar situation.

Do you have much time before you have to accept the other school offer?

The reception class can only take 30 children. I don't think they've got space for a bulge class. I think some of the others who haven't got in are just going to take them to the other school they've been offered. Will speaking to the head make a difference? She might help plead our case as she knows us. I am there all the time with my daughter. I don't know how they can do this to us but they can.

One more thought! You say you are close to the school but out of catchment. How is the catchment area defined (e.g. distance, postcode, etc)? If distance, measure it yourself just to be sure you are indeed out of catchment.

If there is no space for an additional class (or mobile classroom) then I’m guessing they won’t be able to offer one They added on an all-singing all-dancing mobile classroom for the bulge class at our local school. The head and governors were really supportive. They were keen to keep families together, plus they cynical side of me thinks they probably benefitted from the additional funding!

The head can't just skip her to the front because she knows you well. That's completely unfair on all other applicants and not how it works.

Accept the school you were offered, and hope that either the catchment school or the sibling's school gets a space for her.

In case it helps, our local school has 44 children in the bulge year, split across 2 classes. All of the children initially refused a place were either in catchment or out of catchment but with a sibling already at the school.

Can you get them both into catchment area?

A bulge year group is only usually feasible if other schools locally cannot take the children. In this case the OP has been offered her catchment school, so that is not the case.

Am sorry you are in this situation but Theinvestigator is right - the Head can't circumnavigate the admission rules for your benefit - and despite how it may feel they really haven't "done this to you" unfortunately you didn't understand the admission rules and therefore weren't able to make an educated assumption as to how your application would pan out.

Do you know anyone else going to the offered school that could potentially be helpful in terms of sharing travel plans. In the meantime as you are 1st on waiting list (at the moment) for the catchment school that bodes well.

I honestly believe that too Charmatt, but wasn’t the case in our village. The surrounding schools were actually under subscribed. I think it was argued on the basis of keeping the community together or similar. I was very surprised at the time. I assumed they’d fail, but it was all done and dusted within weeks.

*believed

Charmatt I haven't been offered the catchment school because I stupidly didn't put it down as an alternative

Nobody has done anything to you. You did not bother to read the admissions criteria, or understand the process and you only applied to one school. Many parents will have spent hours researching the admissions criteria, will have moved house for schools etc etc. Please stop saying 'how can they do this to me' 🙏