Has anyone been on waiting list and not got place until start of term?

[mrsrdowneyjr]

Sort of self-explanatory. Dd has place at school around the corner and thinks she is going there. Waiting list for nicer-in-every-way school has not mved much, but apparently some people don't show up at the start of term or hold onto their place until the last minute though they intend to go private. school says it is likely there will be drop outs at start of term. This is so late in the day - would I really be messing with my child's head moving her at this point? Scenario could be she starts at school A for a week and is then offered place at school B instead. Has anyone been in this position and what did you do? thanks!

Hi, not been in this position, but I would say if the school you are waiting for is lots better than the school she has the place at move her. Yes it will unsettle her in the short term, but Im sure after a few days she will be fine.

As dd is only young I don't think it matters. My friends ds was in that situation a few years ago. He ended up doing two days at school A, then a place came up at school B and he moved across. It did not bother him in the slightest. In fact he probably made more friends that way as he was an 'exicting newcomer' rather than one of many starting at the same time.

Ds was on the waiting list for 2 local schools - he was offered one on the first day of term ( I literally took off his school A sweatshirt and took him along to school B instead).
He was offered a place at school C (our 'catchment' school) just before they broke up at Christmas but we turned it down as he had settled at school B.
We know a lot of families whose children moved schools during their reception year. The children seem to cope with it better than the adults

had to wait almost a year for a place for dd1 at the school we wanted.

ds was offered a place at our first choice school 2 weeks into the autumn term (we didn't move him, & it was the right decision). there will almost definitely be children who don't turn up at the start of term. do you know where she is on the waiting list?

We expected to be in this position, and said we would move ds1 a couple of weeks into term if necessary; despite all the disruption (house move, new friends, starting school, uniform, etc.) because the waiting list school was THAT much better.

In the event we got a phone call on the last day of term to say there was a place for him

my daughter started at one school - did 2 mornings and on the third day of school started at our first choice = I was prepared to wait until the first half term to get a place.

Moves during reception, and in particular the first half term of reception are very common round here, too. It is not the end of the world to move a child in reception imo, and schools are great at integrating new pupils in.