Didn't get into any school

[Uhohwhoops]

Hello, this is my first time enrolling into school so was looking for some advice on our situation.
DS didn't get any of the placement choices that we chose for Septemeber (they are all in our catchment area) we have been offered an alternative that is further away than our choices in a less desirable area (the school has a very bad reputation I'm not just being a snob - promise ).

We are on the waiting lists incase anybody drops out of the other schools but I'm not sure what to do. Is appealing going to change anything?
I can't do anything until Tuesday anyway so was looking for some help of what I could say or do.

Thank you in advance for any help!

Assuming in England.
For Reception if it is an Infant Class Size appeal you can only appeal on very limited grounds.
Otherwise

• make sure you are on the waiting list for any school you prefer to the one allocated
• be positive. bad reputations can be very out of date, and are sometimes 'class' based rather than the actual quality of the school.

I didn’t get into any of the school I applied for a few years ago, we appealed and won but was given school number 5 which was actually the last school I applied for. I think we only won because my daughter has asd and I would have never been able to get her to the school we was given (it wasn’t walking distance and no public transport there)

How do people know already? I thought it was 19h?

Just accept the place you're given and email all the schools you'd be happy with to see where you are on the waiting list. Don't give up hope! Waiting lists change all the time. I was number 2 on my school's waiting list and got a place in June, my friend was number 5 and got a place in August. Good luck!

Unless the criteria were not applied correctly and you missed out on a place as a result appealing will probably not be successful due to Infant Class Size restrictions.

Thank you for all your quick replies much appreciated.

@OnceuponaRainbow18 I was expecting it to be the 19th but we got ours yesterday

@tinyt137
Thank you, that gives me some hope

Are you in the catchment area for your desired schools? Because of the early years cap unless it’s something admin wise that is an error you are unlikely to win. But you might as well go for the wait list, the school you’ve been allocated someone might really want etc

When you say catchment, do you mean the schools have a properly defined catchment area and it is included in the admissions criteria i.e. an area drawn on a map within which you get priority over those outside? If so, it is worth asking which category you were considered under and checking it is correct, in the unlikely (but not impossible) case that a mistake has been made.

If not and it is just ‘the sort of area which usually gets in’ (which people often call a catchment) then as others have said it’s a case of waiting lists and keeping your fingers crossed!

Can you be on multiple lists? I'm a reception year lead in a two form school and we don't even begin to start sorting classes until June as lists shift so much between offers and summer. Parents don't accept for various reasons and the place is offered on. My school is an outstanding school in an oversubscribed area and most parents who stick with it do get a place for their child.

Even from when we make lists at the end of year, to when we complete home visits mid September, we have a 10% turnover. The movement of your area will have an impact as well.

It's quite rare for a primary school to be really dire.
Do you actually know anything about the school beyond its "reputation"? Have you been to see it? Do you know anyone that has a child there now or has had one there in the last couple of years?

(My DC used to go to a junior school with a bad reputation. Most the things said about it were over 10 years old and none of the people who were spreading the "bad reputation" information had any personal knowledge of the school beyond hearsay. Hence as soon as anyone says "bad reputation", I always raise my eyebrows)

So, go on waiting lists by all means, but maybe also look at the school you've been offered with an open mind as well.

Typically, your house will only be in one official catchment area. Have you double checked this? We live close to 4 schools but only one is our catchment school despite the other 3 being a very similar distance away!

Are you in London? Or elsewhere?

Are you in England, or UK, or elsewhere? I can only answer for England.

How many schools did you apply for? You say they are 'all in your catchment area'. Usually it's the school that has a catchment area, not the parent/student. And you will only be in the catchment area for one school, the school catchment areas do not normally overlap so I'm not sure how you can be in the catchment area of multiple schools.

Unless you can prove that the LEA made a mistake in applying the admissions criteria, an appeal is not likely to succeed. Do double check the admissions criteria for each of your choices though and how they were applied to your application, mistake are rare but can happen.

Apart from that, stay on the waiting lists, there will be movement between now and September if you can find out where you are on each list then it will give you an idea of which are more likely to find a place for you

And not all areas have defined catchment areas. Distance may be a determining factor , where there are more applicants than available places within an admissions criteria. Were any of the schools ones you might have been allocated a place at on distance? Did they have additional priority criteria ie. Faith?

I suspect OP is not in an area with defined catchment areas - it would be extremely unusual for all of someone's school choices to be in their catchment area. Most people are only in 1 catchment area, and occasionally 2.

In our neighbouring LA a couple of schools have shared defined catchments. But that's not the norm

The school is quite bad unfortunately, SIL had her children there and in the end pulled all 3 out as it was bad, as did a few of her friends. She was the one who advised against it.
We are on the edge of the catchment area for choice 1, choice 2 (I thought we would get) is literally a 5 minute walk and choice 3 is walking distance too.
All are catchment - within the circle on the map - and it is decided by distance in a straight line from what I gather).

Not sure but here's hoping we get the chance of any of the 3 schools. Am I able to accept what we have been offered and then change if we get a slot in one of the others?

I am not in England sorry forgot to say

Yes you can accept and go on waiting lists. Also are there any other schools you might consider which are undersubscribed which you would prefer to the allocated one? Were you only able to list 3 preferences?

@LIZS - yes only allowed 3 choices. I've been researching and there is another possibility so I may ask about that one when I contact the admissions.

Once the school places have been announced you can contact as many schools as you want, to be added to their waiting list.

WHERE ARE YOU OP ?

It makes a difference to advice you are given!

OP has said she is not in England, and as you get your catchment school in Scotland, then she must be Wales or NI.

@TeenPlusCat

Sorry I'm in Wales. Assumed everywhere was the same

Uhoh Scotland is very different. No idea about NI as they play to their own rules lots of the time. Wales I think is similar to England on admissions, (though they have their own Ofsted).