Urgent - Admission in Maidenhead Primary School

[settleforgood]

Dear All,

I need urgent inputs as I am struggling with my kid admission in Year 2 in primary schools of maidenhead.

I am moving maidenhead on July 28 and today I received a letter from council that my daughter cannot be allocated in any of my preferred primary schools - oldfield, furze platt and larchfield

Now I am stuck and not sure what to do as I am
Moving into this area in next 10 days and my kid has to start Year 2 from September but no place in any of the above 3.

Please can you suggest what should be my next course of action , should I be contacting any other schools - please suggest ?

Thanks

You need to find out which schools have places. Sometimes the LA will be helpful and tell you. Other times they will ask you to contact schools directly. Then you can apply to any with spaces.

Currently you (presumably) don't live in the area, so they don't have an obligation to provide you with a place. I think once you actually move, they will have to offer you a place somewhere.

Good luck, it is a stressful process and tricky when the schools are about to shut for summer. Most schools will still monitor emails at points over the summer.

Also remember that people often move in the summer, so schools may end up with a place in September, once they have confirmed the child has left.

Ask to go on the waiting lists of those schools, and make sure you confirm with them when you have moved - the waiting list is ordered by the admissions criteria, and so at the moment you will be at the bottom on distance, but once you move you may move up (particularly for whichever you are nearest). If the schools are being helpful, they may be willing to tell you where your new address would put you on the waiting list. (If they're feeling exceptionally helpful they might even be able to tell you if they think there's much chance of a place becoming available.)

Ask which schools do have spaces - if the LA can't tell you then you may have to ring around and ask them. Consider whether any of those would be preferable to others, even if you still intend to switch if you get to the top of a waiting list.

If the LA offer you a place somewhere once you've moved, do not decline it - they're not obliged to offer you another place if you turn it down.