In year admissions/lack of spaces in primary schools in Birmingham

[Windowinapalace]

Hi, I really need advice on how to secure a place for my DC in year 3 in the primary schools in Birmingham city centre or the Edgbaston area.We started with the process about a month back and applied to all the schools in our area. Every single one has put us on a waiting list.We have waited and have started to apply in schools further away but still the same response. Every school is oversubscribed.It is not even a question of finding a good school in a good area now,we just want a place somehow.The LA keeps telling us to wait for a vacancy to be created and that they are aware of our situation.But there are no timelines to this.My child is sitting at home and not going to any other school because we moved into the country 2 months back. This has been very stressful and we are not able to decide whether we should go the pvt school route ( which will significantly stretch our budgets)or wait for spaces to open up.Please give suggestions and some advice.

How far out have you gone now?
You should have been given information about how to appeal each decision. Do that ASAP for the nearest school

Have they offered any school place , no matter how far or inconvenient to you? If so you should accept or the LA is discharged of its obligation. You can still be on waiting lists and appeal to your local school/s. Year 3 is beyond infant class size restrictions so there may be a little flexibility to accept a 31st pupil.

If every school is full, then you could try going for an appeal for your chosen school. Try to put the case for your chosen school as strongly as you can, rather than simply wanting a place.

Firstly the LA have a legal obligation to offer you a school place. Secondly I would advise putting in appeals for the schools you want asap. Use the fact the LA have not offered a school as part of your appeal.

About 1.5 miles.But as this is an in year admission the schools do not give anything in writing.They just say that the year is full for us and we shall place your child on the waiting list and you can check on the waiting list status after 2 weeks.all of this verbal or telephonic.For appealing i believe i shall require a written decision from the school.

No, they have not.Lately they have provided us a list of 4 schools to apply to which have the best chances of having a vacancy.All the schools informed us that the year is full for them and the best they can do is place the child on the waiting list.We are still applying though.

Thanks , we are thinking of doing that but the schools in our area are very highly rated and have long waiting lists.We donot really have anything working for us except for being in the catchment area of those schools and that our child is not being schooled anywhere currently.

You need to ask the LA to use the fair access protocol and make them aware that you have not been given written notification by the schools of the outcome of your application so do not have the right to appeal. The schools are in breach of the admissions code if they aren't providing you with the written notification and right to appeal.

Edgbaston has good schools, and they tend to have long waiting lists. It’s particularly bad right now.

You’re likely to need to look a lot further afield, at least temporarily.

Thanks, we are thinking of doing that.Do we need a written decision from the school we have applied to, to start the appeals process?Can the school say no to that?Should we aim for the very highly regarded schools(includes a faith school which we don't identify with) where we are placed low in waiting list or the one with low ofsted rating but where we are 2-3 in the waiting list.

You should be applying via the LA and have letters stating they were unable to offer you a place and reason.

@Windowinapalace Thanks, we are thinking of doing that.Do we need a written decision from the school we have applied to, to start the appeals process?Can the school say no to that?Should we aim for the very highly regarded schools(includes a faith school which we don't identify with) where we are placed low in waiting list or the one with low ofsted rating but where we are 2-3 in the waiting list.

You should have had refusal letters from the LA, explaining that you have been refused a place due to the school being full, and telling you how to appeal. The schools cannot refuse an appeal. It's up to you where you appeal for. You could ask the schools to give you information regarding their Published Admission Number, how many children there are in the school, and how many children are in the year group you want to apply for. There is lots of information online about appeals. I wouldn't be surprised if the LA suddenly offer you a school once you start the appeals process.

There are 359 primary schools in Birmingham (from the Compare School Performance .gov website). Many primary schools are undersubscribed due to falling birth rates.

I am sure that if you got on the phone and absolutely blitzed the closest 50 schools to you, you'd find one (or two, or five) with a place.

Schools that are generally oversubscribed might not get back to you, but schools that are undersubscribed in all or most years - and there will definitely be some of these - will be very keen to talk to you.

When you say you have applied, have you actually submitted a completed application, or just telephoned or emailed them? Just contact the local authority in which you live, give them a list of all the schools to which you have applied and been refused, tell them how long your child has been out of school (I presume over 4 weeks} and tell them you would like your child to be allocated a place through the Fair Access Panel. Remember once they have offered your child a place, they have fulfilled their duty.

When you say you have applied, have you actually submitted a completed application, or just telephoned or emailed them?

Was going to ask exactly the same thing. You need to make a formal application, using whatever the system is locally (using two examples not in your area, Essex only handles mid-year applications for community / VC schools and all other applications must be made to each school individually, whereas neighbouring Thurrock handles all applications centrally via a CAF- you need to check). Only then will you be formally offered / refused. If refused, this triggers your right to appeal and you can (should) do this simultaneously for any schools you want.
Schools which process their own mid-year admissions must inform the LA of all formal applications and of the school's response. They don't have to tell the LA every time someone just rings up or emails with an enquiry, however. If you have genuinely formally applied for and been refused by multiple schools, then the LA should find you one.

This is assuming that you have moved into the area, or moved a significant distance within the area, from your previous address, though - the LA won't look for the nearest school with a place, or invoke the Fair Access Protocol, if you have just moved, say, 2 miles, or haven't moved, but just want to change schools?

Is your DC currently out of education?

At that age up to 3 miles is still considered ok so apply a bit further away. Took me 6 weeks to get a place when my dd was that age