Disastrous primary admissions

[kafka]

Ds has not got into any of his four preferences and we are a bit up and down about it all.

Anyone else been through this who is able to offer some words of reassurance.

Kafka

Have you been offered a place at all? Did you apply for the nearest school to your house?

We have, we are in a london borough and we have been offered the worst school in the borough which is at the other end to us.

We did not apply to our closest community school but a community school we are 600m from.

My son attends nursery at the school above and everyone else is through, I don't know what we are going to say to him when the time comes.

Oh dear. Are you going to appeal? can you get his name on the waiting list asap? God, it's a nightmare isn't it! Where in London are you?

I don't think we have grounds for appeal. Has anyone else been through this?

This happened to a friend of mine - although she DID apply to the nearest community school.

Lots of places come up in between allocation and the first day of term - even a few weeks into term. And during the first year. 8 places have become available in DS's class in R, Yr and and 2. I know several people who have ghot into a preferred (over-subscribed) school within the first couple of days of term, and others who got in within a year.

Get your name on the waiting lists of any schools you are interested in / can get to. Including faith schools, which also sometimes have waiting list places.

If you haven't done so already, get your name on the continuing interest list for each school. There is always a small percentage of people who don't take up their place through moving , going private etc

Do they do another sort through applications later in the coming months?

I only ask because my ds got given our 3rd choice school when the original application was done at the end of March. This was despite being in the catchment for our 2nd choice, which I thought was a 'given'. 1st choice was a gambol as we're just out of catchment, but was our favourite, so we went for it anyway.

We were told we were 1st on the waiting list for our 2nd choice, 3rd of the waiting list for our first choice. The LEA then did a second sort through at the end of April, once they knew a bit more about who is taking places where, and we were offered a place at our first choice as obviously some people had dropped out/changed their minds. They do it again at the end of May, then in September.

Find out where you are on the waiting lists, and when (if at all) they go through the process again. The situation may improve. Good luck!

Which borough do you live in, Kafka?

Oh thanks all, yes we've been invited to apply again for schools that have vacancies. Some of these schools are very close to us and astonished that we were not offered one of the schools that has a vacancy rather that the 'worst' school in the borough which is so far from us. It does not make sense.

We will go on the waiting list - just never thought it would happen as we our so close to the school we had hoped for - but of course why shouldn't it happen to us!

Dreading seeing the local mothers and what to say to them as do not want to upset ds but feel that I will burst into tears when asked our news. Everyone else so far has had the news they wanted.

Kafka, please don't panic we were in your position last year we didn't get a single school we had applied to but were allocated a hideous school miles from us.

I have to run now but will check back later.

Briefly;

1. appeal
2. consider using a company that specialises in appeals
3. how old is DS?
4. search under unquietdad and smurfs (my old name) for advice and pointers

1. really don't panic

Re appealing not sure that we have grounds, other than we are upset and that is not grounds! He has a stammer and we felt that it would have helped with this to stay with his current school we raised it on the form but did not expect it to make any difference.

Who are the good specialist appeal companies?

He will be five in December.

We didn't have any grounds either!

Just about to do bath and then go for a run but back in about an hour or so with info.

I would have thought that your ds's stammer was very good grounds for keeping him with the friends he has already made and getting him a place at the school most of them are going to.

Don't give up hope.

Ds1 didn't get into 3 of the 4 schools we applied for, including our top preference, which was our catchment school. We kept him on the waiting lists for all 3 schools and during the summer holidays 2 of them (including our no1 choice) offered him a place.

But it's not definite that that would happen - the school is heavily oversubscribed and other children who had been at the nursery in that school didn't get a place in Reception, because they were a little further away from the school than we were, though still within catchment.

bringmesunshine, did you win your appeal? did you get a company to help you? did you get in on appeal or waiting list?

Kafka, apologies for the delay.

We did win our appeal yes
We used www.schoolappeals.com
We got in on appeal.
We had no grounds for appeal other than parental choice.

I have posted an overview of the reasons that we used and will look for you and post it here.

If there are any questions you have let me know I remember how emotional the entire process is.

Our appeal reasons were as follows:

1)The best environment for DS - small nurturing environment as shy, sensitive boy. Had in place a mentor system which would benefit his young years.

2. Allocated school - we visited the allocated school and then rejected it for the following reasons: 3 pupils were excluded (yes in a primary school!) I then went through the most recent Ofsted report for the allocated school and picked out all the negative points and included them.

3. Size of allocated school v size of school we wanted.

4. Travel - logistics of getting DS to allocated school would have been awful so suggested that I would have had to take 3 buses. Also said would be able to car share with other parents and thus reducing DS carbon footprint! Not technically correct but ho hum...

5. Capacity at school - Head was willing to admit additional pupils and I submitted Heads email confirming this.

6. Informed decision not just based on locality - visited all schools and then went on to pick all the fab points out about the school we wanted.

7. Knew current pupils and thus would settle better also stated that the social backgrounds of the children at the school we wanted were very much similar to DS experience whereas is he went to allocated school he would be socially isolated and less able to have them for tea etc as comletly different area to where we are (DS would have been eaten alive at allocated school he is not street wise)

8)We stated that families that express well reasoned preference to be educated at certain environment should be given due consideration.

9. Involvement within the community - I joined the Gardening Club!

10. Questions of possible predjudice - Infants Class Size Prejudice did not apply as small school however we asked they excercised a degree of flexability in discretion available to them as the class size was considerably under the 30 child limit.

I attached letter from Pre-School head that said most of the above and also letter from our MP.

Let me know if I can be of any furthur help.

bringmesunshine

Kafka - have you submitted your appeal form yet?

There is a section which you have to fill in which gives reasons for appeal - give yourself some time to think as to your reasons, so in this section just state 'reasons to follow' and make sure you get them in in their entirity by the deadline date which with us was first or second week in June.

thanks bms, cannot see how they will let us in as we are in inner london and the school I would guess is at 30, I had already discovered schoolappeals, did they actually represent you or did you just have advice

reallyy appreciate your advice

thanks

Kafka, I am in same position as you (I live in Wandsworth, suspect you are in Lambeth). The 30 limit means that appealing is almost out of question - I spoke to schoolappeals.com and the man was extremely nice and knowledgeable but said he couldn't take my money as he knew we only had a 2-3% chance of success when classes had reached 30.

I have been avoiding most of the other mothers who have got into the schools I wanted my dd to attend (all four schools we applied to were the nearest ones) and am resigned to the fact that we won't get her into our first choice school this year but we are on the waiting list there and at others and there could well be movement. It's awful feeling that you have no control over where your child will be educated but all you can do is wait . The one thing a lot of people have said to me is that places do come up at the end of summer/beginning of term as some twats parents don't bother telling the schools where they have been offered places that they don't intend to take them up.

Good luck.

Kafka, yes schools appeals represented us from the beginning: advice on what and how to word the appeal document, we had a runthrough session the day before the appeal and represented us on the day.

Thanks bms and lalalonglegs, and so very sorry to hear that you are in the same boat as us

What are you saying to your dd about what is happening?