No choice for schools

[ExhaustedGrandma]

Is there anything I can do if my grandchild is given their 4th choice for a primary school?

Is this out of the 6 you pick for London area?

no you are only likely to get one of your 6 choices and you can only appeal if you can prove there was problem with admissions policy being followed. You can otherwise go on waiting list for your preferred school?

Are you their primary carer? The primary carer can appeal but it is advised to accept the place they have been given. Accepting the place will not affect the appeal.

Home educate or go private? Realistically if the admissions policy has been applied fairly there is nothing to be done. They’ve been given one of their preferences, and they are preferences not choices, and so they’ve been offered a place for education.

Were you the one who applied? If not then you can't do anything
If so then once you know which school you were allocated accept the place and get on the waiting list for any others you prefer.

Their legal guardian put this school as a preference, albeit a 4th choice, so in that sense admissions have done their job by finding a place at this school for your grandchild. It's not like they haven't been given anything on their list.

If you are their legal guardian, I advise accepting the place (or pass this advice on to their parents, if you are not). Then go on the waiting lists for the preferred schools, or search for anything else in the local area which you/they deem 'better' which still has places and make a late application to them. This is unlikely though, as surely anything else in the area with spaces which you rate higher would have been on the original application?

Is there anything fundamentally 'wrong' with this school for your grandchild, or is it just that the other 3 listed above it are preferred choices? If you all go into this with a positive approach, the likelihood is your grandchild could be perfectly happy and successful at this allocated school.

You can only appeal if you have evidence the admissions criteria wasn't applied correctly (highly unlikely) "I'm not happy with this allocation" isn't a valid reason to appeal.

From experience there is usually a lot of movement between April and September as parents decide to go private, are offered a specialist place, move ect. Last school I worked for offered to 30 with 5 on the waiting list. By the time September came we started with 28! Waiting list either got in or got into another choice they were waiting for.

Check the council's admissions procedure; my council automatically adds you to the waiting list(s) for any higher preference schools. The child's guardian (whether you or the parent) should double check their position on each waiting list. The chances of getting a place at the higher preference schools will depend on the number of places at each school and the waiting list position. The ranking will be according to the admissions criteria.

When you fill in the admission forms, you select preferences, which is different from choosing, which implies that you get what you select. Whoever has responsibility for completing the form has been given their fourth preference. It might not be what you want, but please accept it and go on the waiting list for your higher preference schools. If you turn down the place, the authority has no obligation to find another school for you.

Theres often movement between now and September, so providing the admission criteria are met, a place may become available at a school you prefer.

You will be told the reason/s why you did not get offered a higher preference. Appealing for a reception place can be tricky as infant class size regulations come into effect. It can be better to go on to a waiting list and hope for some movement.

The accepted advice is :

to accept the place so the child has a confirmed place for September

go on the waiting lists for preferred schools on your original application ( for some LA this is automatic but not for all so check)

ask the LA admissions people for other possible schools that have not filled all their places and apply for a place there.