out of catchment area but siblings attend school

[Emmsy1]

Hi ladies, I have a DS who should start school in September, the school we want him to attend is out of our catchment area. He has 3 siblings that attend the school, their original school that was in our catchment area was closed down by the council (falling birthrate etc...) We picked a good school for them and they have really settled in well,it was a big upheaval and very stressful at the time but they are all doing very well. The problem is that already the list for reception is 33 and the school are only allowed to take 30! I am at my wits end with worry that my DS will not be allocated a place, and that the council will expect me to find him another school, I have a 5 month old baby and all my oldest child is only 9, have been told that the letters will be sent out on 31st March and that I fit criteria no 5, feel sick to my stomach, just hoping for some advice.

I would be extremely cross if my dcs were denied a reception place and went straight into year 1. Sounds completely bizarre and against government policy for 4 year olds. A 4 year old going into year 1 will be denied the benefits of the EYFS - learning through play and a graduated approach to reading and writing. Are they always playing catch-up to the rest of the class over the years? I'd be onto the LEA pronto.

Emmsy1 - unless there is more than one teacher, the max class size for reception is 30. And for all KS1 I think.

only a few days now, before I get the result!

really today, youngest child did not get into the same primary school as his 3 siblings!

Oh Emmsy its rubbish. We didn't get ours either. I think thats really harsh making him go to a different school. You should appeal maybe on grounds of the added stress it will have to your family life.

Where is he on the waiting list? We were 3rd for our local school (albeit not our first choice) and got a place by June for the September start. Best of luck.

Oh Emmey that is rubbish. I was in the same place as you last month. I phoned the admission office and by the next morning they phoned me back to say that DD2 had a place. Some people do let them know quickly if they are not taking up a place.
Is there a good private primary in you area? If so you may find some children will be going there and so leaving a place open for you DS.

Ask them if they have done an Equality Impact Assessment on their admissions policy. It is a legal requirement and many LAs have not done it

FYI

What is an equality impact assessment?
An equality impact assessment (EqIA) is a tool for identifying the potential impact of a council?s policies, services and functions on its residents and staff. It can help staff provide and deliver excellent services to residents by making sure that these reflect the needs of the community.

By carrying out EqIAs, a council may also ensure that the services that it provides fulfil the requirements of anti-discrimination and equalities legislation.

What is the purpose of an EqIA?
EqIAs offer an opportunity for council staff and their teams to think carefully about the impact of their work on local people and other members of staff. They can then take action that will promote equality for all.

On the whole, EqIAs should make sure that equality is placed at the centre of policy development and review, as well as service delivery.

The equality impact assessment process focuses on:

initial screening
scoping and defining
information gathering
making a judgement
action planning
publication and review.
Equality impact assessments can achieve the following:

increased participation with customers and therefore more transparency in relation to policy and service development
changes to the culture of public decision making
a more proactive approach to the promotion of equality, at the heart of public policy.

----------------

E qIAs in brief
How are they carried out?
The EqIA process is one that includes developing or reviewing:

policy
strategy
procedure
function
project
reviews
services
organisational change.
At the end of the process there will be a summary report published to let people now the outcome of the assessment.

When are they carried out?
The Race Equality Scheme, Gender Equality Scheme and the Disability Equality Duty are all statutory requirements that set out the relevance of the council's key functions, policies and services.

There is a timetable for conducting equality impact assessments for all existing functions, policies and services. This sets out when the impact assessment will need to be conducted. However, in line with the statutory requirement, the council must conduct impact assessments as soon as a relevant new policy, function or service is considered. It should be an integral part of policy development.

Emmsy that's really unfair.

Seeing as the council closed your original choice school and allocated you this one I don't think it's unreasonable for parents in your situation to be effectively counted as "inzone" for the allocation of sibling places.

I'm guessing that you had little (no?) choice about this school at the time as it was the only one who could take all the kids? Is there any way you can work this into your appeal, as in you've already been forced to move the other kids & because of that and through no fault of yours, it putting you at a disadvantage now, a double whammy so to speak.

oh man, i was just wondering how you had got on

sorry it's not straightforward, but don't give up hope

Oh that's just madness Emmsy. for you.
You must appeal.
You can't possibly have 3 children at one school and 1 at another.

Thanks for the advice and best wishes ladies. I have already written a letter of appeal, and as you can already see from the time I am posting this, its already affecting my sleep.
Betsyboop When the LEA originally closed down our school, they wanted our school to amalgamate with another school in our area, that school had a bad reputation, our mums were furious over it. The LEA told us that we could all have the schools of our choice and that there would be plenty of room for us all. This was not stricktly true, as the school I wanted could not take all 3 of my children! I then choose the school that they are at now. Most of the parents were spread out among many different schools as they would not send their children to the one that the LEA wanted to amalgamate with. only a small handful went to that school. That is the school that is in my catchment area. The LEA have allocated my DS to a school that is a few miles away, it is a fantastic school, but its impossible for me to send him there when I have my other 3 at a different school. I have been told by the LEA that I am the next person on the list. The other parents with siblings at the school and the teachers are all furious. The have allocated 4 places to parents who live in zone with no siblings, that chose our school as their 2nd choice. The education system needs to be changed. Its crap and outdated, I have sent a very long winded email to my MP and will be taking this as far as possible. thanks again for your support X

Megga breakthrough today! Head teacher has told me that the LEA has decided to allow places for all of our out of zone children with siblings already in our school! bloody fantastic! we are to get a new teacher, was told they have only allowed this because of the previous closure and it only applies to this year! Miracles can happen, can't believe that the council have backed down so easily???
Maybe it's because they have cocked so much up this year! we are hearing bad reports from all the surrounding schools, there's no places left anywhere in zone, and they are sending people to out of zone areas who dont even drive. There's just not enough schools to compliment the demand. The LEA closed my previous school down, using the same old falling birth rate crap, they obviously hadn't even checked the birth rate census at the time they closed the school. Bloody liars![grr] still at least I should sleep tonight!

brilliant news Emmsy

Excellent. That is just great.
I agree the system is crap and really needs to be changed. It makes our lives miserable every year.

found out the reason why the LEA were pushed into changing their minds!

They cocked up! They mistakenly allocated an in zone parent with siblings at our school, to an out of zone area. The in zone parent had it confirmed yesterday morning that she would be placed at the correct school which meant that the class size had gone over 30, an extra teacher was therefore required, the head then spent most of yesterday on the phone, pushing for the other 6 of us to get in. It was only agreed at 3.00pm yesterday, thank god for good old human error!

Brilliant news. Congratulations

Thanks FFS !
meant to add on previous post, the LEA had offered 5 other lower criteria cases before the in zone parent with siblings!

Emmsy - sorry, it;s taken me ages to catch up with tis this but fabtastis news - your cd's must be so happy ( and you!)
Enjoy!!! I hope you are still dancing around gthe kitchen - we are!!