Waiting Lists - how far do they usually go

[xfabba]

My ds did not get a place for Reception at any of our three preference schools.

For 1st choice (nearest) he is 23 on the list (90 intake) i.e forget it.

For 2nd choice (second closest) he is 13 on the list (30 intake) i.e forget it too.

For 3rd choice (furthest away) he is 3rd on the list (90 intake) - does he have a chance here?

Also, can someone explain to me why he is furthest up the list on our third choice school which is much further away than the others. Is this because they received less applications overall?

We are appealing for first and second choice, an excercise in futility by the looks of it. Just wondered if he might get the third choice.

Have you written to your MP? You are quite right, its all very well investing in developing an area, but no good if the services don't accommodate the population. You need to get down to his or her surgery and make some noise.

yes that's next on my list after we get back from holiday next week - I felt I needed a break to recuperate and recover from the emotional battering, lying awake worrying etc etc not to mention the accusations of middle class snobbery which are getting me down a bit (I am also in the process of being made redundant and am training for the Marathon) - but I will definitely speak to him when I get back (though I had already spoken to the county councillor last year - he was the one who told me there is no funding, there will be no more funding, it's a terrible system, my advice to you is play the system).

Good luck to you all in the same position. I guess the most important thing is that our children are well cared for and well nurtured at home as that is seemingly all we can control unless we opt out and pay for their education. I think they have relied on famillies like us doing this to take the strain up until now but I wonder how much longer they will be able to in the current economic climate etc.

Surely the issue is not that there are inadequate numbers of Reception places across the town's schools but that they are not sufficiently available at the schools of choice, in which case someone will always be disappointed. A few years ago the c of e school couldn't accommodate siblings and it added an extra class. I can understand your logistical problems but maybe you could find a cm to do the before/after school part short term or his current nursery might have a collection service.

xfabba

I get annoyed with friends who moan about not getting into schools of choice, when said school is miles away but your situation (and mine) is different. It's infuriating to not be able to get your child into your three nearest schools and be dumped in a school miles away, with no regard for the health, ecological and practical problems that entails.

Our situation is ludicrous in that 20 out of 30 places in our local school are taken by siblings. This school used to be the sink dumping ground for children who couldn't get in to "good" schools, but has since turned good. Hence the siblings come from miles away and people who live less than 300 metres from the school can't get their dcs in and will end up driving across our borough to schools with places. There are not enough school places to go round. I'm going to give my MP and councillor hell about this and I hope you do too.

I agree. I've just found out that 40 out of 60 of this years reception intake will go to siblings. Many people pay a premium on their houses to get their DC1 in, move away and drive them in.

I'm a great believer in going to the local school and being part of the local community. I would pay more to live near a good school, but there is no way I'd then move away once in. Although I am relieved we have a sibling policy at our school, I wonder if it would make any difference as we live so close anyway.

We have the same situation here, my nearest school had 28 out of 30 places allocated to siblings! of 60 places available at the next two nearest schools, 41 were given to siblings! After special needs, there were then 17 places left in total at the three schools! So we are being sent off to the other side of town! The school is lovely, but it is so frustrating that there is inadequate provision locally!

yes, the issue here is lack of primary school places overall, as evidenced by the fact that all of them apart from the odd supported one are very oversubscribed and have large waiting lists. Obvious to anyone really. They need more schools in this area where the birth rate is on the up and there has been a large influx of people with / about to have school age children encouraged by all the development but no increase in total number of PANS (they have already increased the intake in the bigger schools by adding extra forms where they can but there are still large waiting lists). Basic maths, need a new school or two. Same in most urban areas by the sounds of it.

LIZS, you are again missing the point. I already have a cm, my mother, who doesn't drive. Every other school in the town in which we live has wrap around care apart from the one we were allocated. Why is my child denied access to the same standards and facilities that other children have when there is nothing unusual about where he lives (if we had chosen to live in the middle of nowhere then fair enough). Why do they encourage choice and visiting schools, reading ofsted reports etc and then ride roughshod over it. It is an ethical point, not a practical one. We would have been happy with a place at any of three schools they asked us to apply to, out of the 5 schools available in the town in which we live slap bang in the centre of. I do not think that is unreasonable or overly picky and the fact that it cannot be accomodated for many famillies in similar situations quite clearly demonstrates that there are not enough places. Anyone who has studied the PANs and allocated places can see that and, indeed, so do SCC as they have an initiative called "the Reigate Review" to try and alleviate the problem of school places. Also see these points from their consultation document on the school closure from October 2008:
"11. Pupil numbers are increasing in the Reigate area as they are across the urban
areas in Surrey in a band that extends through Epsom & Ewell and Elmbridge
and down the A3 corridor. Increased birth rate, infill and inward migration are
resulting in increased numbers of Reception (YR) children.
12. Additionally, there are two large developments in the north east of the Reigate
area called the Water Colour & Park 25 developments which are together
projected to yield just under 1 form of entry (1FE), i.e. 30 pupils.
13. There is anticipated to be a total increase in demand for 2FE of primary places.
If the birth rate continues to increase, then this demand will need to be revised
upwards. These primary school pupils will lead to a subsequent additional
demand for 2FE of secondary school places.
3 Item 6
14. We are currently reviewing primary education provision in the Reigate area.
Expansion of provision at schools in the area is required. SCC is seeking a
solution that best meets the needs of children in the area. A single primary
school will be well positioned to contribute to dealing with this issue."

Your children are in private school aren't they? Did you attempt to get them into state schools beforehand? If so, I think the situation might have worsened since then.

Sympathies to everyone in the same position.

Hello, I just wanted to write as I am another Surrey mum and didn't get any of my three preferred schools, all local, two within walking distance. Instead we were offered a place at a failing school which is close to us, but neighbours and friends in previous years have got into all our choices so we thought they were sensible options.

I was totally horrified to be allocated a place at a school I didn't want or like, it's local reputation is bad and I did go and look around it. The head is new and was helpful, but the intake is from a not-so-nice area and it was very obvious that there was little discipline (children running around in classes, only half in uniform etc) and basically, I was totally devastated (that is not snobbery, it's wanting the best for your child).

I actually phoned around every school working outwards (distance wise) which had a good Ofsted, and found a school which only had 25 places taken. I went to look around it and it was a lovely school, it's a 10-15 minute drive from us and is an infant school with just three classes. I think it is undersubscribed as it's a bit of a distance from the Junior school it feeds and will be a nightmare to do pick ups from both in a few years, I will cross that bridge later.

Anyway, I wrote to Surrey LEA and asked if they could change our allocated school to this one. I was formally told to put it in writing, and then on the phone they said that they couldn't change the place, but could change our preference and be put on the waiting list. So I swapped it for our second choice school (bit further), and then received a letter a week later offering us a place (as there was no waiting list obviously).

I was happy to go with a school slightly further away which you may not be, but our other option was private which would've meant a lot of sacrifices. I think it goes to show though that for whatever reason, there are good undersubscribed schools out there, it's just a case of finding them.

Surrey do maintain the lists centrally for the first year, so you can't negotiate which schools until the start of Y1 but you can ask if they are undersubscribed or not and then plead with the LEA.

I don't know where we are on the waiting list for our first choice school but will probably stick with what we have been offered now as we are happy, and cross the Junior School bridge when we get there.

I cried when I checked online and saw what we'd been offered, I totally appreciate that it's a really big deal when it comes to education with your first born. Our third choice school had 100 applicants (not even a popular school, and close to us) with 23 siblings for 30 places - we stood no chance.

Good luck anyway,

Helen

thanks Helen, it's amazing how much it is hapenning - yet people still claim there is no problem and it is just snobbery that is going on. It isn't and I'm glad you've sorted something out, well done.

We live in Wimbledon Park (SW London), and experiencing the same frustrations.

You seem to need to be closer than 0.2miles as the crow flies to have been allocated a place at the most popular school in the area.

It just makes a mockery of "local primary schools", what does local mean if you can't get into the school 5 mins walk from you house?!

Lots of tears have been shed locally over this unfair system.

Check with the LEA but wait lists usually expire in the March after the last batch of children have been admitted in the Jan.

Also, wait lists are usually dynamic and if people move later into the catchment area and closer to the school then you can move down a list as well as up it.