How exactly do schools work and how do I get my son into a school.

[shinybaubles]

I am currently living in Belgium and my ds1 who is 4 has been at school here for a couple of years, we will be moving back to the UK in time for September 2011. We will be living somewhere to the west of London I am guessing and I was wondering how and when do I apply to get my son into a school, I am currently thinking both private and state at the moment,but is there a deadline for applying in general, and what year would he be entering, since he will be 5 next September?
Is there anything I should know, do or avoid. To be honest I am not sure where to start or when? Help please

If I could afford it, I'd probably go private. They encourage sports in a big way, more engineering and other subjects state schools don't offer but there are also some really good state schools and probably not that great private schools.

You need to apply before December the year before they start although your DS wouldn't be in reception and so the dates might be different. Have a look at the county council website for the area where you'd be living and go to the schools section, where there'll be a bit on how to apply.

You need to check the admissions information for the local authority in which you will be living - and those nearby if you don't know exactly where.

I'm in Surrey, and will be applying for DS to start school in September 2011. State school applications have to be in by 15th January 2011, and can be made online from September 2010.

If he will be 5, he should go into Reception (Year 0 effectively).

For private schools, I think they usually have a closing date of around January 2011, but you'd need to check with each individual school as they will vary.

Thanks lucie - I am leaning towards private unless there is a good state school nearby but the problem is choosing where to live and I guess until that is sorted the school will be a bit of a problem. Is it just the case of applying in December and getting in? Here there is staggered intake through out the year so they take in new pupils following every holiday and half terms - dependent on age - is that the same?

Ah just noticed he's 4 now, in which case he will go into Year 1, as he will be 6 in September 2011. In which case I think the process will be different and you can just approach the schools you want to go to and see if they have space for him. If not he can go on the waiting list, and his position on the waiting list will depend on the admission criteria, so if you end up living close to the school there's a good chance you could be at the top of the waiting list.

Megan you have confused me lol but that is easily done he was born March 2006 - so in September 2011 he will be 5 - I hope.

Do you have to apply to your closest school or can you apply to any school, here we can apply to any school in the area. And is it ok to apply to more than one school?

so he'll be in reception then. In that case, you'll need to apply by 15th jan 2011 - maybe double check the dates for your LEA.
Different school have different intakes for reception year. So at our current school, they only have one september intake but the school where dd was last year had 3 intakes (suffolk) in september, xmas and easter but I think is becoming less common now.
Yes you can apply to more than one school - if it's in the same county, you get a choice on your form of so many. They usually say if you only put one, you limit your chances but for us, there was only one in our close vicinity and they do their own admissions so we were okay.

It is confusing, isn't it, but no he will go into Year 1, not Reception in September 2011 if he is 4 now.

Although he will be 5 in September 2011, he will be 6 during the academic year (in March 2012). I interpreted your "he will be 5 next September" as meaning that's when his birthday was, but as his birthday is in March, he will be 5 in March 2010, so if he were in the UK, he would be starting school in Reception this September.

Is that less or more confusing

Thanks Lucie, for all the help, do you happen to know if there is a thread somewhere I can ask about advice on where to live?

sorry meant "he will be 5 in March 2011"

Private Schools all have different dates you can look up there details on the ISIS (independant schools information service) website. In my DDs case a child joined in september sho was registered the Friday before term started on the Tuesday.
This does depend on how many children are already registered and what the class size cap is as it vaires from school to school. The website will give you contact details and then you can progress from there.

Thanks MeganMog so he will start year 1 in Sept 2011, do private schools also call it that? And will they expect him to be reading and writing - despite starting school here very young it's play based learning and they don't teach literacy until they are 6 years old.

yes - private schools have year numbers the same etc. They call it pre-prep for foundation stage, then prep.

Think private schools are generally a bit futrther on than state schools by reception/yr 1 but they should send you a pack of information explaining if you need to do anything the year before.

Perhaps knowledge of numbers to 10 and going through the alphabet and writing his name. More if he can but I'm sure it's not vital and they all catch up. I would tell them though he's been living in Belgium and so won't have been taught literacy.

He's the same age as my DD so will be going into year 1 in Sept 2011. so for state school you need to follow the LEA "transfer at other than normal times" process. For private school you need to contact the individual schools to determine whether they have any places. I would think your main issue will be finding a school that has places.

Thanks lucie and everyone loads of useful advice. He can count and do his name and a bit of maths.
Redskyatnight - is it an issue to find a place at his age. I guess I will have to apply to several schools in several different areas since we don't know where we'll live.

GiddyPickle we won't have an address until next summer maybe even August 2011, so does that mean we will be unable to apply to a state school? I guess then there is no choice but to go to private.

Yes that's right - and where you were offered would depend on which schools had vacancies at that point. You could be lucky and chance upon a vacancy at a good school, but it's more likely that given the short notice you'd be allocated to one not so good.

If you can afford it, then going private will allow you to plan ahead and choose a school for your DS based on what is the right school for him, rather than taking pot luck..

In terms of a state school, most seem to have admissions based on distance so if you move next door to a school you jump to the top of the list.

If you find a state school you like you would have to rent a house next door and hope that someone leaves at the end of reception. Clearly there is more chance of this happening at a 3 form entry school (ie one with 90 kids per year) than a smaller school.

Not having an address until August would be cutting things a bit fine as I imagine if someone left at the end of reception they'd tell the school in June/July to the place would already be allocated.

If you afford private it would be easier to plan ahead as they will not care where you live.

Thanks for the help I think given our circumstances we will have to go private.

Don't assume you have to go private Shinybauble, plus the fact that at least around here Private schools can be full for the early years too. Decide roughly where you want to live - based on where people work and how much commuting they want to do. Then start lokking at schools. You will be applying for Year1 so will count as an "out of year" application, people do move all the time, and if someone is you may well get a place. You can apply to any school you like the look of, as long as you are prepared to transport your child there.

Someone else said that for Surrey you have until January to apply for a reception place. That is wrong, the Surrey deadline is the end of October, the same as for senior school. I don't want anyone to miss out due to confusion.

Thanks mummytime we just need to live somewhere so that we can drive to West London in under an hour, but that seems to make it a very large area to look at.

mummytime - I thought that originally about Surrey too, but when I went to check, it does actually say that for infant/primary schools, the closing date is 15th January 2011. Secondary schools still have the October deadline. See here

I plan to apply online in September just to be sure..

Wow they've changed it I wonder why? They still recommend 21st October though.