moral dilemma over secondary choices.

[KarmaMightBite]

We want our dc to go to our nearest school. It is five minutes walk from our home and is the best school in the local area. However they take from all over a wider area and choose their pupils following assessment. Very few children get into the school that live closest to it.

One of the admission criteria is non statemented medical condition. Dc does have an ongoing condition which for privacy and to prevent bullying as much as anything else would be useful if they could be close to home. We are also currently being assessed for a degree of learning disability.

I originally joked to a friend about using it. She said in all seriousness we should. I've spoken to others and they have all said the same.

I'm not sure I could get the required specialists letter to entitle us to this. I'm not sure I want to. I'm worried that if we push hard and play what feels like games to gain a place it will backfire and dc will not do well or be happy or both.

I would rather play fair with the system, and yet the system doesn't play fair with us! Wwyd?

I'm not quite sure why you feel the system isn't playing fair with you.

If all places are selective, then you're presumably talking about a grammar school. So your DC would need to pass the exam, and would then qualify on either distance or medical grounds.

No its not a grammar school. They take a selection from all academic abilities.

I think you should see whether your daughter's condition comes under their medical criteria. Don't lie or exaggerate, be honest. So ask whether the specialist would be willing to write that in their opinion it would be helpful if your DD is at a school near home for whatever reasons.

If the specialist is happy to write the letter, and if the admissions team accept the argument, then clearly your DD qualifies.
If they don't then she doesn't.

If you don't ask, your don't get.

My DD is adopted, as such she is in the top criteria for schools entry. If I felt that the very high performing school about 20mins drive away was the best school for her, I would have no qualms in applying, even though normally only kids in catchment get in. (As it is I am very happy with the catchment school that she will easily get into anyway).

(Are you saying they use fair banding? Then what - distance or lottery?)

Lottery. :-(
It's part of a group of schools. It's the only one with this admission policy and our nearest one. The rest Base on areas of prime responsibility, most are over subscribed and if we put as second choice are unlikely to get in.

There are academy type schools in my LEA that select pupils using a fair banding system which requires pupils to sit tests and then a certain number of places are allocated from each band by lottery. Is this the types of system you mean?
The schools in my area have medical criteria, but simply having a named condition isn't enough, you need to show (by providing evidence corroborated by medical professionals) that this is the only school that can meet your child's needs. So it may count if this school has specialist facilities that no other schools in the area have, for example.
There's certainly no harm in asking about it but you can still be considered by the usual admissions route if you don't meet the medical criteria. Be careful the school in my area, despite having this criteria, actually has a much lower number of children with SEN than other local schools

and if we put as second choice are unlikely to get in.

That's not true, or at least misleading.

They only take notice of your preferences if you qualify for more than one school, in which case you are allocated the one you preferred.

Consider, if Mary puts school X as first choice and you put it as second behind Y.

If you don't qualify for Y but do for X, and you qualify better for X than Mary (eg you live closer), you will get the space, not her.

Unless you mean you are too far away on distance to other schools to get in? So you are in some kind of random black hole?

the rest Base on areas of prime responsibility, most are over subscribed and if we put as second choice are unlikely to get in.
Not true OP. The schools themselves don't know what order you have placed them on the application form. If your nearest school is lottery then you must also have a chance at your second nearest school.
So if you have 3 preferences they are all equal and if you don't meet the criteria for the first (lottery school) and live closer to school 2 than another family, your child can still be offered a place at school 2 regardless of where you listed it on your application form.

No not too far, and actually that is helpful to know. Our second choice might be a bit of a punt but the third choice we would still be fine with. Thank you for that.

And yes, the only thing that the school has is that it is close enough for dc to get home from at lunch to do medical procedure in private in own home.

You might be pushing it with that then, as the school will have a medical room that presumably would be suitable (?) (or maybe not of course depending on the condition).

cats explained equal preference much better than I did.

Do whatever you can to get your child into the school that will be best for her. Of course it is unfair that she has caring, committed parents who have the education and energy to jump through the right hoops to get her a medical assessment, while other children don't have parents who can do this for them. That is just the way life is though; you might as well say that it is unfair that she was born in a rich democracy, while other children face war and famine. The system of the world isn't playing fair with anyone.

I am not suggesting that you lie, but if you can get a doctor's note, then I think you should do it, especially as the school is in walking distance: you are saving the planet.

Every family should have a fantastic school that suits their children within walking distance.

Agree with teenandtween. It's not the closeness to home that's the main issue here it's the facilities actually provided at the school. So if lottery school 1 has a medical room and safe storage area for the equipment needed but schools 2 and 3 don't, this could mean that your child will meet the medical criteria. It doesn't guarantee it though.
What do you do at primary school BTW does your child have a medical Care Plan which spells out what their needs are? This will need to be revised for when your child starts secondary school and it will need to be clear areas are essential and which are only preferences.

There are some conditions that a school medical room is simply not able to handle. And not always because of complexity of the procedure. If they do not have an ensuite private bathroom for example. If a specialist were to make this clear I think you would be fine.

This has all happened in the last year. And dc has told all at school what they have to do. However they are anxious about starting a new school and want to try and keep it private. They are bullied atm, but not necessarily about issue, just that they are set apart. Also all the toilets are individual rooms, which won't be the case at secondary. Have spoken to one school who's solution was to offer a toilet pass, which would only highlight an issue to have on a long term basis I thought.

I think I'd just like them to get there on their own merit.

The condition may be curable, but the cure is labour intensive and I don't know enough about at present.

Thank you for all your input. We're viewing again this week so will make a final decision and see about contacting people if that's what we decide to do.

I don't know why you wouldn't present her medical condition as part of her application. If they reject it, so be it. But I'd add it in a heartbeat if I strongly preferred that school and thought it might help. If your child's medical condition is 'playing the system', well so is listing religion or sibling relationship, musical talent & all the other admission criteria schools offer.

It's not playing the system. Their rules either let a kid in or they don't. You're not giving fake information or trying to change the rules, are you? You're just giving full information in the application.

No you are not playing the system the reason the medical criteria is there is to provide places for dcs who need them. By all means ask medical professionals to write letters to support your application. This needs to be done and all supporting documents provided before the deadline.
Only the experts receiving your application can make a judgement about whether your child will qualify for a place or not so it's hard for us on here to tell. It's definitely worth a try but is not 100% guaranteed.

Also on her own merit is all very well, but the places are allocated by lottery anyway so merit doesn't really come into it. It is not as if an average child is being bumped to a super-selective grammar.

Yes put it in. Depending on which school we put first we may put an exceptional circumstances application in for ds3. If you're entitled do it. They may ignore it, but then you're just in the same position you would have been without it.

I don't see any moral dilemma here. Your child may be entitled to priority on medical grounds. Applying for that is not playing the system or doing anything even vaguely dodgy. Send them the evidence and let them decide.

I'm with the majority here. Your child has a medical condition and management of that condition may be easier if they are at a school close to home. You are allowed to raise a medical condition as potential reason for admission priority. You aren't gaming the system you are listing a matter possibly relevant to admissions on the admissions form.