CAF submitted

[hornetgirl]

Done it, CAF submitted for year 7 places. Now the long wait until March 1st 2016. Anybody else pressed the submit button yet?

Can I ask though. Only last week did a headmaster of a very popular over subscribed school in the South West tell me that I must put his school first if I wanted any chance of getting a place. This is just bull yes?

Agree with tiggy and prh who have interpreted this correctly for schools with a distance criteria. This school could be a banded lottery school (there is one in the South West where with no siblings or SEN etc, there are approx 10 applicants per place) in which case distance isn't a factor. I would assume that for banded lottery schools every applicant is ranked in order for each band.

My area may be an exception, where this statement has been relevant:
Can I ask though. Only last week did a headmaster of a very popular over subscribed school in the South West tell me that I must put his school first if I wanted any chance of getting a place. This is just bull yes?

There are two schools in a catchment area. Historically, one over-subscribed, one under. Selection is by lottery once the SEN/LAC/Sibling bit has done. If you put School A (oversub) first - you may or may not get a place depending on the lottery - you may get School B. If you put School B first, you will get School B, as they can offer places to all who want it.

In this case, the Head of School A would be correct to say that if you want a chance (and it is only a chance in the lottery), to get a place in his school, then you have to put School A down as your first choice.

Having said that, with the pressure on school places, last year both schools were oversubscribed, so for the first time, that advice would no longer be relevant. Some people got offered neither school till they got all cross and the LA forced the schools to take all the extra pupils.

Sorry to pick your brains again experts but could I please ask another question?

Our application form asked if DC was a child of a Crown Servant. Would this make any difference for a 'normal' secondary application? I thought it matters if its to do with a child moving house or something like that, but would it change anything for a simple 'going from juniors to secondary' application?

Yes, submitted ours on Monday night. We are in a very lucky position as a pp is that we know that we will get our 1st choice but I was shaking like a leaf clicking on submit just in case I had made a mistake!

Can I just ask a question? We have put in an application for our first choice school to admit ds3 under exceptional circumstances (to do with family situation/disabled brother). I have explained why it is the only school that can fully meet his needs & the family social worker has put in a supporting letter. The school said the LA decide whether it meets the criteria or not - is there any transparency to this process?

Ds3 'should' (fingers & toes crossed & touching every bit of wood I can see) get in on distance anyway, but Is the LA likely to pay attention to it the supporting evidence etc. how do they decide whether he fits the criteria (it would put him just below looked after children/children with EHCP's etc)

No that makes sense! Thank you. The school have been pretty transparent - it's the LA that decides which makes sense as the LA does their admissions. The LA specifically names a social worker's letter as being relevant supporting evidence so we have that. It says it has to be the only suitable school (which we have addressed in our comments). So hopefully if they cock up we have enough evidence for appeal. Am really hoping it does not come to that.

Just looked at last year & they DID admit someone to our first choice school under exceptional circumstances. Fingers crossed this means the LA has a process!

Actually scrap that - there were zero applications made under exceptional need last year. So they may not have a clue what to do!

Submitted mine with just one choice on it.

Massively oversubscribed school which selects by lottery once its looked after children, 15% scholarship places, and sibling places have been handed out.

Having nightmares that something will stop ds getting his sibling place (ds1 started in year 7 this year).

He's applied for a scholarship place but I don't think he'll get one. It's going to be hard telling him - he really wants one and ds1 got one last year with very little fuss.

Good luck everyone. We will have to meet up on this thread in March for updates.

I really hope all the siblings get their places. Our application is for PFB, I think it will be much more stressful in a couple of years for DC2. When they were small I thought it wouldn't matter if they went to different secondary schools as they would be soooo old and independent by that point. Now it is looming it doesn't feel like that at all!!

mini
So what you are saying is you are 100% confident you will get a sibling place, so have only put that on the form?

You are braver than I am.

I am 100% confident DD2 will get a place at our chosen school as she is ex-looked after (and we are also in catchment, and at linked primary school).

But even I put down a second choice!

Devilish: does the Social Worker's letter name the specific school as well as stating the need? The advice I was always given was that the expert had to be specific about the school.
I do hope it all goes through hassle-free.

The thing is Teen, that there is simply no other school that he could get into that I would consider sending him to.

Our catchment school, where most of his friends are going, is part of a massive academy chain and particularly crap with special needs. He has autism, no statement, and will sink like a stone in that setting. There are other schools with much higher numbers of children with sn that he could get into but they are socially challenging places with very few high achieving kids. For a bright boy with a short temper, no tact, and tendency to argue with teachers and other kids it would be.... um, probably a disaster.

I'll have to home school if he doesn't get in. Bung him on waiting lists and sit it out.

OK could someone explain why you are using the CAF to apply for school, the CAF is a common assessment frame work and is a nightmare piece of paperwork that follows you about which in theory gets school, medical people and social workers (should they be involved) to sit in a room together to deal with the issues a child has. Has some idiot managed to give important serious paperwork the same acronym as the schools application process?

[confuse]

Going back down the thread a bit, the banded lottery is not always as it seems - it suggests that equal numbers from each band are admitted, but it depends on how they've worded the admissions.

For example, it may be '50 from each band' in which case, each band will have an order of priority - which may be along the lines of 'looked after children, siblings, random allocation', and could conceivably result in siblings not getting a place.

However it may also be that places are allocated before that - so 'children with SENs', 'LA children', 'siblings' and only then does the random allocation come into play - so there may be more in one band than the others iyswim.

Is complex!! But yyyy to not worrying about a strategic order, put them in the order you want them!

Submitted Dd2's on 1st September. Hoping for an easier ride this time. For Dd1 we got 3rd choice. Appealed for 1st choice but were unsuccessful. Stayed on waiting list and eventually got a place in December after doing a term at 3rd choice school. Dd2 should get in as a sibling but won't relax until 1st March.

I'm just trusting that as siblings is the third category for admissions and it's a big school with an intake of 240 in each year, it's unlikely to be too problematic getting a sibling in (first and second categories are looked after and scholarships which are 15% of intake).

I only work evenings and weekends so I'm around if home schooling becomes necessary.

Blu - yes. SW has named the school & said why it will meet ds3's needs.

To be considered under exceptional circumstances the LA says it has to be the only school that can meet needs. We've addressed that in our statement. I have put a second & third choice & given the same reasoning for these starting with 'while Is the only one that can fully meet ds3's needs this school has a reputation for good pastoral care & is on an easy bus route (or something like that). I didn't want to leave 2nd & 3rd choice blank, but that backs you into a corner re exceptional circumstances being the 'only' school.