Catchment areas & rightmove

[ChilliBeanSauce]

I’m pulling my hair out, trying to find a property to purchase for myself & 2 children, one of which starts secondary next September. How do I ensure we are in the right catchment ? I need to be in a certain council district (in this case Wyre, Lancs) but what happens if my preferred school (the outstanding one) is 0.2 miles further away than the alternative secondary (which requires improvement so I’m really trying to avoid). Is it the case that I just need to make sure I find a house as close as possible to the outstanding school, or does it not matter if another is slightly closer ? Sorry for what might seem a silly query but kids currently in independent but due to divorce we need to move and I can’t afford to keep them in private. Your advice most appreciated !

Catchment maps should be published alongside admissions criteria, so you should be able to establish exactly there the boundaries are. They can however be changed, but there should be public consultation beforehand (and although it has to be publicised, it's easily missed)

Assuming not Scotland:

Be aware that for very popular schools, living in the catchment may not be sufficient, and of course some areas simply do not have catchments at all.

In those cases, distance to the school is the most likely tie-breaker. This can change year in year, but the 'greater distance offered' by admissions category should be published. But this can vary wildly, with sudden variations such as bulge classes (more places taken by siblings 2-3 years after) or new housing in the area. Best bet in those cases is to get as close to the school as you can.

As an aside, never trust the estate agent version - they misuse terminology, and do not really explain how admissions work, especially faith schools

Right move is notoriously wrong in my area. Look at catchment areas on the council website to be sure.

You may be able to find, on the council website, information about the last admissions round - which schools were oversubscribed/undersubscribed, and the point they reached in their oversubscription criteria. So that might tell you that school A admitted everyone who wanted a place, school B admitted all those with a sibling in the school and those without up to a distance of 2.1 km, and school C admitted all those who met the faith criterion and those who didn't but had a sibling in the school and lived with 3.2km.

That would then give you a good idea of how close you need to be any particular school to get a place, provided there haven't been any major changes (eg to their criteria, or a new housing estate).

www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools/apply-for-a-school-place/apply-for-a-secondary-school-place/?page=4

Next September - September 2021 or next month?

My understanding is that generally catchment areas have been replaced by an admissions policy which sets out priorities, for example Looked-After students (in care), EHCPs, whether siblings are taken into account, additional faith criteria for faith schools. Then for schools which have more applications than places distance critieria will be applied. So if you prefer school A to school B for whatever reason, it doesn't matter that if you're within the distance that year for school A that you happen to live next door to school B. But if school A is so popular that you have to live on the doorstep (that has basically been a case in some years with some primary schools in the borough I live in), it also doesn't necessarily help if you're 4 minutes walk away but there is an undersubscribed one 7 minutes walk away.

Distance criteria vary year to year, so check the website for the council(s) - if you're moving quite near a local authority boundary.

Also do look at the schools themselves and discuss with your kids and check when OFSTED inspections were done and the reasons for the grade - schools can improve or they can get less good - and a school that has improved a lot may have been inspected more recently than one that had OFSTED outstanding several years ago. And look at them in terms of your kids, not just the whole intake.

Thank you @elkiedee - Sep 2021. I’m basically trying to find a house right now within a 10 street radius in order to guad

@ChilliBeanSauce

Thank you *@elkiedee* - Sep 2021. I’m basically trying to find a house right now within a 10 street radius in order to guad

... guarantee a place at our favoured school !

I hate the fact you can’t edit posts on here.. Yes, I understand the priority ranking for admissions. It’s an odd mix in the area we are moving too. Luckily it’s an area that doesn’t have very many/any local grammars to skim off the more academic pupils, which I like. Both schools are on opposite ends of town, but, it’s a small town and I don’t know the area well enough / can’t find any precise postcode catchment info. So just really trying to find a place as close as possible.

Are you actually sure there is a catchment area at all?

Or is it all by distance?

Lancashire doesn't work on catchment, usually after certain criteria it's distance.

I relatively local, which is your preferred school?

@RandomMess sorry about the late reply - I have found a house (& bought it if all goes through) five minutes walk from our chosen Highschool ! It's in PLF and it's the outstanding one. I've heard from a few people that it's different in Lancs but I saw that from 300 applicants last year, 50 or so were turned down and I just don't want to run the risk of not getting a space.

@ChilliBeanSauce if it’s in PLF then I’m pretty sure I know which school you’re after. The distance for admissions is small because it’s oversubscribed but if you’re 5 mins walk away you should be fine. Have you had a look at the furthest distance admitted last year?

Are you going to be able to achieve this by the deadline for applications of 31 October?

@ShakerCan - my estate agents kids go there and he lives quite a bit further away. It's round the corner so we are good now (I hope!) Your local right ? If you have any recommendations for builders / architects etc these would be most appreciated

@Hersetta427 I'm speaking to the local education authority this week - fingers crossed !

Sadly I’ve no recommends for you (I wish). I’m a little further south than PLF but there are some good local Facebook groups that friends are on that you could join & ask. Good luck with the house and school admission. The school is highly thought of. Quite a few friends have kids that go there and they seem pleased with it. It was one of my 3 preferences but always unlikely I’m too far.