School offers day 2023

[UsernameOfMine]

So.... secondary school offer day is almost upon us. How is everyone dealing with the wait?

My DD is thinking about it far more than I would have hoped, is counting down the days and asking everyday if they will come out early. She's angry at the council that they can't sort the whole process out in a week. Apparently it's "not that hard to sort it out"🤔 I have tried to explain the process and that it's not just her it's every other child in the district (and neighbouring district as we've applied for schools there too), but she's just being impatient to know.

I'm thinking about it...but I thought I'd be worse with her been dc2 and wanting her to go to the same school as dc1. (No sibling priority at that school) but she's got a good chance of it so trying not to stress.

So how about everyone else?

(I'll help too of course. Been through the appeals process twice and supported a friend through it on med/soc grounds)

Is it just me or is time still dragging so much.

DD wants to visit her school, she wants to meet her teacher, she wants to go buy uniform, she wants to choose school shoes. Been asking her brother about lunches, break times, what she is going to learn and where they will meet after school to walk to meet me. she wants to know she's in a class with her friend, and speaks about that friends other friends (who she doesn't know) as if they're going to be best friends.

It's been 17 days!!! She's going to drive me crazy by September.

Aww bless her. Our area has their school visits/transition days the first week in July. I think this is a sensible time frame as at the moment it's all Sat's focus. It also means there's only 6/7 weeks from transition day to actually starting.

Has everyone received something from their allocated school? I've had nothing.

Ours sent welcome info out once confirmed place. DS looking forward to it but it's too far off for him to be excited or nervous. He seems quite ambivalent about it lol

Also by waiting until July, there is time for movement in waiting lists to settle, and more importantly y11/y13 have gone, leaving room for the upcoming y6s.

I think admin / waiting lists is also why you might not hear anything much until around June half term.

Our secondary visits the main incoming primary schools, talks to the y6 teachers etc to get input to help them bring together tutor groups. It is all time consuming, and obviously the primary schools don't want visits until after SATs.

Our transition days are late June - but they've sent them the "books we like y7 to read" list and DD1 seems determined to get through them all before starting at present!

Book list is a lovely idea! What have they suggested?

We got a lovely letter from DS's new school with some general information ( that's probably on the website anyway but he liked having it) and I've had a link to fill in the forms. All very efficient but as they're very oversubscribed I suspect they want to know sooner rather than later if people aren't taking their places.

We received a welcome email on school offer day and then a letter with an information booklet arrived in the post the next day. Two transition days and a parent and student welcome evening is booked for June.

We had a welcome email / please confirm your place/ welcome pack with information on uniform, supplies list, yr 7 reading list, list of general information etc. We have been told more information and details of transition etc to follow, presumably once waiting list has been dealt with etc.

We had the welcome email and forms to fill in via email on offer day. And a link to the website that has lots of information about transition to secondary school.
We've also had an email with an invitation to come watch the school play.

We've got a parent/child transition evening and transition day...think they're both in July.

This was us locally four years ago, on offer day over 100 children had no school place. Various reasons, some schools had lowered their PAN, more children applying from out of area and less children applying to go out of area. Very limited private schools so that rarely impacts significantly. It was a local spike year.

They all got a place though in the end, some schools increased numbers, and some did get a place out of area, a friend's daughter was home schooled until a place became available at October half term. Going forward a new school was opened the following year (actual building to come)

Update for my cousins child, luckily a family member is a manager in childrens services so could advise her, she went down the route that LA would not offer in care or SEN children inadequate schools as options and that every parent has the right to have their child educated at a grade Good or above. She is currently in discussions with LA about her 2nd choice school and a new school she hadn't thought of but with transport provided so all going well, both rated good and outstanding.

@marblemad I can't see an earlier post about the situation but parents can't negotiate new school offers. They can join wait lists or appeal.. otherwise everyone would use that arguement

I’m also puzzled by this. There is no right to demand that one’s child attends a school rated Good. Requires Improvement schools are still very much part of the admissions process.

Well, discussions could just mean making sure she is on the waiting list under the right admissions category, or how to appeal. The LA may also be suggesting other schools that have spare places that she may not have applied to initially. What it won't mean is "if I scream enough they will give me the place I want".

As Panelchair says, there is no right to a "Good" school, that just doesn't exist much as she might argue it. There is also nothing in law to stop any child, previously in care or with SEN, being offered a "requires improvement" school.

To me it sounds like wait list places but then free transport wouldn't apply as they have got an offer that I presume doesn't require it.

Did got our first choice. We had a letter of welcome and yesterday received and email inviting us to a coffee morning with the head at the end of the month. Choice of 930 Tuesday or Friday, now need to persuade my boss (NHS) to allow me a couple of hours leave on the last week of the financial year...

Thanks for your input… interesting as so many other inputters said that talking about the faith/ethos of the school was important bearing in mind the other schools weren’t offering that. Anyway I spoke to the head teacher eventually.. he was quite perplexed by what had happened… called me back the next morning to say an error had been made by the ‘admissions lady’ who had categorised us into ‘any other faith’ instead of Christian apparently the Methodist association confused her which is concerning for a faith school. Next day offer email came from the LA along with a bunch of flowers from the school to express their apologies. So stressful couple of weeks but sorted now.
Just shows you that it’s good to investigate id have just taken their word for it… I was told there were 800 applications for 196 places so just assumed it didn’t come down to our category which I had accepted.
so glad I didn’t waste my
summer worrying about it and persevered.

I’m glad to hear the error was discovered and you got your place.

I stand by what I and others said - arguments about wanting or not wanting a school of a particular religious character carry no weight at appeal because they relate to parental preference (which is already recorded on the application), not the child’s need.

Has anyone been admitted off the waiting list yet?

No one I know but 10% in our area go private so they will

I think you will find you are wrong on that, every parent and child has the right for equal schooling standards as would be given to LA children. Please educate yourself next time before commenting. The support and guidance was indeed provided by an expert who actually resolved the school placement for the child and parent and not a keyboard warrior on MN. I'm just making sure people are aware of equal rights as ammunition.

I can see you are sincere but I find it hard to believe.
If every child had the same right as LA children then wouldn't all requires improvement / inadequate schools be closed down? Wouldn't appeals have to take into account the Ofsted rating of the offered school (they don't).

I feel as if it is more likely that this argument was used alongside other arguments, and it was other arguments that made the change,

In the same way that some people say 'I only put one school down so they had to give it to me' when actually they just put down a school they met the criteria for.

LA children have additional needs above other children, which is why they are given priority in admissions.

The argument allegedly advanced by the expert doesn't fly.

It is true that looked after and formerly looked after children are the highest priority for admissions and that children with an EHCP don't go through the normal admissions process, so will almost always get the school chosen by the parents. These are legal requirements, not the LA deciding to favour such children. That does not somehow create a right for everyone to have a good or outstanding school. And, of course, children with SEN who do not have an EHCP don't get priority for admissions, so can end up with any school. Parents do not have the right to have their child educated at a school rated good or above. Any parent who took legal action on that basis would lose. Equal rights do not give you any ammunition.

@Marchsnowstorms is correct. Parents cannot negotiate new school offers. They may be able to convince the admission authority that a mistake has been made, in which case the authority is supposed to offer the place that should have been offered. Absent a mistake, the only ways of getting a place are through appealing or via the waiting list. Any school or LA that gives a place to a child through negotiation is in breach of the Admissions Code and hence is acting unlawfully.