School Offer - What does Other preference mean??

[elsa109]

Hi,

Our DD has been offered a secondary school placement which was not one of our preferences. On the offer letter they have put the offer school as "Other Preference". Is this normal? Why have they called it a preference when we didn't put it down as one?

Thanks

Council policy says transport is provided if they have offered the nearesr school with available places, which they have. Doesn't matter if I put a third preference or not, so no need for the mis-information for others reading this. Please remember, anyone reading this it's different for each district.

I have also said multiple times in the thread our first preference is our nearest school.

Dropping her part way is an idea, but is such a commute really something a child should have to do everyday? It was our choice to put the catchment school or not - we didn't have to and we chose not to. It isn't the closest school to us, and that was one of the reasons. I would recommend to any one on here that you please do your research before giving people advise, because quite a lot of it here is district dependant and not correct. It's important you don't mis-inform any one who comes across threads like this on google.

I was asking a question about the fact they've said I put the offered school as one of my preferences. No need for a lecture about the third preference, i'm quite aware we didn't put one, and that was our choice :)

Dropping her part way is an idea, but is such a commute really something a child should have to do everyday? It was our choice to put the catchment school or not - we didn't have to and we chose not to.

No, I agree that I would not want my child to make that commute. However it's on the edge of being within the 75 minutes that apparently is "acceptable" and I expect you've been offered it on the basis that the journey can be made in 75 minutes.

Unfortunately, in not putting your catchment school on the form (would your DC have got a place if you had?) you are implicitly saying that you are prepared to accept any school if you don't get allocated either of your first 2 preferences.

I agree that "Other preference" is poor wording. In our LEA they say something like "offered school not in preferences" which is perhaps more accurate but a bit of a mouthful for the form. Maybe "Other" would have been better?

I'd suggest going on waiting lists for any school that might be better/closer and hoping for movement between now and September.

Without lecturing you, OP, it is absolutely the right advice to (a) use all the preferences and (b) put as your last preference a school that you are pretty certain to get into, even if you don’t like it much, as long as you would prefer that to being assigned a school you didn’t like that was further away.

Just for people googling and finding the thread.

Good luck on the waiting list for your catchment school and nearest school and I hope the transport works out if you don’t get a closer school

Every year admissions teams across the country advise parents to use all their preferences and to list realistic schools. How many minutes and how many stops is the fastest train service?

Regardless of whether you put this school as a choice or not, it sounds like you are entitled to school transport. I would be pushing for an answer from LA about what their proposed solution is - I would be pushing for a taxi tbh, if they aren’t going to alter a school bus route to include your DC. You don’t know what other children have also been offered a place there, so it may be that one taxi could pick up two or three children. This is what happens for our school.

@shockeditellyou
Some LA's won't give you transport if you didn't put your catchment school, even if it was your last preference.

@elevens24 The OP has confirmed that her council will provide transport if they have offered the nearest school with spaces, even if you didn’t list it.

Yes I think this is usually the case but the OP says fortunately it isn’t for her.

Well, you wouldn't be offered it - because you didn't put it down as your third preference. And I'm guessing it was significantly closer than the school you have been offered.

Did you submit an appeal?

The only realistic advice regarding a different school than the one you've been offered is to ask to be put on the waiting list for closer schools and be prepared for a place to come up between September and Christmas if nothing happens before the end of July - but as appeals are currently taking place, you might find that one comes up earlier, especially as Y6/7 is a common time for people to decide to move area altogether. But don't EHE - if you say you're doing that, the LA doesn't have any further obligation towards you.

Where I live, the free transport provided is a bus pass. So although it would save a lot of money it won't make the journey shorter.

Why on earth did you not a) use all your preferences and b) make sure you put the catchment school or a school you were very likely to get as a back up?
Schools warn parents about this every single year and yet every year we have parents who ignore our advice and then ask us to help pick up the pieces.
I wish you luck in getting it sorted but I've already seen a few of these posts and I hope they serve as a warning to parents. We still have the parents who only put one school down thinking they can somehow hold the local authority to ransom. It's so frustrating.
I have genuine sympathy for those who don't get the schools they want when the have followed the process correctly but it's hard to remain patient when you spend hours every year trying to sort this out for parents who ignore your explicit instructions repeatedly. There is always at least one. I feel so sorry for the poor children stuck in limbo and worried about what will happen and getting upset when their friends are all discussing their Secondary schools excitedly. It's so upsetting to see- especially when the vast majority of the time it's preventable.

Best of luck, but as you didn't put the catchment school, not sure if you fall under the transport rules. It's always a gamble putting only where you want to go, and not where you should go, especially if you're trying to get into an oversubscribed school. Can you go on the waitlist for your catchment school?

The transport may be a taxi. Not everywhere has schol buses.

A local authority is not going to pay for a taxi (and someone to go in it to accompany the child) for five years to a school eighty minutes away.

'Transport' will be a bus pass or in some cases you get a grant for the same amount of money as the bus pass that you can use as you see fit for transport.

OP: go on the waiting list for every school locally that your Dd could get to.

At this stage you can apply to and go on the waiting list for as many schools as you like.

The fact that they use the word ‘preference’ is immaterial and means nothing. It’s just the allocated school, the one that had places left after they allocated places to your catchment school to everyone who actually listed it.

Good luck, there is usually a lot of movement over the summer.

@LittleBrenda when my DD had school transport it was indeed a taxi! Its actually pretty common.

Of the journey is 80mins via two buses, walking and a train it may not be 80mins door to door in a taxi.

I assume you didn't select a third preference because you incorrectly thought by putting 2 choices you would get one. Unfortunately by doing this you shot yourself in the foot as they have in effect chosen an "other" for you. Some parents try to play the system in this way but invariably are then put out when they don't achieve their desired outcome.

You will need to ask whether there are other schools that have spaces available that may be more acceptable to you or of not accept the school offered and keep checking and asking about in year applications elsewhere or home school.

They do in our county! It does make me wonder how the LA afford all these.

Of the journey is 80mins via two buses, walking and a train it may not be 80mins door to door in a taxi.

I realise that but local authorities do not routinely put children in to taxis to take them to secondary schools.

Have a look on your own LA's website and see what they offer. I've worked in this area for decades.

Put yourself on the waiting lists for all other possible schools and hope one of them comes up.

That will likely depend on the topography of the LA. A rural LA and urban/suburban LA will have quite different approaches because they have to.

They do in our county!

Where do you live? I would genuinely think that there is some sort of corruption/back hander type situation going on here as it costs thousands and thousands of pounds.

That will likely depend on the topography of the LA. A rural LA and urban/suburban LA will have quite different approaches.

That's why the grants are also offered. In case there is no public transport.

I think some LEAs/counties do have a school bus type system but that's a different kettle of fish to paying for taxis for children to go to school.

A bus pass is only useful if there is a feasible bus route. Which isn't always the case when the child is rural or lives miles from allocated school.