School catchment area question please

[blackmonday]

we are looking to put our house on the market (mortgage just got massive!) and downsize a bit. This means we will prob have to move just outside the catchment area for the secondary school i want dds to go to. Dd1 is only in reception at mo and i know it's a long way off but all the children from her primary school will be going to this secondary school and i would hate her to eventually have to leave her friends and go to a completely different school. Does primary school have anything to do with getting a place at senior school or is it ONLY to do with where you live? DD2 is at nursery at the moment and if we move we will be out of the catchment for the primary that dd1 goes to but will she get in automatically as her sibling is there? Thanks

I think it would only relate to where you live in relation to the school rather than where your dd is at school at the moment.

Firstly - yes, your DD2 will get in regardless of where you live under the Sibling Rule, provided the school uses the LEA Admission Criteria (Statemented children first, then siblings, then catchment etc).

Re High SChool - depending on how over-subscribed the school is that particular year (do you happen to know if it's a high birth rate year in your area? Were the Reception places oversubscribed?) she might get in anyway. In theory there aren't catchments for High Schools, but where a school is oversubscibed they'll use the rule of Statemented children, then siblings, then children who live closest.

Depends where you live and whether a high or low birth rate year so affecting demand for places and bear in mind systems can change from one year to another. Some around here have a catchment or feeder primaries, some don't, within the same LEA.

Also bear in mind they can change the catchment areas...so all this worry now may be in vain if they move the boundaries anyway - for something which is 6 years in the future.

Check with your LEA - where we live it's based on catchment for senior schools. The primarys feed into seniors but if you had moved out of catchment but were still at the primary it wouldn't guarantee a place at the senior school.

Your DD2 should get into the primary under the sibling rule.

thanks for your messages. i know it's a long way off and things may change but i like to think ahead think i'll phone LEA next week.

Feeder schools count, but not as much as catchment.

I think the order is
Statement of SEN
Sibling at school
catchment.
feeder

The rules may change, but they may not. I was like this when ds was in recption. He is now in Y9, but rules haven't changed at all since then

Can't you extend your mortgae until interest rates come down a bit, rather than move? I was terrified about moving out of catchment and stayed put

there was no sibling policy at our school until this year, so those criteria aren't the be-all and end all

or amend mortgage to interest only?

No, I think it is up to local lea. However sibling rule is so parents have to ferry kids to only one school, rather than lots of different schools

In our LEA the order is:

Statement of SEN

catchment with sibling at school

catchment

feeder school

out of catchment with medical or emotional needs (dd got in on medical)

out of catchment with sibling

out of catchment according to distance