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definitely try the waiting list too. people move... if she is really wanting to get the child into one of the closer schools she does have the legal right to defer her child's entry into school until the child's 5th birthday and hope a place opens up... might not be a viable option if she works though, and no guarantees a place will become available, the child could end up at the same school but late arriving.
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look on your local council webpage for reception/ primary admissions. I think some areas work on catchments, ours works on distance from your front gate to school gate as the crow flies.Originally posted by alldigging View Post
borough/ county schools usually have admissions priority of 1. child in care 2. special needs 3. siblings 4. distance.
what can sometimes happen is that if the child is 4th priority, in a year with lots of siblings etc, then the distance from the school can be as little as 0.2 miles (my husband worked in a school in London where kids living on the same street as the school didn't get in)
If the parent's first choice school is full by the time the distance criteria moves out to their address, the next school choice will be assessed. if it is also full by the time distance includes their address then the third choice school is assessed... and if you fall into the dead zone just out of reach of all three, you'll get the closest school with places available. Which will usually be a long way away, and undersubscribed because it's atrocious.
Sad but true. When we moved last year, one of the prime things we made sure of on rightmove when property searching was that we were no more than 0.3 miles from a desirable school. Luckliy, it worked for us, but one of the mothers at DH's preschool got a place miles away with no public transport access because she fell into a dead zone address. She's appealing too...Comment
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actually, just checked with DH (teacher)- there is no such thing as a school catchment area: the national criteria are as above. Non borough voluntary aided schools can set their own criteria (mostly based on church attendance), voluntary controlled schools generally have the same admissions criteria as borough/ county schools.Comment
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Different areas must have different policies as we definitely have a catchment area. It's worth about £10,000 on house prices.Comment
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The primary schools in Oldham do not have catchment areas. I have attached a copy of the Starting Primary School Booklet 2012/13. The criteria for Community and Voluntary controlled primary schools is listed on page 4 and criteria for Voluntary Aided and Trust schools is listed on pages 27-52."Comment
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It's looking less and less likely she'll be able to do anything at the appeal - although I will pass on the info about waiting lists and the defering him thing.
Thanks all!Comment
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