Primary waiting lists, appeals and deferred entry

[Renata Hamvas]

As parents have been contacting me asking similar questions, I'd thought I'd post the information here.

Waiting Lists

Your child can move up or down on a waiting list. They move up as children get offered places at the school or if parents say they now want to be taken off the waiting list. Your child will move down a list if the number of children who have priority in accordance with the school's admissions policy increases. Reasons for extra children going into the list above yours include: Children who have a special emotional or physical need that means that this school is more suitable for them. Looked after children (eg Fostered). Siblings-this is where eg a form got lost in the post, or parents forgot to apply or apply and forget to tick the sibling box or an older sibling has recently been offered a place in the school. Distance-where another child lives closer than you and they have moved into the area since the closing date for applications, or their application was received after the closing date. The amount of movement on a waiting list will depend partially on why those at the top of the list are there. If they are there as they are younger siblings, they are unlikely to drop out of the waiting list, while a child who is on the waiting list because it was the families first choice school, and they buy uniform and visit and like their offered school, this latter group are more likely to drop out (particularly as it gets closer to September and beyond).

It is common for a couple of places to become available in September due to families moving home over the summer break. The jump up in waiting list position that may occur then, is not due to 15 places suddenly becoming available, but once children start a school and are happy there, they are more likely to turn down places offered from waiting lists.

Appeals

Appearing before an appeals panel may seem to be a daunting process. The main thing is to stay calm and have your reasons for appeal prepared. Be aware that appeals are long shots and the chance of winning them are slim. The chance is get a place from the waiting list is much higher than from appeal. You may win an appeal if you have social or medical reasons why the school is better than other local schools for your child. Appeals are particularly difficult to win over infant school places as the maximum number of children allowed in a class is 30 and there is little flexibility on this (there is a bit more flexibility with junior classes if space/facilities are available to go above 30). Liking a school, distance (unless your distance has been calculated incorrectly and you can prove it) and even siblings are unlikely to win you an appeal due to the class size regulations. I'm sorry to be negative for those of you going through this process!

Deferred entry

The age at which a child must start school is 5 in the UK. Until this year, Southwark and many other authorities had split entry, some LEAs such as Southwark had 2 entries to reception, others had 3. This September is the first year of single entry to reception ie all children born between Sept 2006 and August 2007 will start primary this September, this has happened nationally. The law on when children must start primary is unchanged, this means that Sept-Dec children must start by Xmas, and Jan to March children by Easter and April to August children by the end of summer term. Even though in theory summer born children could start next September, they can't as they would need to reapply to schools and you are entering a new academic year. I do not encourage parents to defer their child's entry, but they can do it if they wish too. A parent may wish to do this, I suppose if they are top of a waiting list before summer and want to wait and see if a place comes up early in the Autumn term (eg keep them in Nursery a few weeks longer). If parents are deferring they must let Southwark and the school where they are holding a place know so that they don't lose the place they already hold! Parents should think very carefully about doing this as their child will be then joining a class where children know each other and the teacher and the class will be already be following the foundation curriculum.

Renata