School Waiting Lists - there is hope!!

[clux]

Hello

Seeing as its almost time for primary school applications I just thought I'd let you know that even if you don't get your first choice school initially don't give up hope.

We applied last year and didn't get any of our 4 choices. We were offered a school which was near us but which I would never ever send my daughter to. Then a few months later we got offered our second choice school. We were at this stage number 6 on the waiting list for our favourite school. By christmas we'd moved to 3rd on the waiting list. My daughter started at No 2 school on 7th January, then this week we finally got into our first choice school. It's been a long and incredibly stressful journey but we got there in the end.

My poor daughter has had to start 2 schools in 2 weeks but she has been absolutely amazing, and i know she's now in the best possible place.

Good luck to everyone applying now. Hope its not as bad as last year

[mrs.lotte]

Really pleased to hear that worked out for you clux.

However our experience was rather different but I hope no less heartening.

Our son did not get into any of our 4 choice schools (I have a vague recollection that we may have been offered the same school on initial allocation - JD?) we were eventually allocated Goose Green. He started in September and by November we were offered our 4th choice school. He is so happy and settled and doing so well that we did not take up this offer and he remains, thriving at GG reception (The same thing happened with the same results to at least 2 other children in his class)

We have barely moved on the waiting list of our first 2 choices, but thankfully it hasn't mattered.

So - different story BUT same message - there is hope!

[clux]

Hello Mrs Lotte

Yes - we were offered JD!!

Really glad your son is happy - I've heard lots of really good things about Goose Green.

So glad it's worked out ok for us all in the end - it was a horrible horrible time for a few months. I felt completely helpless and like I'd let my daughter down

Now I've got to start applying for nursery for No2!! Hopefully that will be easier!

[nizms]

well done you were lucky im still waiting for my daughter to get a place

[JDR]

As an aside Southwark are being much proactive this year about non applicants that should be applying, is minimising the numbers that apply late and further skew the lists. they are contacting all parents that they have detials for to check (unfortunate that they are aso contacting some parents that have children that have already started school, but better too many than too few)

[intexasatthe moment]

All sounds just like our experience in 1997 - plus ca change !

Good luck everyone - it's a horrible way to start school life and I sympathise with you and your children .

[tallgirl]

I've spoken to couple of parents in the last couple of days who were not aware that they needed to apply for school now, particularly with children who will start next Jan. I've seen very little publicity about it at all. There will be chaos again when the school allocations are published, this time its been deferred until May, ie after the council elections (lewisham's come out in April, like Southwark's usually do) I wonder why?............

[clux]

I have to say, Southwark don't seem to be particularly on the ball. Just had a letter saying i need to apply for a school

place for my daughter to start next year - she started on 7th January!!

It's quite scary

[Vangough]

We aren't quite at the school application time yet (just starting nursery) but as both our local schools slipped down the league tables (again) I am getting worried we'll just get made to send our daughter to one. The other local schools are apparently well out of catchment for us (I've already called them all) I have heard of parents taking places then waiting on lists to actually get their child into another school - can you do this if you're out of the 'official' catchment areas? Does a school have to offer a place to anyone that applies ? (the school I'd like is about 1.2 miles from our home) Advice greatly appreciated !

[Fuschia]

Vangough, you can apply to any school but they offer places in priority order.. for popular schools after siblings and special cases this is limited to children for whom it's their closest southwark school/and within that, by proximity

the next criteria is distance

[clux]

Vangough, we are about 560m from the school we have finally got into - and apparently the distance is getting less every year.

Don't want to be negative but I would think that there are very few schools with a catchment area of 1.2 miles

[Vangough]

Hi thanks, yes I think distance is a problem - neither of the 2 schools closest to us said we were even within their catchment either (we're about 0.4m from both) which is crazy because we have to apply to some schools ! As I say though, both schools have slipped down the league tables again and aren't even near the national average (I know that isn't everything, but I'd like a school that is near-ish national average standards)

When I called up Croydon Council I was told 'don't worry, you'll get a school place' but at a school that is about a 45 min car journey from our house ! That is insane, I worked out with school drops off I wouldn't get into work until after 10.30am ! I think this is alot to do with our location, we're right at the edge of Croydon borough so some schools in Bromley and Southwark/Lambeth are actually closer to us. It's all very confusing. I've been told we can apply to each of the different boroughs though and go on distance...? Has anyone else done that?

The other thing is the reason I have ear-marked this other school is because it is closest to our childminder (although I know we can't use her address). We couldn't find an immediately local childminder who would take our child past 5.30pm ! (useless for those of us who work full time but are not teachers ;)) so we ended up finding a (great) childminder 1.2 miles from us - right next to this school who cares for our daughter until 7pm. If we got offered a place at the schools down our road then we would have to give up our childminder who our DD knows and loves. This fills me with dread as over a period of several months I contacted about 40-50 childminders/nanny-shares/mother's helps etc last time to find childcare anywhere in my area and failed miserably. This is so stressful already :'( probably shouldn't be thinking about it !

[bonaome]

This year's application process has just kicked off. Forms were to be in by Jan 29. You could apply on Southwark's Common Application Form (CAF) for up to four schools. The schools are informed of all the applicants (without the preference order information). Places are allocated by the schools' own admissions staff; first to "looked after" kids and kids with special educational/social/psycological needs. Then siblings (regardless of where the family now lives) are allocated places. Then to the rest of the kids who applied for a place based on who lives closest to the school. This year Southwark adoped 'as the crow flies' as opposed to safest walking distance. If a kid is offered a place from more than one school, the LA offers you the highest preference and rejects the lower preference offer on your behalf, returning that place to the 'pot' the school has to offer places from. A lot of places get released quite late on when it becomes apparent that some kids are going to reject LA offers in favour of going private. If you get offered none of the schools on your list, the LA tries to find a suitable (close as possible) school and makes that offer to you. If that offer is not acceptable to you, you can appeal (waste of time in all but very limited circumstances) and/or go on to the waiting lists.

Next year, there'll be a different system in London. All the London boroughs are going to be using the same unified application form (and I assume process). More like University clearing (as rediculous as that sounds). I guess you'll be able to apply regardless of borough (which you could have this year, you just needed to get the right borough's CAF and none of the local councils predicate offers based on borough residency) and (pure speculation) I expect you'll be allowed more choices. Then I expect allocation will go along much as I describe above - I think perhaps Southwark has changed some of this year's proceedures from last year's to move towards the common London-wide form and process - e.g. straight line, not safest walking distance as the proximity criteria.

In any event, you're probably wasting your time applying to popular schools very far from you. Southwark publish data on how far from the school lived the furthest successful applicant - so you could see last year's figures on their website. Other councils will likely do the same.

It doesn't make any difference which borough you live in. If you live in Croyden 50m from a Lewisham school, you've more chance of getting a place there than a Lewisham resident who lives 51m from the school.

Here are some links for you to start reading up:

Southwark's admissions info:

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/YourServices/educationandlearning/Admissions/startingprimary.html

Southwark Primary Addmissions Scheme http://www.southwark.gov.uk/Uploads/FILE_43652.pdf

Southwark's allocation mechanic http://www.southwark.gov.uk/Uploads/FILE_30482.pdf

A Facebook group dedicated to this very subject http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=120669739604

Finally - beware school league tables and ofsteads. They're not the whole story and I wouldn't take them at face value. They can hide more than they tell. Go and see the schools for yourself before you write them off / jump in.