In year admission for reception stage schooling

Hello folks,

We have finally managed to get a decent place, closer to work & school. The next major hurdle to cross is to get our child admitted to the school, which is virtually next door to where we live. The child is going to attend reception class and this is going to be treated as an In-year admission.  We checked and confirmed that our house location falls on the Priority Admission Area list for this school. But trying to prepare ourselves in case the school refuses admission to the child..not sure whether this can happen if you are living virtually next to the school building? Understand we can appeal though but can anyone familiar with the process throw some tips that might be useful so we can make up our case.

Many thanks in advance for your help!!

Living virtually next door for normal admission is probably as good as a guarantee as you'd get... for in-year, who knows?  If the school is full the school is full.

Appeals would depend on the local educational authority.

I live about 12 doors away from our local school and didn't get in...but thats another story for another time. If the school isn't full, you should get priority as you recently moved into the area. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply folks.

We called the school and their seats are full so very bleak chances of getting in there this year . I don't know exactly how the appeal process works but so far the thinking is that we would only be able to appeal provided no schools in the are able to admit the child because of no seats.

It would be great to hear from folks who have had success with the appealing process.

Thanks again!

You can appeal, but if there are no places available, its unlikely you will win. If its what they call a class size appeal, its just a formality. You must prove that the admission criteria was not applied properly in your case, its very hard to win an appeal. I only know of one person who has ever won an appeal. That being said, I am sure some people do win appeals.

We appealed and lost and sent our son to a different local school, and it was the best thing we ever did. He loves it and we are very happy. Its a little bit further than the one he was in the nursery at, but it doesn't matter as much as I thought it would. My suggestion is look at some other schools, and see if they have places. Good luck!

Great, good to hear experiences from other community members!

We have waitlist number 2 assigned now for admission to this particular school. We are wondering if it is possible at all to find out any historical data related to this so that gives us an idea of the movement at this school in the last few years. Not sure whether the school admissions will be willing to share these details with us so at least we know that there is a slim chance of getting into the school this year.

The other question is that once the central admissions team proposes another school for our child and we take that slot for now, how would it work if a vacancy opened up at the school next door to us?

Thanks again for your responses folks. Please keep 'em coming!

waiting lists are fickle creatures, they can change at any time with very little explanation. We were first on the list at appeal, then we were told we were second, and on the first day of school we were told we were number six. We were also first on the list at another desirable school, but didn't get a place there! Surely people do get places on waiting lists though, so keep your pecker up.

Have you looked at any other schools in the area?

Hi,

I can't offer much in the way of advice but your thread really caught my attention as we will soon be in the same boat. We are moving from Boston to Bedfordshire in 6 weeks and have a four year old son. The education authority has been helpful and provided a list of schools with spaces, so we could do some research. I am nervous though as he is only at preschool right now and will have missed a whole term.
Good luck, I will be following your progress!

Alex