Primary school choices

Oh Soutra! 4 and a couple of days! Here the youngest they can possibly go is 4.5. My DGS will be one of the oldest in his class at 5.5 in August. One start date is fine as far as I'm concerned. There will be no problem next year as little sis will turn 5 in July and will also automatically go to the catchment area school. As it is she has another full year part-time in nursery.

I do understand the maths penstemmon but wonder if a staggered intake might add some flexibility perhaps moving the oldest up to Y2 Pus when did children start school at 4? Purs went at 5 or "rising five" i.e. in the term when they turned 5. DGC3 is due at the end of August so in a few years could be starting school aged 4+ a couple of days. I lnow DGS is keen to go to "big echool" he will be 4+4 months.so young!

I agree, mcem. Not giving siblings priority so that younger sibs can go to the same school as theirs elder brothers and sisters is just potty. It sounds as if the system in some parts of England needs a good, sensible overhaul.

Perhaps more schools are needed too?

I have been fortunate to live in places in England where my kids just went to the nearest school (or the one in whose catchment area they lived in if they were near a catchment border), as I and my siblings did when we went to school.

The same in Scotland. When DH was house-hunting in Scotland and I wasn't because I was still in England, my main requirement other than it be livable in was that the primary school, which we could assume Minibags would get a place in, should be within walking distance – just over a mile as it happened and she managed fine from five and a half.

Well I certainly prefer the Scottish ( and apparently similar Swiss systems). Mrs T didn't bring her influence to bear here as far as education Is concerned and we don't pretend that it's ok to 'buy your way' indirectly into state schools.

I am amazed apricot that parents are expected to contribute towards school even though it is a faith school.It goes against everything I expect from the LEA who I thought maintained these schools.Am I wrong?

My daughter in London was hugely relieved to get a place for her second child at first child's very over-subscribed school. With both parents working full-time it would have been impossible to get them to two different schools.
To have any chance of a place at this small church school, parents must attend church regularly for years and contribute by direct debit monthly, suggested amount £50. This has been a strain on top of childcare costs of over £1000 monthly, and that doesn't stop when children start school.
Schools in London are a nightmare.

Parental choice is a two edged sword- if places are given to people outside catchment area because a school is popular- that means that there may not be places for local people.

Here where I live (abroad) there is no parental choice- children go to the local school- and that's it. No religious schools, no 'academies' (?!?) - and here, no private schools either (although this is an option in Zurich or Geneva, mainly for expats though). Much better imho- as all parents, be they rich or poor, religious or not, etc- work TOGETHER TO ensure ALL kids get a good education. Brilliant I say.

My DGS turned 5 in March and will start school mid-August. It's about a mile away and next-door to his nursery. He and little sister have often walked with me. He was allocated his place automatically as he lives in the catchment area so is Priority 1. Had my DD not wanted him to go there, she would have submitted a placing request to the school of her choice. If a school isn't filled with Priority 1 kids, then surplus places are allocated to those who are priority 2 or 3. He'll then progress to the secondary school (actually an academy but not in the English sense) which draws from the 3 local primaries. Seems a simple and relatively satisfactory system not complicated by tortuous systems of choosing.

Parental choice has always been a myth. I spent many hours on appeals committees and we were rarely able to change the school to which a child had been allocated, in spite of some parents bringing in legal advisers. My new neighbour has been unable to get her teenage daughter into the local high school and has to send her to a school in a neighbouring authority. This means that she will not make friends within her own neighbourhood. When we moved north in 1985, our authority had an inflexible rule that children would be accepted in the school in whose catchment area they lived. Things have changed!

Soutra it does not matter if you stagger the intake or not. If you have 90 paces for that age group it remains 90 no matter if they start in Sept/Jan/April.

I do think it would be a brave government that, once and for all, de-bunked the myth of choice and simply set flexible catchment areas. Flexible because each year there are different numbers of kids in any given area. But if the criteria was the shortest possible walking route that might help!

If my memory serves me right it was a change made by one Margaret Thatcher. She set up the idea of parental right to choose a school. In my experience the 'choice' has always been pretty limited.

It is very hard when little kids have to walk a long way to school, especially in wet and cold conditions. I know all about disappointed parents. The last school where I was head was not always the first choice of families. We were on the edge of social housing estate and also served a local asylum seekers hostel and a Women's Refuge. Local owner occupiers applied to schools further away but were often 'disappointed' to be given a place with us. Those parents who came with a positive, if disappointed, attitude were those whose kids settled well and thrived. Children of disappointed parents who always considered us as 'also ran' found it harder because they were aware their parents did not rate us!

Then hopefully she has a good case G47 to take to appeal.

SOUTRA

Sorry about gobbledegook! Correcting/editing on my phone is a random process!! Should have read "made it harder"

Commiserations to your DD granny47 I tead that in one (presumably London) borough 75 children wrre offered no place at all. I wonder if admitting the whole year's intake in September instead of staggering it over the 3 terms, exacerbates the situation?It may also be possible that placing twins to.getrmher made it harder. It won't make you feel any better when I say how relievef DD and SIL wrre when DGS1 got his first choice last week. It takes the pressure off DGS2 in 2 years and although it is a drive it is doable wich will be so much easier as DGC3 is likely to be a matter of days old at the start of term!

Yes, it's certainly not an ideal situation, Granny47 and very frustrating for your DD and SIL. I hope it can be resolved - I suppose the fact that there are two children to be placed adds to the problem, but that's hardly anyone's fault!

Granny 47 , I see your point entirely, hope things can get sorted out to everyone"s satisfaction.

Yes my daughter does have a car but she also works & has to leave at 8am. Her husband can take them & he will. However she did fill out the form with her 6 preferences & this school is in another area & was not on the list.

My son in law would like to walk them to school but this will be along a heavy trafficked road. Not very healthy. I think 1.3 miles is a long way for 4 year olds in addition to getting used to a full day in school.

She is contacting the LA on Tuesday & will go and see the school but this is still a distressing & somewhat bewildering, situation when her friends have all been allocated local schools.

My G/S walk a mile or so to school !
Do not seem to do them any harm !
Probably good for them!

I said it isn't that far, GrannyTwice. The OP stated it wasn't possible to walk that distance - but as her daughter has transport that's not really the point.

I agree with Tanith. Just what is the LA supposed to do if they don't have enough places at the popular schools?

Has she called the LA and asked about the other 13 schools? I think I would do this before contacting a lawyer, that seems like overkill to me.

I walked further than that to my first school and didn't give it a thought. Walked with my big sister.

The date of sending out the letters is a national agreement, perhaps it just turned out to be a bank holiday this year because Easter is late, not to annoy parents.

I live right near a school and amazes me the amount of 4/5yr olds who are wheeled to school in pushchairs, lazy parents encouraging lazy kids . My youngest grandchild's pushchair broke when she was 2 and a bit, she has walked or ridden her bike most places since then .

Though you may have to walk the last half mile as everyone clambers to get as close as possible in case any of the little precious dears get cold or worse still have to walk too far.

Ducks for cover

Not by car.

Sorry - two 4 year olds?