Primary school admissions etc....

[thelittlemermaid83]

Good luck, Emma - I know making these choices is really stressful. I had a similar situation with DD1 - she was in the preschool onsite, all her friends were starting at the infants and it seemed so right for her. Unfortunately it made me completely rule out the school further up the road. I ended up transferring DD1 to the school up the road when she was in year 2. I have never felt so stressed over the children! The school wasn't what I had expected it to be (to say the least) and it was a really hard decision to take her away from her friends. Thankfully, everything turned out for the best. I think what I'm trying to say is that you should try to keep an open mind and check out all of your options - you might be pleasantly surprised!

Thanks hun, its so hard trying to decide what is best for your child. I will deffo be having a look around at the other schools local to me before i hand in my application form.

Can i ask why you transferred your DD?

 

[joolz1910]

Thanks hun, its so hard trying to decide what is best for your child. I will deffo be having a look around at the other schools local to me before i hand in my application form.

Can i ask why you transferred your DD?

The short version is that her year 2 teacher was *ahem* less than supportive and that there was a disturbed little boy in her class who made DD's life somewhat difficult. She still misses some of her friends but she adapted very quickly and is doing so much better at her new school. Kids are more resilient than we think.

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

The short version is that her year 2 teacher was *ahem* less than supportive and that there was a disturbed little boy in her class who made DD's life somewhat difficult. She still misses some of her friends but she adapted very quickly and is doing so much better at her new school. Kids are more resilient than we think.

Oh no your poor DD

I sometimes wish i had DD's dad to consult with on choices like education, im just scared i'll make the wrong decision, least if he had a say i could lay half the blame on him if it all went wrong

 

[joolz1910]

Oh no your poor DD

I sometimes wish i had DD's dad to consult with on choices like education, im just scared i'll make the wrong decision, least if he had a say i could lay half the blame on him if it all went wrong

I asked mu DH and he said, 'It's up to you!'

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Kyra said she wants to go to a school where she can become a qualified Fairy

 

[joolz1910]

Kyra said she wants to go to a school where she can become a qualified Fairy

fairy nuff. I'm hilarious.

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

fairy nuff. I'm hilarious.

 

[Dimplenose]

Oh no your poor DD

I sometimes wish i had DD's dad to consult with on choices like education, im just scared i'll make the wrong decision, least if he had a say i could lay half the blame on him if it all went wrong

I feel the method of choosing schools puts such pressure on parents and leaves us feeling as if it is our fault if the school we choose doesn't live up to expectations. When DS was at infant school another parent moved her child away and that got me thinking, "What's wrong, what have I missed?" In truth nothing was wrong for my child.

I'm sure in most cases the choice of school will be OK as long as there's plenty of support at home and a good line of communication with the staff.

Try and relax, you seem very caring and I'm sure that will go a long way where Kyra's education is concerned.

P.S. I don't think fairy classes are a part of the national curriculum.

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Try and relax, you seem very caring and I'm sure that will go a long way where Kyra's education is concerned.

Thanks Libby

P.S. I don't think fairy classes are a part of the national curriculum.

Do you fancy breaking that news to my DD

 

[joolz1910]

I feel the method of choosing schools puts such pressure on parents and leaves us feeling as if it is our fault if the school we choose doesn't live up to expectations. When DS was at infant school another parent moved her child away and that got me thinking, "What's wrong, what have I missed?" In truth nothing was wrong for my child.

I agree. In my case, my friend still has her 3 children at the school that I moved DD from. She is happy with it and her children are happy there. I think the expression is 'horses for courses'. I wanted to let you know that, even if you don't make the right decision first time around, it's not the end of the world.

 

[T16GEM]

Good luck Emma, Shelby has been accepted into the pre school at the school we really want her to go to next year, they take 40 children in the am and 40 in the afternoon session, they also have 36 families waiting for a place! The school has been ranked outstanding in it's Ofsted reports for years so it's really popular, I think we were lucky to get a place. We live 5 houses from the school so I think that may have been our saving grace.

We couldn't get our two into their Nursery though due to being over subscribed and I really wanted them to go there so that they would know some of the children who would be transeferring to pre school with them, but it just wasn't to be, so I found another good nursery which was recommended by lots of other mums, I went along and the kids have both had their "taster sessions" there and they love it. Shelby has just finished there after 9 months and Harley starts this September and even though I fear that there may be tears on the first day when she realises that none of her little pals will be there I know that she will make good friends and it will all be ok in the long term. I suppose what I am trying to say in this rambling is that sometimes your first choice may not come through and you will need to make alternative arrangements but you may be surprised that it could all work out better in the long run.

Good luck though!

 

[wils]

We looked at our local Catholic School for DD originally. The selection criteria was in the School's prospectus and as non-Catholics we were right down the bottom of the pile! In the end I didn't even apply.

Even children accepted into the pre-school had to apply using the same criteria for the main school. Many ended up going to other schools

I'm trying to remember where we got info about class sizes from but I do think it was the council.

 

[The Fetherstons]

Oh Emma good luck, Ill keep my fingers crossed for you

I had the same with Adam he was in the nursery and didnt get accepted into the school he was one of 4 who didnt, I remember going to the school the day the everyone receive letters ( I hadnt) and I knew deep down he hadnt secured a place, anyway the letter arrived the next day saying the dreased you have been Unsucessful with your prefered choice, I was so upset as he had made so many friends and I didnt want to upset his routine.

I appealed, wote letters to the LEA and school (also the HT was very helpful), any how we then received an apeal date to attend (the day we were due to be going on holiday for DHs birthday) luckily it was in this country so we could set off a little later. ONLY

Then I received a phonecall from the HT of the school (1 week before) to say there had been a meeting and they have decided to admit 1 more child in on their entry system and Adam was next in line so that just made my day i was so so happy he received his place and could remain with his friends and in our choice of school. And we didnt have to attend the appeal panel

So I know how stressful it is and I really hope you get Kyra into your preferred choice. Good Luck

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

We looked at our local Catholic School for DD originally. The selection criteria was in the School's prospectus and as non-Catholics we were right down the bottom of the pile! In the end I didn't even apply.

Even children accepted into the pre-school had to apply using the same criteria for the main school. Many ended up going to other schools

I'm trying to remember where we got info about class sizes from but I do think it was the council.

They use the same policy for nursery and the main school when selecting children and she gained a place no problem.

Kyra is 3rd on the selection criteria of gaining a place so i have my fingers and toes crossed.

Thanks for everyones advice.

 

[buzz for boys]

Im hoping I can put your mind at rest by saying all of mine go to a catholic school and we are not catholic and we also live miles away from the school. The catholic school we go too does not run its own admissions they still have to go through the lea till sept - which i believe is the case for all catholic schools !!!
Catholic children do get preference over non catholic however at our school only 55% of the children are catholic !!!
My ds was accepted because he was in the nursey for teh school which means that he had forgd relaitonships with staff and children.
I would say that you really dont need to worry but if you are worreid pp into the school reception and ask them the question and theyw ill lhappily tell you whether they generally have a problem with being over subscribed or not !!
I think you will be fine on our experience anyway !! The school this year is mega over subscribed and they did start turning people away but I know for a fact that every child in the nursery that wanted a place at the school got 1 !!
Louise x

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Thanks Louise.

I know that all the kiddies in Kyra's class at pre-school that are moving into reception got a place in the main school and a few of them are not catholics. I will still have a look into the other schools in the area though. Just to make sure im making the best choice for DD.

 

[wideeyes]

I don't want to write other schools off just by listening to gossip which is why i want to visit the other one at the top of my road. It may have Outstanding Oftsed reports but if its right for Kyra I don't know.

I think that is an important point, just because a school is outstanding doesn't mean it is the right school.

my DD goes to a school that has a good ofsted report and we also don't live that far from an outstanding school, however I know that the head teacher at that school puts al ot of pressure on the kids. I would rather that my DD wants to learn for fun and not that she is worried if she doesn't get all her maths right or she misses some home work she is going to get yelled at. I think if kids enjoy school and learning they will do well anyway.

good luck-hope you get the school you want.

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

I FINALLY recieved the information i needed from my local LEA office today.

Customer First have forwarded your email regarding ************* to us (Admissions Team).

For Reception Year intake 2009 *********** was under subscribed.

If you want to know about any other schools then please contact us.

Regards

Admissions Team

I can now sleep a little easier at night lol. Fingers crossed this is the case for next 2010 intake.

 

[janUK]

I FINALLY recieved the information i needed from my local LEA office today.



I can now sleep a little easier at night lol. Fingers crossed this is the case for next 2010 intake.

Not sure how much help i'll be but I was exactly the same as you panicking about dd's education from when she was 18 months old. We're not catholic but have a catholic school at the end of our street which is ranked outstanding - it was a very small school - only 1 class per year and all the kids in our street go there bar 2. Infact 3 of the staff live in our street - though I didn't know that at the time. On our council website there is a book published which is sent out to all applicants with the app form which lists the criteria for each school in the lea together with the number of kids admitted under each criteria how many were admitted in total and how many appeals were heard and how many were successful. I guess on the that count the council did great. When dd applied for nursery we got the dreaded over subscribed letter asking for our reasons for choosing the school. I wasn't in the least bit hopeful then we got the letter saying she had got in. I was ecstatic but then had it all over again when she was applying for school (she's just completed reception). Attending the nursery has no bearing on the allocation of school places so I was on tenterhooks!! But in the end she got in - she was baptised Church of England. Her class is full (30) and received 65 applications and i've no idea how many are non-catholic. Although i'm not religious at all DD is obviously going down that route as I would never be so rude as to send her to a catholic school then withdraw her from RE (which you can do) but that's fine by me - when she gets older she'll make her own decisions anyway.
Initially I had her down for a non-catholic school as I wasn't too impressed on my first visit to the catholic school but something was niggling me and in the end I went for the catholic one - i'm soo pleased i did. She's very happy there, has lots of lovely friends and is doing really well - she's in the top group despite being July born. I couldn't be happier. i've got it all over again though as dd2 will be applying next year - i'm trying not to panic too much!

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Not sure how much help i'll be but I was exactly the same as you panicking about dd's education from when she was 18 months old. We're not catholic but have a catholic school at the end of our street which is ranked outstanding - it was a very small school - only 1 class per year and all the kids in our street go there bar 2. Infact 3 of the staff live in our street - though I didn't know that at the time. On our council website there is a book published which is sent out to all applicants with the app form which lists the criteria for each school in the lea together with the number of kids admitted under each criteria how many were admitted in total and how many appeals were heard and how many were successful. I guess on the that count the council did great. When dd applied for nursery we got the dreaded over subscribed letter asking for our reasons for choosing the school. I wasn't in the least bit hopeful then we got the letter saying she had got in. I was ecstatic but then had it all over again when she was applying for school (she's just completed reception). Attending the nursery has no bearing on the allocation of school places so I was on tenterhooks!! But in the end she got in - she was baptised Church of England. Her class is full (30) and received 65 applications and i've no idea how many are non-catholic. Although i'm not religious at all DD is obviously going down that route as I would never be so rude as to send her to a catholic school then withdraw her from RE (which you can do) but that's fine by me - when she gets older she'll make her own decisions anyway.
Initially I had her down for a non-catholic school as I wasn't too impressed on my first visit to the catholic school but something was niggling me and in the end I went for the catholic one - i'm soo pleased i did. She's very happy there, has lots of lovely friends and is doing really well - she's in the top group despite being July born. I couldn't be happier. i've got it all over again though as dd2 will be applying next year - i'm trying not to panic too much!

If i'm feeling nervous now I don't want to imagine how nervous i will be the days and weeks coming up to recieving the "letter"

I wouldn't remove DD from RE lessons either, she really likes learning about God in he nursery and is always talking about him. Not sure how Holy Communion will work as she isnt a Catholic. But if she wants to participate in it then I'm more than happy for her too.

So glad your DD secured a place at your preferred school. It really is a anxious time for parents.

I would love to send my DD to the Primary school i went to but im so far out of the catchment area she would never get a place and I'm not going to use my parents address in order to try and get one either.