Sallyx's Sink or Swim, Swimerdy Swim Diary ;)

redsquirrel80

Fab quote Weller

Sal, does that mean B will still go to her current school when you move until you can get her in somewhere else?

sallyx

I know I thought it was funny Sammy...that will teach her for being such a greedy person You better had take your trainers and your ipod to do some running...11 miles for me yesterday and while I have no aches and pains I am painfully tired today, so much so that I can barely keep my head up and stay awake lol

Squizz, yes its quite possible that I will for now keep her at her current school and hang in until a space becomes available. If I got a full time job here it would make it more financially viable because at the moment its going to be very costly to do the 50 mile round trip 5 days a week

Am really starting to get excited about all the good things happening and our new life

redsquirrel80

I must admit to not really understanding the schools thing, do they still have catchment areas or is it up to you how far you want to travel?

Keep at it with the job applications! It's brilliant that you're getting excited about the whole thing :j

11 miles.. wow!

sallyx

I don't really understand it either squizz! Someone I used to run with at run club I found out works for Dorset admissions and this is what she emailed me....thank god I had her for the info because I would be completeley in the dark otherwise!

Basically you can apply for any school you want, regardless of whether you are in the catchment or even borough that it is in. The only thing you have to consider is if it is not your catchment school you will be responsible for getting B to and from school.
If the school is full (most in that area are) you need to apply, and then will be refused. You can appeal for any of the schools you have applied for (3 choices on Dorset form, and I think its the same for Poole) and in any borough. Obviously you are in a stronger position if the school you are applying for is your catchment school, but thats not to say you will not get a place in another school. You should also enquire if the school/local authority holds a waiting list and put Bea's name on that too. Some people assume you automatically are put on a waiting list if refused, but this is not the case. For any lists held by Dorset you need to inform us every term if you wish your child to remain on the list. I'm not sure how Poole work waiting lists.
I don't know if there are any pending appeals for either of the schools you mentioned as once we have refused a place we tend not to know about appeals as that is dealt with by our democratic services department.
One thing to mention is that the government has a statutory limit of no more than 30 children in a key stage 1 class, that is Reception, year 1 or year 2. So even an appeals panel is unlikely to offer a school place if the school operates with 30 children in a class, as this would mean that the school would have to employ another teacher and this obviously has a financial implication. Generally the only way you can win on appeal in that case is if you feel the authority has maladministered your application (ie offered a place to another child when your child had a higher criteria).
If the school operates classes of less than 30 then you have a stronger chance of winning a place, but its still not always the case.


As for the job applications its all very complicated now as until I know whats happening with schools I need to get here everyday and I can't get a job near new house as Id have to do 2 round trips a day and just wouldn't be worth it...!!!!!! life is complicated at times lol

redsquirrel80

Blimey - confusing!

beanielou

More than confusing.
I iz confudled.

sallyx

School today was ok, would be nice enough but itdidnt thrill me and make me come away desperate for her to gobthere. If she is going to have to go on a waiting list i'd rather it was just for the school I saw yesterday.

Have had text from ex to say he is definitely coming down this weekend.... I'll believe it when it happens! Still time for him to make up some excuse.

Lucifa73

Remind him to bring his chequebook...

Have to say I'm not looking forward to Nathan hitting school age. It all sounds terribly confusing and I wouldn't have the first clue how the system here works...:eek:

Are we still on for the 21st? Will anyone else be joining us?

sallyx

Def still on for the 21st no idea if samster is still coming... Will text her now

sallyx

Stuck at stinky work all day today and tomorrow....its days like today that makes me realise how much I hate my job!

Oh well must keep myself busy to get through the day then this evening I am blitzing the house and might treat myself to a few glasses of pimms

Its scorchio here today...just looking out the window thinking how nice it would be on the beach *sigh*