Has Anyone's Child not got a place at their preferred primary school?

Ex-Spendaholic

Due next Wednesday. :beer:

beccam

Ex-Spendaholic wrote: »

Thanks Beccam. I didn't put that one on the list - never thought of it. I did put a whole load down and then beneath them wrote that I would consider anywhere in East Belfast.

Thats a real nightmare with the P1 places. Looks like house prices are set to rise then in the area around Strandtown. :eek:

If you don't get a place then it's worth giving them a ring to check if they have any spare, I know a couple of people the last 2yrs who had been told they had no pre school place in any of the nurseries they had chosen but then did get a place at McArthur.

Also know that the year DD started there were a few didn't take up the places come Aug/Sept time as the little ones were still in nappies, younger children tend to not start until Oct time in order to let the older ones settle in first so plenty of time to investigate before giving up hope!

warmhands.coldheart

leftieM wrote: »

.....4 is too young to start formal education, particularly for boys. .....

Yeah but in all fairness boys are a bit slower than girls (well at that age anyway) :rotfl::rotfl:

nozzadamozza

thought i would resurrect this thread instead of creating a new one...anyhoo, hubby and I are still looking for a house and this morning viewed a house pretty close to Orangefield primary...we thought, beside the school, that would be useful as our son is one year old and we are trying to find somewhere near schools (as I cant drive due to a medical condition, the nearer the better).

So thought I would phone Orangefield to find out about their nursery and if there were creches nearby. THe very helpful lady I spoke to explained how nursery places were allocated and lowest priority was proximity to the school. Furthermore, if he didnt get into the nursery then the chances of getting into the school were nada!

This has really dismayed me and hubby. Apparently if we lose our jobs and separate, he has a better chance of getting in

Apologies for putting this up, I find it all disheartening. I suppose we will need to find somewhere that is local to a few schools..

seatzie

yeah thats the way it is unfortunately, starts with are you on benefits, then age - as in if the child is a summer baby or not then works its way down other criteria, distance isnt really any factor, we live 5 miles from my sons nursery, infact I'll tell you better than that an ex work colleague lives in Donaghadee and his son goes to Orangefield Primary

mumps

leftieM wrote: »

The research, although strongly supporting your argument, is inconclusive as they haven't done any studies within the same country so they can't allow for social and cultural influences. You can't deny that a child from a 'deprived' background might under-attain whether they started school at 4 or 6,whereas as a child from a middle class background might attain whatever the school starting age.
That said I'm with you - 4 is too young to start formal education, particularly for boys. As they say, you can't turn a child on to education by pushing them too early but you can turn them off it.
As for those anxious about primary places - you can put yourself on a list for a place later in the year or reapply for P2. People move all the time and places come up regularly, even in the popular schools.

I agree that four is too young, especially for boys. When my first two were that age I was anxious to do the best for them and put them in a private school at four, they later moved to local primary. They have both done well but to be honest not as well as they could have. They both agree with this.

Fast forward nearly 20 years and son number 3 arrives. I am older, maybe wiser, but definitely more confident. I kept him at home till he was almost 8. We didn't home school, just let him enjoy life. He was good at numbers, could read a little and couldn't write at all. By the end of his first year he was in top group for everything. He got 12 GCSE's. 7 A* and 5A. Just finishing his A levels now.

If it suits parent and child I don't think it is a problem to put them in school early but I don't think it is an advantage either and it can put some children, in my experience particularly boys, off school. Hope you don't mind someone from England pushing in, I often have a look at the NI threads as I have alot of family there.

nozzadamozza

Does anyone have any knowledge of living/ kids going to school around the Castlereagh Road/ Orby.....are there other nursery/primary schools in this area?
As i mentioned earlier, I am unable to drive, so proximity / handiness is quite important for me:)

Ex-Spendaholic

Nozzadamozza, I feel your pain. It appears the whole criteria for getting into Orangefield has now changed. In fact it is rumoured that this year the Principal hand picked who he wanted to get into the nursery. One of the main attractions of buying a house in Orby used to be its proximity to Orangefield Primary but sadly it seems people living there are disadvantaged. I know someone living in Orby and their child will be 3 tomorrow. She didn't get a place in Orangefield. Therefore she has to go down the line of putting her child into Orange Pips playgroup at Orangefield Pres Church at the cost of £6 per morning.

Your nearest other options are:

Euston St Primary which is further down the Castlereagh Rd (has a nursery)
Harding Memorial on the Cregagh Rd (no nursery)

Leadhill Primary, Strandtown Primary etc aren't that far away but not really doable on foot unfortunately.

nozzadamozza

thank you Ex-Spendaholic-thats really useful. What a mess of a system....I guess we have to go back to the drawing board on this one....it now seems pointless buying around orby if baby ends up in Strandtown:eek:

crusty_toenail

nozzadamozza wrote: »

thank you Ex-Spendaholic-thats really useful. What a mess of a system....I guess we have to go back to the drawing board on this one....it now seems pointless buying around orby if baby ends up in Strandtown:eek:

Hi there,

my daughter went to Knockbreda Nursery School - just off rosetta road and handy to cregagh estate etc.

we lived in BT8 and still got in with no special criteria, first child, one of the youngest in the class.

I can recommend this nursery, it is very professionally run and the hours are 9-1.30pm, school lunch was £2.10 per day.

Hope you get sorted, it's great to have a wee bit of spare time to yourself too. Knockbreda Primary, just beside the nursery is also an excellent school.

All the best with whatever you decide and your health x