should i already register my daughter for a school..?

Deals_2

my daughter turned 3 in july and i was told by one teacher at a nursery we visited it is a good idea to register the choice of school now or in september for next year starting in september seeing as she is 4 in july next year so effectively she is 5 at the end of the first school year. is this how it works and is this the best way forward? thakns in advance.

rayday2

It is different in every area you need to go onto your local council website and find out there policy. There is usually an education part.

Claudie

In our area you have to register in the November before the Sept your child in entitled to start if that makes sense. Technically the schools aren't allowed to take applications before then but some schools will accept a letter of interest.

Perhaps you could have a look at your local Council's website for specifics to your area and if there is a particular school you are interested in then ask what their policy is.

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/primary-school-places.htm

It was all new to me when my DS was little, I telephoned the Ed Dept and they were really helpful.

owsaboutthatthen

Just putting my 3yr old into nursery (he was 3 in April) and I have the same dilemma in wanting him to go to a certain school in Sept 2008. I have been told to put his name down from October this year to be certain he is on the list or to guarantee him a place. As posted by Claudie, check your local Council's website etc for more info.

ka7e

You may find that a very poular school is oversubscribed. Places are limited by local Council legislation and getting your name down early may not guarantee a place if over-subscription criteria are enforced.
Our LEA offers places to children in the Sept following their 4th birthday, but you can defer for up to a year as long as they start school in the term following their 5th birthday. Registration deadlines vary between Oct and Jan depending on your area.
The only time problems really occur, is if your 1st choice school is over-subscribed and you don't get a place. Places aren't usually offered on your second choice until all their 1st-choice places are allocated. That's when parents find they may not have a place in any of their approved schools!

liney

In my area (Shropshire) there is no way of putting your child's name down at a school personally; it all has to be done via the council who send out forms at the end of the year before your child is due to start. Schools are not allowed to deal with parents directly as the is down to the council or LEA as it's branch is known to allocate places.

You will find that there are certain conditions they apply when allocating spaces too. For example, my nursery was A) In catchment area and have a sibling in the school Has sibling in school, C) Just in catchment area D) Outside catchment area (dependent on distance from school)

This is how my area works, just to give you an idea.

Spendless

In my area you put a name down at the school purely so the school knows to send you an application form to apply for a place. It has no bearing on whether you will or won't get into that school. If you don't put your name down at a school here you need to ring the council offices to get the form which have to be back for a certain date (sometime in Autumn). Everything works a year in advance including school nursery, so you would have applied for a place last year, for them to start Autumn this year. I would ring the admissions dept for your area to see ho the system works where you are.

rio

In Somerset every parent is sent a selection form in the September of the year before their child is due to start. Local schools then hold open days for prospective parents and the forms have to be back in to County Hall by the middle of October. Letters stating your child's allocated school are then sent out in the February. I would urge you to actually visit the school/s you are considering rather than take other people's opinions/OFSTED reports etc. We had always presumed that our little boy would go to a certain school, which is always praised by lots of people I know, but when I went to visit it I just knew that it would be wrong for him, no particular reason that I could put my finger on, I just knew somehow. We then looked at a different school that we hadn't really considered and immediately thought - this is the place I want him to go to. Call it intuition if you like, but I'm really pleased I took the time to visit and consider what would be my offspring's second home for the next seven years.

bestpud

The LEA deals with all the school admissions here. Schools are not allowed to take names and are not supposed to have any say in the process unless a church school and then they can dictate a bit more.

Done this way, it should be fairer, as in it is a purely mechanical process and parents should not be able to influence the process. Whether it works out that way or not is a different matter....

Btw, the LEA send out application forms direct - I'm not sure how they get the details though - the PCT (ie from vaccination type lists) perhaps?

Hth

Sazere

Contact your local education authority (look at your council website under education). At Warwick County Council they are already taking names and addresses of children who will start reception class in Sept 2008 ready to send out the Admissions Forms in October 2007. I will receive a schools information booklet with details of all the schools my area and an application form. On the app form I think (from memory) there are 4 choices where you can put the schools you want. I have just done this last year for my DS2 for this Sept 2007 and only put 1 school but sent it back the day I received it. In the Spring you then receive confirmation from the LEA of the school your child has been offered.

bylromarha

DS is 3 in August and I've put his name down for 2 local primary schools. (therefore 4 for Sept 2008 too) they said there was no guarantee of a place, just that they would know we were interested in attending there.