1 year old son, thinking about reception/school place.

marliepanda

If you’re going to use ofsted ratings then look closely at the report. At my previous school we were rated as requires improvement as the management failed many of their due diligence and record keeping. Many of the teachers good and outstanding reviews on their assessment and teaching. That’s what affects the child, not the management structure.

Plus, a school could have a very different staff to the one that got the new rating. We had a new head who made a mess of a lot of stuff and we avoided ofsted for a further 2 years...

Beetroot24

Kynthia wrote: »

Go on the school website to find their selection criteria. For most schools I looked at it is:
1st Looked after children (tends to be fostered and adopted children I think)
2nd Siblings of current students
3rd Distance from school (as the crow flies and not route/street based).

Where I live, Trafford, the criteria is:


1) Looked after children.
2) Catchment children with siblings.
3) Catchment children without siblings.
4) Non-catchment children with siblings.
5) Non-catchment children, by distance.


Which is a lot fairer in my opinion.

Kynthia

Beetroot24 wrote: »

Where I live, Trafford, the criteria is:


1) Looked after children.
2) Catchment children with siblings.
3) Catchment children without siblings.
4) Non-catchment children with siblings.
5) Non-catchment children, by distance.


Which is a lot fairer in my opinion.

Yes it's vital to read each schools selection criteria and not assume anything. So many think attending the nursery guarantees you a space when it often doesn't and it comes as a horrible shock to them.

AnotherJoe

Cash-Cows wrote: »

Forget thinking about junior school. You need to be thinking of secondary schools. Check which is your catchment secondary school and if your chosen junior school feeds into this. If it doesn't then you might have issues later.

I disagree. Earlier school is much more important and this has been established by numerous academic studies. No point going to a rubbish primary if it means you end up in a good secondary but years behind your cohorts, much harder to catch up.


And as said, an outstanding secondary now could be anything in 10 years time, or it might not even exist !

kingfisherblue

SEN is one of the highest criteria for most primary schools in my area. Those with a diagnosed disability or Special Educational Need are, in some schools, put above those in the catchment area or those with siblings.

Some schools have language disorder units or autism units, and these tend to fill up very quickly. Unfortunately, where I live, there are not enough spaces in special schools for the children that need them. My older son, who has SEN, attended a primary school a mile from our home until he was eleven. He had a 1:1 teaching assistant funded by the council. We live in the catchemnt area, but it was the fact that the school felt 'right' for him that was the deciding factor.


Regarding secondary schools, we don't really have any decent ones in my town. Despite this, my other two children went to two different schools, several years apart, and both did well. My daughter has worked since she did her A levels and is doing well. My younger son recently started work after gaining his BTEC Level 3 in Engineering, and is enjoying work despite the early starts. In secondary school, although needing decent teachers is important, a lot depends on how much work the kids actually put in. My daughter's school went from Good to Requiring Improvement about 18 months after she started there - the headteacher went to a school that had failed OFSTED, and key management went downhill with the new head, who was later removed. My son's school has finally, after several years, improved it's OFSTED report. However, both did well in their exams.

My older son is still at college on a course for students with learning disabilities.

maman

AnotherJoe wrote: »

I disagree. Earlier school is much more important and this has been established by numerous academic studies. No point going to a rubbish primary if it means you end up in a good secondary but years behind your cohorts, much harder to catch up.


And as said, an outstanding secondary now could be anything in 10 years time, or it might not even exist !

Absolutely!:T


It's in the early years that good habits are set. Children spend 7 years at primary level and only a maximum of 5 (where part of Year 11 is exams) at secondary. Children who suddenly start working hard, doing their homework, behaving well at secondary having wasted primary years (often unfortunately with no support from parents) are the exception.

Mrs_Soup

Forget the notion of "choice" and think of it as "expressing a preference". You can look at the admissions criteria for the school - some have siblings first others have catchment but sibling on catchment will be above first child in catchment. There's not a lot you can do unless it is a faith school in which case you can attend church if that category is higher than catchment. Other than that all you can do is wait and apply when applications open in the November before the September you child is due to start. Make sure you apply on time as late applications are processed afterwards. If you don't get your first choice you will be put on the waiting list and may get in anyway when things shift around.

kingfisherblue

Does anyone else find it frustrating that so many posters are willing to help and advise, often sharing their own experiences, but the OP hasn't logged in since the day they posted? I know that they may have read the thread without logging in, but it would be good manners to return to the thread and acknowledge that they have answers. Or is it one of those cases where the OP didn't receive the answer that they were looking for?

maman

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Does anyone else find it frustrating that so many posters are willing to help and advise, often sharing their own experiences, but the OP hasn't logged in since the day they posted? I know that they may have read the thread without logging in, but it would be good manners to return to the thread and acknowledge that they have answers. Or is it one of those cases where the OP didn't receive the answer that they were looking for?

I agree but sadly it's commonplace on message boards. I always hope that the information may be of use to someone if not the OP.

Mrs_Soup wrote: »

Forget the notion of "choice" and think of it as "expressing a preference". You can look at the admissions criteria for the school - some have siblings first others have catchment but sibling on catchment will be above first child in catchment. There's not a lot you can do unless it is a faith school in which case you can attend church if that category is higher than catchment. Other than that all you can do is wait and apply when applications open in the November before the September you child is due to start. Make sure you apply on time as late applications are processed afterwards. If you don't get your first choice you will be put on the waiting list and may get in anyway when things shift around.

That's right. When the policy was introduced (IIRC by Thatcher's government) it is called Parental Preference. Prior to that pupils automatically went to their local school. Unfortunately IMO the government ministers didn't understand that not all parents are like them when they choose their children's schools. It's become a lottery skewed towards wealthier parents who can afford to live in good catchments or pay for transport.:(