Still waiting for a primary school for my DD's....

[Stroller]

When we moved to England, it took the local authority a disgraceful amount of time - many months - after the school year began to find a place for DD, despite the fact that we contacted them the previous school year and were living here before the academic year began.

We didn't undertake any formal education, as every day we thought the elusive place might become available. My employer wrote to the local authority, all to no avail. I wrestled with the fact that my tax money was supporting other children in a system that wouldn't accommodate my child.

It's very dispiriting. Read plenty. Go to the parks after school and at weekends. It will work out in the end.

At that stage I had never heard of the eleven plus or the notion that primary school children would be tutored for anything other than remedial work. When someone mentioned it to me (in relation to her older child) and gave me this website address as evidence, I was in shock. I still am...

Someone further up the thread suggested that you might want to reconsider the relocation decision. Had I realised upfront how the system really works here, I would have thought about it long and hard. We're here now and DD is well-settled and in year 5, so I'm now embarking on the eleven plus journey, feeling like a pacifist in an arms race.

[betruetoyourself]

silverysea, thank you for some very practical and helpful suggestions, xx

stroller, 'a pacifist in an arms race' I can't stop laughing at this one!

[mystery]

Can't understand why Ealing has not found you any school places. That is their job.

Think you should appeal for the schools you want. You have to apply to them and be turned down. Don't let anyone put you off applying.

I don't really understand the delay as the l e a has powers to direct, and at ks2 you are not up against any class size limits. Try a p m to etienne to understand the legal side.

How many waiting lists are you now on? Have you filled in an Essex form applying to all the schools of your choice for in year admissions?

Once you have one child in a school, your other child will be higher up the school waiting list. But you can appeal also.

Have you read the admission policies for each school you would like, and looked on the appeals forum?

You will have to live near the schools in Essex you are interested in if you are serious about getting places there.

[Guest55]

No LA can give you a place until you have an address and are living there. Then there is a legal obligation on them to find you a place in a school, any school not necessarily one you have chosen.

Appeal for the schools you want or move; people are snobby about Essex but there are some great schools.

[Stroller]

No LA can give you a place until you have an address and are living there. Then there is a legal obligation on them to find you a place in a school, any school not necessarily one you have chosen.

There's a legal obligation alright, but there doesn't appear to be any time limit on it, nor any sanction when they fail abjectly to uphold it. Bumbling incompetence would be the kindest explanation. We had the local address, utility bills and written employer support. We visited the LEA in person with the completed application form in August and subsequently. We also phoned regularly and sent mails. We even visited the local schools individually at the end of August, introduced our child and explained that we would appreciate a space. ANY space. It took the LEA half an academic year to allocate one. And this happened in a city, not a backwater. betruetoyourself has my sympathy.

It isn't always seamless. If you have not moved to this country with a child, you have no idea how much reality can differ from how locals would like to think it should work. And for what it's worth, that's the experience we had as a stable, highly educated, professional family in which we all speak English as a first language. Who knows how others manage.

[silverysea]

We got two places in the school next to us by the first half-term term break, told the week before - so we were in the same boat as OP at this stage of Sept.

I was all geared up to HE, started well, bought materials and joined groups all of which we abandoned-I was actually a bit deflated! It all resolved so suddenly after 4 months of limbo. My DD1 was very resistant to mum teaching her(still is, age 13!) and both needed the bigger pool if friends, so it was best to stop the HE for us. I hated the endless meals and clearing up, and zero time to myself.

[betruetoyourself]

Mystery, the silence from the LEA is deafening! I do have an address in Essex that I could use and I'd be living there too. Again, getting both girls into one school would be a problem. I've applied to 6 schools (in Ealing) and in my second choice my reception DD1 is at number 8 and my DD2 is at number 57! I only applied because it's one of my local schools. My first choice school doesn't have such a long list but my children still can't get in. I will give the schools a ring and see if I can get any more information.

Stroller, I agree with you totally, you only realise half of the rubbish that goes on when you're actually in the country and the reality is very different to what friends/family were telling me. I'm amazed at how much this country has changed in the last decade.

Reading some of the responses makes me realise that my situation is not unique and you really have to take matters into your own hands.

[hermanmunster]

Stroller, I agree with you totally, you only realise half of the rubbish that goes on when you're actually in the country and the reality is very different to what friends/family were telling me. I'm amazed at how much this country has changed in the last decade.

I agree - I used to live in London and no longer recognise it, it has changed considerably..
Around the country lots of people move for educational reasons in this country, I really don't think many would move to London for that reason.

[2Girlsmum]

I agree - I used to live in London and no longer recognise it, it has changed considerably..

I've lived here 32 years, and admittedly parts have changed for the worse, but other areas for the better. My area of North London has improved.

Around the country lots of people move for educational reasons in this country, I really don't think many would move to London for that reason.

And yet the top performing schools are mostly in and around London at GCSE and A level. I think that there are some excellent primary schools too, but they are very oversubscribed. Ours is a Catholic one which has been forced to ask for the baptism certificate of one parent because people were pretending to be Catholic and baptising their child to secure a school place! Most of the recent birth rate rise has happened in larger cities, so in that respect Southend might be a better choice, with the added bonus of decent non-selective secondary schools and a bigger, less competitive selection of Grammar schools. You could try contacting the schools directly too. A friend returned from Italy 4 years ago under the old system where parents found a place directly through contact with the school and it worked well. Two years ago she tried to change her daughters secondary school under the new system because the travel time on the one allocated was terrible and she knew that a closer school had places. The council dragged their feet so badly that she contacted the school directly and they offered her daughter a place!

[mystery]

Mystery, the silence from the LEA is deafening! I do have an address in Essex that I could use and I'd be living there too. Again, getting both girls into one school would be a problem. I've applied to 6 schools (in Ealing) and in my second choice my reception DD1 is at number 8 and my DD2 is at number 57! I only applied because it's one of my local schools. My first choice school doesn't have such a long list but my children still can't get in. I will give the schools a ring and see if I can get any more information.

Stroller, I agree with you totally, you only realise half of the rubbish that goes on when you're actually in the country and the reality is very different to what friends/family were telling me. I'm amazed at how much this country has changed in the last decade.

Reading some of the responses makes me realise that my situation is not unique and you really have to take matters into your own hands.

Yes. You have to. I would write a very legalistic letter to the directors of education and go through the formal complaints process in both areas. They are not carrying out their duties. However, if you do not just want any old school you need to appeal to the schools you really want. Try out etienne in the appeals section. Unless you get serious with all these people I am afraid you will wait at the back of the queue.

Unless you are keen to home educate this is not good. In the meantime home educate in maths and English to the the level of the year above the one you are aiming for so that your children will land up in good groups once they are in school. I tell you that a dissatisfying school experience can be even worse than your current experience.

Good luck! Chasing l e a by phone and email is no good it would seem in your case. Recorded delivery letters to the top followed by complaints procedure is necessary unless you decide that appeals would be a better plan.