Online applications

[andyb]

Did you just get a confirmation by email of the online application, or was there a separate email confirming the receipt of the address evidence?

Note to self: read all posts before replying on forum otherwise you look really dim

[Sally-Anne]

I will be extremely upset if our choice of school is affected because the address info didn't get there - does anyone know if we would get a chaser before allocations day or just go to the bottom of the pile?

I am waiting with bated breath for Mel's reply too. Those who send their evidence by post obviously receive their green postcard back as confirmation of receipt. At the moment it appears that those of us sending it via email just have to pray that all is well!

I must admit that I am very surprised that Bucks does not have an auto-reply function of some sort enabled on the "address evidence" email address. That should be absolutely straightforward to create, and would at least prove that an email has arrived at the evidence address, even if the content of it is not confirmed. When that email is compared with what the parent sent, the two should marry up neatly. If that system were to be combined with a warning that, if no confirmation email arrives, the sender should contact Admissions immediately, it would seem to me to be fairly foolproof.

What concerns me is that it would very easy for someone to mis-type the email address - perhaps by one letter, and not realise that they have made a mistake - not every mis-addressed email will necessarily trigger a bounce-back message, and many bounce-back messages can be trapped by spam filters before they reach someone's Inbox. Someone in that position might not realise until Allocations Day that they have a very serious problem, and their child's application has dropped to the bottom of the list.

I am not aware of any automatic safety net or chasing process in the system for anyone whose address evidence has not been received - the onus is on the parents to ensure that it arrives at Bucks, and I am fairly certain that Admissions do not have the time to check every application and follow up. The only cases I know of where address evidence is followed up are in cases of suspected fraud.

The other issue that it is too easy for a parent simply to forget to follow through with address evidence when applying online.

That may sound as if it only applies to complete airheads, but I find the same problem arises in another sphere. I regularly check CRB forms, and the one item that is missing most often is the applicant's NI number. That is because it appears on the front page, along with basic ID details, such as name and address. People think to themselves "oh, I'll look that out later", but by the time they have completed the rest, it has gone right out of their minds. Even remarkably intelligent people manage that trick!

Anything that has to be "done later" is at risk of being forgotten. Active reminder boxes at a couple of points in the online process might be a useful addition:

"You can submit your evidence right here and now by clicking on the link - would you like to do that?"

"Just click yes and we'll whizz you straight over there if you want?"

"Are you really totally sure that you don't want to do it this very minute?

"Quite, quite sure of that, airhead?"

OK, the wording may be a little casual when compared with Bucks usual style, but you get the idea.

S-A

[Guest55]

S-A,

That is SUCH a good idea - why don't you suggest it to Admissions?

[Sally-Anne]

Thank you G55! I do think that the wording of the reminders might need a little adjustment though - they were developing quite a personality of their own as I went along!

Back on a serious note, I did read today that Admissions are happy to receive suggestions as to how to increase the number of online applications in future years. (Emails to: admissions@buckscc.gov.uk)

Last year the numbers were a little shy of 50%, and although the growth has been very rapid, I am sure that some of the uncertainties we are talking about still make some people reluctant to use the online system.

As well as the problem of email advice of school allocations that I mentioned earlier, I read that there were difficulties with parents obtaining passwords for the system, which prevented a number of people from registering online in the first instance. Apparently the latter issue is now resolved. Only time will tell if the email allocation letters on Allocations Day will be problem-free too.

I had parents approaching me this year asking which application route to choose, and my general advice was to use the route that they felt most comfortable with personally, depending on their level of IT literacy. Most of them seem to have chosen to apply online, but send address evidence by snail mail. (Why do I feel the need to be a flippin' guinea pig? ) Regardless of which route they chose, I still suggested that they copy/print & file.

Whilst the paper system may not be 100% perfect, I think that people still feel nervous about applying online for such a significant matter. We may do our income tax, car tax, insurance and banking, plus much of our shopping online, but this is "our child's future" online! It is a very serious business and we need to know that it is absolutely watertight.

If Bucks can make the online process more attractive than paper because of the "instant reassurance" of an email confirmation at every step of the way, I personally feel sure that the numbers of online applicants will increase to saturation levels very quickly.

In the meantime, I just want to know if I should have had an acknowledgement email for the address evidence! Mel - where are you?

S-A

[Greta2]

I did my application online and utility bill by a rather slow snail mail! I think the online admissions are generally good but it could be improved by a number of things… so here are my suggestions….

1. A more obvious link to the online admissions from the schools page of Bucks cc website – it’s a bit squeezed down the bottom as if the admissions team would rather we didn’t use the online. I’m sure that’s not the case so how about a nice big highlighted button?

3. It definitely needs a direct link from the application page to add the proof of address. I consider myself to be reasonably PC savvy but I didn’t find it very clear. Given that layout of web forms seems to follow a reasonably standard format these days – and most people can tell you what makes a user friendly web page – the current layout is not very aesthetic. I know it’s all there – it’s just a case of finding it but for most people they will use this form once every few years and not regularly and so the layout needs to be as foolproof as possible.

4. Adding a link for proof of address would presumably be quite simple. Actually I like the idea of prompts which gradually gain a life of their own… Well certainly a reminder system would be good. It would work best if you could go directly from the application page to the proof of address, then return to the application page and either tick a check box to say – yes I’ve emailed it to you or no I’m going to send it by post / later.

4. I received a confirmation email after completing the online application very promptly. As I didn’t send my utility by email I hadn’t realised people hadn’t received one for this. I had just expected that, having got a confirmation email for the application, I would have got one for the utility bill if I had sent the bill in by email. I wouldn’t be very happy to email a bill without knowing if it had got there. Also I would probably have then have phoned admissions to check it was there…. and was married up to my application. I wonder how many people have phoned to ask this; surely an automatic confirmation email would be a lot quicker and less of a burden for admissions staff?

I would have thought a better option would be to have a specific proof of address page accessible from the application page, where you completed
- your child’s, name,
- DOB and
- a textbox / drop down box to say what proof you had sent in.

You could then scan and submit the bill directly from this page, then an automatic reply could be sent by admissions using the drop box information as confirmation.

Last thought…snail mail must still be acceptable and it mustn’t only be online applications.

Having said all that, whatever queries I have had so far, the admissions team have always been very helpful and I have received prompt replies to emails etc (like when I forgot my log in password) so I have no complaints about their helpfulness. Just suggestions for improvements!

[andyb]

In the meantime, I just want to know if I should have had an acknowledgement email for the address evidence! Mel - where are you?

S-A

Yes, Mel - please put us out of our misery!

Another thought - do all the proof of addresses get checked off or is it just a sample or is it only if something doesn't ring true? Trying to convince myself that it's no big deal that I don't know whether my email arrived or not. Is there a database at County so if I rang up with DS's detailed they could give me a yes/no answer as to whether it's there? But then what if it's not - we've missed the deadline - aaaggghhhh.

On the whole I like the online application - it's not obvious how to access it from BCC homepage but once there it's fairly straightforward and getting a "received" email pretty much straight away is good. Emailing the address info just isn't as confidence inspiring.

Going out in the sunshine now - there's more to life than 11+! (If I say this often enough I may come to believe it).

AndyB

[Ambridge]

I fully endorse a paper-less society but....

Our head teacher was less than complimentary about the online system operated by BCC when we attended the Yr 6 11+ talk so, I duly filled in our form by hand, attached it to a current utilities bill, sent it into school via DD around 19 October, they sent the forms off in batches to BCC and by 24 October I received confirmation that BCC were in receipt of my 'bits'.

So have to say, although I am not helping the environment, I do seem to have one less thing to worry about

Ambridge (feeling a bit smug after reading this thread )

[Bucks Mum]

One thing that worries me in this discussion is that we are OOC and so applied thru our local authority on-line. We weren't asked for proof of address even though we're applying for Bucks schools so how does that work??!

[Road Runner]

Hello everyone

Goodness i don't recall being so needed!!!

Yes i did get a reply to school choice but No I did not get confirmation that they received my utility bill. However funny enough I did email them again yetserday to ask for it so will wait and see.

As dh said we have proof on our emmail that we sent to the correct address so I won'y lose sleep.

I guess ist Bucks way of keeping us worried just in case we're not worrying about results!!

Mel
xx

[Marylou]

One thing that worries me in this discussion is that we are OOC and so applied thru our local authority on-line. We weren't asked for proof of address even though we're applying for Bucks schools so how does that work??!

Same here. It makes sense for in-county applicants to prove that they are in the catchment from the outset. I suspect OOCs would only be asked to prove their address in the event of being offered a place, in order to corroborate the initial distance calculation which, I think, would be done on the basis of the application form. This is just a guess, though. BTW our closing date is later than the Bucks one. (Remember, remember...! )