Parents to be consulted over plans to change sibling rule Post Reply

[pie81]

Goldhawk, although those schools don't HAVE to implement any wandsworth council changes, I suspect the likelihood is that they will do so. For example the "crow flies" change was a wandsworth change but Honeywell and Belleville still implemented it anyway.

[KatherineHepburn]

In all honesty it just sounds like Wandsworth Council paying lip-service to a group of hacked off parents and the rest of us who have been shouting about the distinct lack of primary school places in certain areas in SW London for a while now.
Interestingly enough though it seems that the head of Belleville wants to actually DO something about this. The oldest daughter came home with a letter from school today with the news that Belleville are considering setting up a second academy school in the area to address the lack of school places.
I don't have a scanner or I'd attach it - perhaps another Belleville parent can? It's definitely very, very interesting & proactive.

[runningmummy]

It would be really unfair to change the rules on parents who have moved away for whatever reason and who already have children in the school. Patents who move with siblings were operating within the given framework. I renovated a property and whilst doing so I rented another property. When I applied for my child's' school place I spoke at length with the council. I was unsure at this point if I would sell the house I was renovating, rent it out and buy or several other options. The council clearly told me that I had to use the house I was renting as the address on my application. If I applied from the house I owned that I was renovating I would be committing fraud! My point is this..for a Wandsworth councillor to claim they have tightened up on people who rent whilst refurbishing and will have to use the home they own as the address on application form (as they do for this years applicants) is complete and utter bulls**t!! I am completely fine with them saying you can't do that but that is a 100% u turn on the information they have given out previously. For the councillor to imply these are cheater parents is basically slander.

[gruffalo's dad]

runningmummy: Your post seems to have two separate points within it:

(1) That Wandsworth Council is now changing its approach to which address persons renting away from a house that has previously been their home should apply from. I am a bit surprised at the advice that Wandsworth Council gave you, but I don't see how Wandsworth Council stating/changing its position now is any implied criticism of you. Your child obviously has got his/her place by now (great!) and so isn't going to be affected by any change. I have to say that I think that if someone owns only one property in the borough and has lived in it at any time during the three years preceding the date of applicable that should be the default address for school applications.

(2) That it is unfair for the rule change re siblings to apply to parents who already have a sibling at a school for which they want sibling preference. I don't agree with you. Nobody has a guarantee of a place at a school. When straight line distance was introduced a couple of years ago it advantaged some and disadvantaged others. The change to the admission rules are not to come into effect until the 2016/7 academic year so there is plenty of time for people to react.

[Vhopeful]

Something needs to change and I for one am glad the council are finally looking at the situation. Trying to leave our house BTW at school pickup or drop-off time is a nightmare with all the cars so really as their are enough kids who could "walk" to their local school I for one welcome any change

[KatherineHepburn]

Hello! Another school between the Commons!!
Slightly more interesting than the freeing up of 4-5 spaces at 'some ' schools across Wandsworth.
Or is that just me?...

[Vhopeful]

Petal I think you need to relax, there are more important things to stress about in life. What will be will be and its not a big deal either way really either a few siblings get displaced or a few local kids don't get in.

[supermummy]

Wandsworth don't seem to have mentioned what would happen to siblings of children who got in on the admissions criteria other than distance eg special needs/circumstances. Those families may or may not be within 800m as distance was not relevant for their initial application. Would they therefore lose all sibling priority?

[supergirl]

What about fixed catchment area together with a priority zone for siblings?

1. If the catchment is fixed you know when you buy or rent what are your options school wise. Your not guess-estimating!

2. If the catchment is fixed and you have to move out (although i agree with someone who said you dont really have to move out for size reasons, you choose to move for size reasons), there is a sibling priority zone.
Then it is up to you to decide if
(i) you can afford anything in the priority zone
(ii) if you need to move further away therefore loosing your sibling priority
(iii) if the new school would have space for all your children but that would be easier to know as ALL schools under the LEA authority would have FIXED catchment areas
(iiii) if not then, start doing your homework again. I dont see how difficult/emotional it is.

So like Gruffalo suggestion with a fixed catchment.

I know many children (including myself) who have moved schools a lot during they primary years. Seriously it hasnt kill them if anything it has made them stronger and more resilient. The most important thing is to have a positive stable home when you move a lot so they can settle back pretty easily.

[F&F]

I learnt from my sister-in-law in France recently that if you move house, your children are required to move to the nearest school to the new home (if the original school is no longer the closest one). The school is required to accommodate the local children. There are exceptions eg if it's the last term before the child moves up to a different school anyway.

This is obviously more draconian than the system here, but perhaps the council could take into account whether the family have relocated since [/u]the original sibling was accepted i.e. if the catchment area has shrunk but you are still at the same address, siblings would still be automatically accepted, but if you've moved since the first child started at the school then you apply 'fresh' and are on equal footing with everyone else. Parents can then decide if they want to try and move the older child(ren) to the school the younger child(ren) attend if they want them all to be in the same place. The disadvantage would be that families would be less inclined to move home (at least until all the children are established at school of choice) but in this property climate, who can afford the stamp duty and legal fees for a move in this part of the world anyway!

[Astolat]

I don't see how you can have fixed catchment areas. Or if you did the fixed catchment would be minuscule - I can't see HW or BV signing up to more than a 100m catchment. If it is fixed then as many children as move in they have to take - coupled with a legal rule of no more than 30 per class it would be a nightmare. If 32 children were in the fixed catchment they would have to have a second class for the 2 children over and above the extra!

[aliyeo]

Freedon of Information gave the following information

Admisssions figure for September 2013 reception entry were:

Honeywell
42 siblings admitted to reception out of 90 places
29 siblings lived within 500m of the school
3 lived between 500-800m
10 lived more than 800m
3 lived in another borough (counted in the 800m plus I presume)

Belleville
62 siblings were admitted out of 120 places
45 of those were living within 500m of the school
7 lived between 500-800m
10 lived more than 800m from school
2 lived outside the borough (counted in the 800m+ bracket)

If anyone wishes to obtain information on this years figures they should contact Wandsworth Council and ask for anything they wish to learn under the freedom of information act. The head of pupil services is Adam Wells.

[aliyeo]

I would love to know what the trend is on those figures if anyone can be bothered. I suspect that there will be an increase year on year of those living beyond 500m at the most in demand schools. Maybe that is the basis for WC looking at sibling policy?

I wonder if they can apply the policy retrospectively as there lots of parents who would have made different choices. I believe the fairest way now would be to apply it to those starting school next September 2015.

[AbbevilleMummy]

I think that the main reason that Wandsworth Council are looking at this is due to The Office of the Schools Adjudicator report that came out at the end of last year asking all councils to review their sibling policies. Councils all over the country are doing this, it's not just due to BV, HW and the little bubble we all live in.....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/ed ... lings.html

[aliyeo]

Thanks for that info.