Hi all, just looking for a bit of advice. I am just about to apply for a primary school place for my eldest daughter, she will start next september. We live 80 metres from a primary school which is not our catchment school. I believe i can apply to this school under exceptional medical criteria (i currently have relapsing remitting ms) has anyone else done this??? I would like my girls to go to the closest school as i am their primary carer, i will be doing the school run for the next 9 yrs (i have a 2 yr old as well). I believe the closest school would give me the best chance of being able to do school runs while managing/coping with symptoms/relapses etc Has anyone done this? If so were you successful? Any help/top tips would be great. Thanks.
hi lainee
ask your gp for a letter to show to the head of the school.
some schools take catchment areas extremely seriously.
basically what you need is a school and head who want to put the children first.
who believe in fairness and are open to diversity.
i really don’t know the answer to your question but schools should be good role models for pupils and therefore should give your request consideration.
the governors have a lot of influence also.
maybe there is someone at your LA’s education department who you could talk to.
good luck
carole x
Hi
im in exactly the same position except I am in the catchment area so chances for my daughter getting in are good. I have asked for medical priority and have just received an email from the schools admissions team asking for a letter from my neurologist describing how the disease affects me. Bit of a pain to be honest but I’m going to call his secretary tomorrow to ask for a letter. The deadline is the 15th Jan for this so if I was you I would get the application in asap so you have time for them to get back to you to let you know what they need.
Beat of luck
lisa x
Thanks for replying ladies. Lisa good luck with your application, sounds like you are in a v strong position if it is your catchment school. Your council sounds much more helpful than mine, for my application you have to include consultant evidence when you apply and they will not request anything further, so if some info is missed theres not much you can do about it. Hopefully councils/schools take a sensible approach. I have had a tough few days with ongoing symptoms which has just brought home to me how important it would be to get in to the closest school, fingers crossed but to be honest i have no idea what my chances are! X
guess your first port of call should be the head teacher of the school near you. I would just give brief details of your health problems and offer to get a letter from the medics if they want it.
This can be very area dependant. I am a school governor, and I know for sure, that the admissions into my school are managed by the Local authority. Individual schools/heads have very little/no influence on who gets in the school to start with. They do though (well mine does) have total control on new joiners in later years. I suspect that this LA activity is to remove the schools/heads from the politics and hassles that school placements create especially in areas where the number of children outweigh the number of spaces.
I would find out who looks after your area admissions and then approach them.
Charlie
The area I live in is the same (devon) as Charlie’s area. Good luck.