School places - Leics CC meltdown

[Saxondale]

Is anybody in the process of applying for a school place this summer and affected by the apparent meltdown at the County Council?

 

My son is changing school this year. It’s already been agreed between both schools, but we still had to go through the motions of ‘applying’ for a place through the council. We did so on 1st June - the first possible date. We’ve heard nothing, and school starts on Tuesday.

 

So, anyway, we’re just ignoring the council and sending him to the new school anyway.

When I sent an email to the council telling them what’s going on, I got an auto reply saying they’ve had an ‘unprecedented’ number of applications. How can the number of applications be unprecedented when they know exactly how many children live in the county and what ages they are?

 

Anybody else having trouble?

[Trav Le Bleu]

When I was a kid, a good few years ago now, you just knew which school you were going to next (unless you moved house of course), pretty much always the one nearest to you.

 

When did everything change into the palaver that we have now?

[SeCrEt FoX]

Not same situation but it is annoying, about 13 years ago my 2 sons went the same school, oldest was full time and the other was part time nursery. At the end of that term we had to apply for my youngest son to go full time (was this the process always?). During that summer holiday (right near the end of it) we had a letter stating that they turned down the application due to high volume and we was out the catchment area, we lived literally across the road from the ****ing school! So we got back in touch with them stating he has an older sibling there and the fact we live across the road so how can we be out the catchment area? They did actually apologise and admitted they were wrong and said there and then he has a place. 

 

Just goes to show that they don't really look deep into these applications. 

 

 

[Raj]

Just for some insight about our "amazing" council.

My Mrs who's a teacher resigned a few weeks ago from working for them due to their complete ineptitude.

Says it all really.

Goid luck with anything to do with them👍

 

 

[Grebfromgrebland]

This is the beauty of the governments schools policy. It's designed that schools do not have to open where there's a need and councils can't really do anything about it.

 

Academies can choose where they open.

 

I really feel sorry for your situation but understand it's deliberately this way.

 

 

[Daggers]

Who’d have thought that starving councils of central government funding and waging an ideological war on LEAs and education for plebs would result in a shit service?

[Heathrow fox]

1 hour ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

When I was a kid, a good few years ago now, you just knew which school you were going to next (unless you moved house of course), pretty much always the one nearest to you.

 

When did everything change into the palaver that we have now?

It started in the eighties.It was one of Thatcher’s key policies.Freedom to choose.

[foxile5]

49 minutes ago, Daggers said:

Who’d have thought that starving councils of central government funding and waging an ideological war on LEAs and education for plebs would result in a shit service?

Careful now.

 

Although this is absolutely on the button. Compare the education system to the one that Blair's government funded generously and with intent to improve. Significant difference.

 

The conservative party, by their very nature, don't want the 'general' (for that read less privileged) public to be in receipt of a decent education. It makes it more difficult to conserve the status quo. The real societal thinking and planning ought to be ring fenced for people like Boris. From good stock. His father went to Eton etc.

 

It is a national tragedy what has happened to our education system but, in a way, very impressive. The general public have been trained to think free education is a terrible thing. Much like they have with the NHS. Wait until they discover what privatisation has in store.

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, foxile5 said:

Careful now.

 

Although this is absolutely on the button. Compare the education system to the one that Blair's government funded generously and with intent to improve. Significant difference.

 

The conservative party, by their very nature, don't want the 'general' (for that read less privileged) public to be in receipt of a decent education. It makes it more difficult to conserve the status quo. The real societal thinking and planning ought to be ring fenced for people like Boris. From good stock. His father went to Eton etc.

 

It is a national tragedy what has happened to our education system but, in a way, very impressive. The general public have been trained to think free education is a terrible thing. Much like they have with the NHS. Wait until they discover what privatisation has in store.

They need only look across the pond at the abject divide between haves and havenots there, in education as well as other areas, to see where that kind of policy leads.

[StanSP]

1 hour ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

When I was a kid, a good few years ago now, you just knew which school you were going to next (unless you moved house of course), pretty much always the one nearest to you.

 

When did everything change into the palaver that we have now?

Yep, there always seemed to be a natural lineage based on catchment area. May be 2-3 options for each stage of school, but you just knew it could/would be one of them

[foxile5]

1 hour ago, leicsmac said:

They need only look across the pond at the abject divide between haves and havenots there, in education as well as other areas, to see where that kind of policy leads.

Of course.

 

But those who will most need socialized health care are also the class who have been conditioned to think publicly yorping about 'I had to wait two hours to have my bruised toe looked at' is a valid reason for bringing in private health care and an indicator of a failing NHS.

 

There's a cruel irony to it. Someone I went to school with, who most definitely would qualify for income support, was kicking off majorly to a hospital via social media about their doctor not saying 'thank you' and being 'in a positive mood'. Finished with them threatening to go to BUPA.

 

They'll never be able to afford BUPA and 100% won't be able to afford the Americanised premiums that the current government are aching to bring in. But they've been conditioned to think that America is the land of milk and honey and that stuffy hospitals that are free at the point of use are just relics.

 

Also, in another chicane of irony, they were an avid, and publicly aggressive, 'clapper' during Covid. There's probably an interesting conversation to be had there.

 

Turkeys very much voting for poverty across the UK this last decade.

[Jattdogg]

Over here in Southern Ontario you go to school based on your postal code (essentially). Their is no choice unless you are catholic and can attend one of those but again has to be in your postal code. The board of education in your region can "redraw" boundaries every year and that could have an impact on what schools you are allowed to go to.  

 

Highschools (secondary) typically span multiple areas so you have several elementary schools whose students will attend it from a wider area of the town/city.

 

There is an option to apply for "flex boundaries" but it's not a guarantee and depends on enrollment figures in the school you apply to. You would also have to reapply each year i believe. 

 

Private schools are options.  We also have IIBU schools which if accepted you can go to.

 

Sometimes some boards have gifted programs which are essentially for the smart fookers who need more challenging curriculum as the current grade is too easy for them. If you are accepted into that program then you would go to a school that offers the gifted program which may or may not be the one in your postal code area.

 

Education is more of a right not a choice here at least until you get to uni or if you have rich/ well to do parents who can put you in private schools

 

 

[Trav Le Bleu]

3 hours ago, leicsmac said:

They need only look across the pond at the abject divide between haves and havenots there, in education as well as other areas, to see where that kind of policy leads.

Ah, the Land of the Free!

[Trav Le Bleu]

1 hour ago, foxile5 said:

 

Also, in another chicane of irony, they were an avid, and publicly aggressive, 'clapper' during Covid. There's probably an interesting conversation to be had there.

 

 

I've noticed this as a postman. Everyone loved us during lockdown, but now that we have a stressed out postal service (thanks to management thinking they can carry on as they had through lockdown.) it's, "Where's my parcel?! I ordered it 2 days ago!" and barely a thank you. Obviously, not everyone, but a noticeable increase in this kind of attitude.

[FoxesDeb]

5 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

When I was a kid, a good few years ago now, you just knew which school you were going to next (unless you moved house of course), pretty much always the one nearest to you.

 

When did everything change into the palaver that we have now?

Now we have public access to Ofsted reports and school league tables many parents choose to send their children to a school different from their catchment area one, nobody really thought of going to a different school before this I don't think.

[Guest Sideshow Faes]

5 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

When I was a kid, a good few years ago now, you just knew which school you were going to next (unless you moved house of course), pretty much always the one nearest to you.

 

When did everything change into the palaver that we have now?

In the 1990s people were choosing to go to other schools and going through an application process so unsure when you're talking about?

[Sly]

1 hour ago, FoxesDeb said:

Now we have public access to Ofsted reports and school league tables many parents choose to send their children to a school different from their catchment area one, nobody really thought of going to a different school before this I don't think.

This actually may have a lot to do with it.

 

 

 

 

[Trav Le Bleu]

3 hours ago, Sideshow Faes said:

In the 1990s people were choosing to go to other schools and going through an application process so unsure when you're talking about?

Make me look really old mate.

[Parafox]

4 hours ago, FoxesDeb said:

Now we have public access to Ofsted reports and school league tables many parents choose to send their children to a school different from their catchment area one, nobody really thought of going to a different school before this I don't think.

 

True. When I was going through school I went to infant and then junior schools local to me.

 

The only time I had a choice was after passing what was then, the 11 plus exams. Then I could decide for myself based on the Grammar school's speciality. It could be sports orientated or engineering, academia, or more practical areas.

 

I chose Gateway Grammar because it had practical specialities.

 

During my time there, the school won the Young Scientist competition way back in 1972, when by pupils devised a way to match fingerprints based on the Venn diagram:

 

"Gateway school participated twice. A project on PVC reached but floundered in the final, while an invention that automatically scanned fingerprints won in the UK final and the competition’s European equivalent, hosted by Phillips in Eindhoven". 

 

Anyway, that's a bit off topic

Edited 26 August 2023 by Parafox

[foxile5]

20 minutes ago, Parafox said:

 

 

 

Anyway, that's a bit off topic

I'd argue it's more on-topic than me whining about state education underfunding and the NHS in public opinion. You've re-railed this and prevented it from becoming a political bitchfest. Hats off, Para. If you could afford a hat, what with the NHS underfunding over the last decade....

[Heathrow fox]

7 hours ago, FoxesDeb said:

Now we have public access to Ofsted reports and school league tables many parents choose to send their children to a school different from their catchment area one, nobody really thought of going to a different school before this I don't think.

I can assure you that parents sending their children to schools outside their catchment areas was a thing way back in the mid eighties.I witnessed it with my own eyes.Not only that but it was encouraged.

Trying to avoid being political here.Personally I think it gives the upwardly mobile yet another advantage.Make of that what you want.

[leicsmac]

3 hours ago, Heathrow fox said:

I can assure you that parents sending their children to schools outside their catchment areas was a thing way back in the mid eighties.I witnessed it with my own eyes.Not only that but it was encouraged.

Trying to avoid being political here.Personally I think it gives the upwardly mobile yet another advantage.Make of that what you want.

What I make of it is that it's a great idea in principle, but in practice it means greater inequalities between schools that then don't get remedied because the "aspirational" look at their Ofsted reports and league tables and don't send their kids to the poorer schools.

 

That is an issue that requires addressing while retaining freedom of choice, but of course it will not happen given the administration at the present time as such divides is exactly what they want.

[ozleicester]

Change. The. System.

[Daggers]

21 minutes ago, ozleicester said:

Change. The. System.

Smash. The. System. 

[fox_favourite]

cuts can only keep going for so long. It's reached a point that staff levels have been cut so far back that it overwhelms the people who are left as they are expected to do more work than before with less people and on a cheaper wage (you get what you pay for). Unfortunately, if budgets are cut outside the LAs control and they still need to provide a service, this is the result. Mistakes are made, build up of work is inevitable and the quality is affected. 

 

But on the topic of admissions, yes my kids went through the process of this. The school was over subscribed in the local area, but we kept in contact with the school (who were brilliant) and helped us get a place, but unfortunately you have to go through admissions to get the place confirmed. If you get turned down by them, appeal and tell the school you are and then the school can get involved and over rule it if they can prove there is a space or can make arrangements to accommodate your child/children. Not in all cases though. I think it's easier to do so if the school is part of a MAT (Multi Academy Trust) or is an Academy of some sort and not a LA school. I hope this helps. 

Edited 27 August 2023 by fox_favourite