No school place -Sept 2013 start

Pugins

Currently abroad but unexpectedly returning back to Dublin shortly. Have no school place for my eldest due to start in September 2013. I guess my only option is to start ringing schools and hope there is a vacancy somewhere....

Any suggestions or advice? Where might there be vacancies in terms of suburbs with older populations? Does anyone know if the Dept of Education themselves can help or is it necessary to speak to schools directly?

Thanks

January

Speak to schools directly first. Where will you be living? I think there's some JI places left in the school my little one is starting in.

Pugins

January wrote: »

Speak to schools directly first. Where will you be living? I think there's some JI places left in the school my little one is starting in.

Job is near M50 so thinking we will rent near the school we can get into. Can you PM me the name of the school your child is starting in?

anncoates

Some people enroll kids in a number of different schools to see which ones they are accepted in so there is chance a place will be available in one of the local schools.

Moonbeam

We are having a similar issue except we had her name down at around 11 months ,ring every school nearby.
We even narrowed our house search to house within 10 minutes walk of the school so bought a house beside a school that has no places.
I am slightly bitter.

It will depend on location and if you have strong feelings about religious ethos.

lazygal

anncoates wrote: »

Some people enroll kids in a number of different schools to see which ones they are accepted in so there is chance a place will be available in one of the local schools.

This. I heard recently that number 130 on a waiting list for the local educate together was only offered a place this week. With moves, emigration, children not being ready for school etc I wouldn't despair.

skit490

Yikes, when do people normally put name down for a place.
Oh n sorry op. Prob bringin thread off topic am i. ?

Moonbeam

when they are a few weeks old to be sure of a place.
Not all areas have school place issues and where I live 2 schools are majorly over subscribed with massive waiting lists and another one is not full for Sept (all girls convent) most area have a local national school and that caters for most of the kids.

unkel

skit490 wrote: »

Yikes, when do people normally put name down for a place.

Within a day or two of them getting a birth cert. And we nearly missed out on our second child. Very popular (and excellent) Educate Together school in Lucan.

anncoates

skit490 wrote: »

Yikes, when do people normally put name down for a place.

About a year old but our part of Dublin doesn't really have place issues.

Queen-Mise

skit490 wrote: »

Yikes, when do people normally put name down for a place.
Oh n sorry op. Prob bringin thread off topic am i. ?

For us down the country, to get into the local Gaelscoil, you would want the childs name on the list from a few months old.

None of the other schools are a problem to get into, including the Educate Together.
Secondary schools are another ball game altogether.

lazygal

We put her name down for the local Educate Together as soon as we could. It's first come, first served after siblings so we didn't want to take any chances. We'll have no issue getting into our second choice (local catholic school) as we live close by, but the indoctrination would be an issue. We're also hoping to get into our first choice as its a feeder school for our secondary school of choice. It really depends on the area, ours isn't too bad but I know someone who's getting worried in a different part of Dublin because despite several different schools a lot of children are stuck every year, but everyone seems to get sorted by September.

neemish

In Balbriggan, where there is always a shortage of places, schools have stopped accepting "early bookings" (Look, here's my 12 week scan!)
There is a week in January when you apply for a place for the following year. Most of the schools have a very strict enrolment policy. It's still not easy to get a place in the school you might like, but an awful lot better than a few years ago.

Moonbeam

I thought Balbriggan was now sorted for school places?
I am gone a while now but I know the situation had improved before I left.

neemish

Not completely sorted. Still a struggle for some. There are new places coming on stream every year and they always seem to fill very quickly.
Some schools are beyond saturation

highly1111

Different schools will have different policies. Educate together are purely first come, first served. Our local schools (south Dublin) have now introduced a policy where you can only put your name down the year before the child started - maybe an attempt to try and stop the madness. Works far better anyway as who knows where one would be living in 4/5 years when the child is ready to start school.

Pugins

Thanks to all for comments. Just thought I'd update to say we managed to get a place due to someone else pulling out. So relieved!

aniascor

neemish wrote: »

In Balbriggan, where there is always a shortage of places, schools have stopped accepting "early bookings" (Look, here's my 12 week scan!)
There is a week in January when you apply for a place for the following year. Most of the schools have a very strict enrolment policy. It's still not easy to get a place in the school you might like, but an awful lot better than a few years ago.

Not true. My daughter is two months old and I just applied to two schools for her. Nothing was said about waiting to apply. (And I already made the mistake of waiting so that now we are worried about my son getting a place in 2014.)

Moonbeam

Are there 5 primary schools there now ?
We got a school place but it is going to be a 13km drive each way .

neemish

Ten primary schools - five Catholic, 1 COI, 1 Community National School, 1 Gaelscoil, 2 educate together

I could guess which two you can put names down for early but won't!

Moonbeam

10 wow
The only one we were interested in was the Gaelscoil, and there is a school beside my house there but I had not paid much attention otherwise.
It seems crazy to have 10 primary schools in one town, it would make more sense to me if the catholic ones merged. I think the population there is around 20,000 now?

neemish

Why merge schools? Each school has a population of about 485. I think the rationale behind that is that any larger and the school looses its sense of being a community. In fairness, two of the schools are in the country and are much smaller - Balscadden and Balrothery. Neither of those have space to expand.

With a young population, seems a fair number of schools to have. Don't think the Church will be looking for patronage of any more schools that may open. Newbridge which would be considered of a similar size and makeup has 11 primary schools!

aniascor

neemish wrote: »

Ten primary schools - five Catholic, 1 COI, 1 Community National School, 1 Gaelscoil, 2 educate together

I could guess which two you can put names down for early but won't!

I'm thinking now I don't even know of all the schools in the area. The only one I know of that doesn't accept admissions until the year before is one of the catholic schools. Certainly the Gaelscoil, the two Educate Together schools and the new VEC school all accept early applications.

If there's been an improvement in the area I'm not aware of it. I put my sons name down for a place in the Naoinra (the play school in the Gaelscoil) two years ago and he was still number 24 on the waiting list even though there are 60 places. If that's not crazy I don't know what is. (And typically he got offered a place last week a few days after I had organized something else for him...that's life I guess.)

neemish

The sooner they all move to the year before policy the better...plus there should be a rule that you can only enrol your child in one/two schools. I've heard that people are enrolling their kids all over the place, taking up places that could go to others!

Dravokivich

neemish wrote: »

I've heard that people are enrolling their kids all over the place, taking up places that could go to others!

That's absolute madness, as Highly mentioned above, how'd you know where you're going to be living in 4/5 years time. Circumstances can and have been shown over recent years, change.

The worse part about it is people will use that idea to promote the action as "You'll never know which school they'll turn down."

eviltwin

I put my son's name down for the local ET before he was born. Even with that I'm not holding out much luck for a place. We're number 200 on the list.

Meanwhile the local Catholic school is so desperate for pupils they were calling around the houses here last year. I remember a time when you could only get into that school if you had been bapthised, now they will take anyone.

Sign of the times.

neemish

Depends on the School. I know Catholic Schools that are in demand because they happen to provide a good education on top of being of a certain ethos!

Moonbeam

neemish wrote: »

Depends on the School. I know Catholic Schools that are in demand because they happen to provide a good education on top of being of a certain ethos!

here it is the opposite,it is the only school with places.


We did not live here at birth so that is why we have no place:(

January

eviltwin wrote: »

I put my son's name down for the local ET before he was born. Even with that I'm not holding out much luck for a place. We're number 200 on the list.

Meanwhile the local Catholic school is so desperate for pupils they were calling around the houses here last year. I remember a time when you could only get into that school if you had been bapthised, now they will take anyone.

Sign of the times.

Ah did they seriously? I never got a knock on the door anyway! FWIW it is an amazing school. They'd one or two extra spaces this year but I think they're filled now and no early start places left either.

wolfpawnat

There are 7 primary schools in my locality, so I was lucky with my son. I left it so late but got the one I wanted. As Moonbeam said, you may have to be willing to put up with a religious ethos with many of them at this stage.

68Murph68

neemish wrote: »

Depends on the School. I know Catholic Schools that are in demand because they happen to provide a good education on top of being of a certain ethos!

Given the Catholic church in Ireland's history in relation to child abuse I can't fathom for a moment how a Catholic school would be in demand because of their ethos.

Utterly mind-boggling.

Moonbeam

68Murph68 wrote: »

Given the Catholic church in Ireland's history in relation to child abuse I can't fathom for a moment how a Catholic school would be in demand because of their ethos.

Utterly mind-boggling.

Please refrain from suggesting that the catholic churches ethos is child abuse.
That is enough on the matter.

Pugins

anncoates wrote: »

About a year old but our part of Dublin doesn't really have place issues.

Back again looking at a potential move back to Dublin from abroad but now with 2 school ages children! Saw here you say your part of Dublin doesn't really have place issues. What part of Dublin is it please? Choice of where to live could well be based on getting into a local school!