School Place

tessting

Hi there, we are waiting on news of a school place for our 3.5 year old next September 2021. He is 115 on a list for 65 places so not sure if he'll get in. I put him down the week after he was born. If I had put him down for 2022 (when he's 5.5.) he would have been very high on the list as I would have been one of the first to do so for that year. Anyway I was checking the school policy and it says if they don't get a place, they will go to the next year's list at the same ranking. That seems a bit unfair. I am happy to let him wait a year if he gets a place but am surprised there's no guarantee.
The other option is to send him somewhere further but we run into issues with minders walking to drop off and collect and also the reality that we have to be in work for 9am, jesus christ, how do people manage this?!

Dravokivich

I think its nuts the way schools have a list of kids when born. The school my son goes too opens applications 8 months before the term starts.

Harika

Didn't they stop this born and signed up system? We had to reapply in October for next year as all old entries were purged. Now have two schools to choose from.

shesty

Slow down there OP.


He is 3.5 now, is it? I am a little bit doubtful they will officially give you a school place now - you may have to reapply again officially the January of the year he is due to start, as per Drak's post. Based on that, anything really can happen - people move house, get a place elsewhere, decide they don't want to take their place....people could be on that list ahead of him and be gone out of the area already......Our local schools don't want to hear from you until the January before they are due to start school either. There's time yet.



Is this a Dublin school? What other schools are in your catchment area? There is no point sitting and panicking about this for the next year or possibly 2 years. Put his name down with other schools now, if they are operating a waiting list system too, or else investigate what other schools there are so that you can apply for them too once their applications open in the January.


Also don't panic about childminders and walking to school. You would be amazed at what can be managed once you actually get to the point of it. I'll be honest, we decided to go with a school a car drive away over one that is within walking distance of our minder - we felt it was the better educational option. Our minder does not drive and we both work. We relied on a local playschool opening early who took the kids and walked them down to the primary school. Parents of other kids in the class shared lifts home with us (I don't work Fridays so I could pitch in on Fridays). Furthermore, we altered our hours - I went in for 8am and OH went for 9.30, and he did the morning school run, so I did the afternoon pickup from the minder at 4. (These days we are working from home so it is less of an issue)


You have a lot of time to sort this out yet, but just look at all of your options and don't assume that what you are doing now is how things are going to stay - one of you starting a bit later, some working from home days, maybe other parents you might know, or ask around for what other people are doing.

jlm29

When they say he’ll get a place at the same ranking, does it not mean he’ll go onto the list where he would have gone on it on the date you put his name down for the 2021 list?