Remember me getting the forms to complete for which school Davies would be starting later this year complete with a scary prospectus thingy for all the local choices?
Remember how after some deliberation I just binned it all?
Well guess what came this morning?
A second form chasing up the non-returned first one and asking that it be completed by end of February to ensure every child was guranteed a place and that we got our first choice of school.
I have binned that too under the reasoning that it is asking us to reply to ensure we get a place – we don’t need one so there is no need to reply. But there does appear to be a default school place arranged for him anyway looking at the form, so will his name be automatically on their register come September?
I’m torn between knowing I have no obligation to share our plans and that by actually putting something in writing I may be drawing attention to us which I would rather not court although I am prepared to deal with it if it comes; and thinking perhaps I should send a letter back simply stating that we have made private arrangements and will not be requiring a school place. Which would hopefully simply make them cross him off their list – or would it?
Argh! I’m not good at just doing nothing and leaving stuff unresolved!
I’d be tempted to write the private arrangements letter, just so that you’ve replied, and drawn a line under it, for your own benefit as much as anything else, then you won’t worry about it!
He isn’t registered until he actually turns up on the first day – he might be on their list, but that’s not a legal status 😉
You could do the private arrangements letter, but that’s just as likely to bring you to their attention I would have thought – might make you feel better though.
We had actually put C’s name down for school before we decided we could actually do this HE thing, then they changed the application process and sent new forms. I wrote and said we had made alternative arrangements, just in case someone did actually allocate her a place in school, and that was the last I heard. I guessed they would assume we were putting her in private school, although I have since met the headmistress of the school and so she does know now.
Well, I wonder what people who are sending their children to private schools do? (Do you know any?) I can’t imagine they bother letting anyone know. The LEA aren’t going to be chasing people up to find out everyone’s reasons for not wanting a place, surely!
We *had* put Hannah’s name down, so we wrote the private arrangements letter, and we’ve had a couple of calls since asking for her school to complete their records, but I’ve seen them off.
We have the same dilemma here. Our form has a box you can tick to say “I do not need a place at a state school” but I too am tempted to just put the whole thing in the bin.