VIDEO: 96% of Milton Keynes children get first choice primary school place, what to do if you didn't?

Thousands of Milton Keynes pupils found out on Monday which primary school they will be attending in September.
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And it was mostly good news for parents with 96% placed in their first choice primary school.

MK Council received 3,433 applications for children starting school (compared to 3,660 in 2017) and almost every pupil (99.5%) has been accepted into one of their top four preference schools with 96% getting their first preference school.

Applications are needed for all children born between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014, even those who have been attending a primary school’s nursery, as school places are not automatically provided.

Parents who still need to make an application should complete a late application form which is available on the council’s website at www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/schooladmissions.

MK Council also received 1,275 applications for children transferring from infant to junior school, and 96% will attend one of their preferred schools.

Didn’t get the school you wanted, what next, read below and watch our video above:

- Top of your list should be to accept the place you’ve been offered. You may well be able to track down an alternative over the next month, but if the initial offer is not accepted, there’s a chance that your child won’t have any school to attend come September;

- So you’ve accepted the place. Now write down the schools you would have preferred and attempt to get onto their waiting lists – this can even be schools to which you did not originally apply. There is a big shake up between now and the beginning of the new academic year and some places are bound to materialise.

- Have a closer look at the school you’ve been allocated. There’s a chance that you have been making a judgement based on out of date information. When was the most recent OFSTED inspection and have things improved since? Perhaps the local reputation of the school is based on a previous headteacher or board of governors and is now unjustified. Go to the school gates at pick-up time and talk to parents with children already at the school.

- Try not to let on to your child how much you hate the school at which they’ve been given a place. If you’re negative about the school but then fail to find another one, your child may start at the new school feeling they’re starting a five year sentence.

- If you feel you have no choice but to appeal, you must remember that you can only appeal to the schools to which you previously applied. Each school will require a separate appeal. The grounds for a legitimate appeal will be published on your local authority website: the bar for success is very high. You’ll need to prove a mistake was made when the admissions process was carried out, that the admissions policy is unlawful or that no reasonable person would come to that admissions decision – ‘reasonable’ being used in the legal sense. This entails proving the negative impact on the school caused by going over numbers is out-weighed by the potential disadvantage to your child, and that only this particular school can meet their needs.

- If you still need guidance and advice, The Good Schools Guide offers a telephone consultation with a school appeals expert who will listen to your particular circumstances, suggest ways of approaching your appeal, give advice on dos and don’ts and tell you what your chances of success are.