Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Is there a shortage of school places in this area?
I was wondering if anyone was experiencing difficulty in getting a place for their child in this area of N. London? In particular are you having to travel further than you would like?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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There is meant to be a really high shortage of school places at the moment and its meant to be rising of the next couple of years. I'm already starting to panic for when I have to apply in october.
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Permalink Reply by Carrie on
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our kids went to Stroud Green primary, a lovely walk through Finsbury Park to get there, and a good school. It's double form entry, so has quite a few places (although this was a few years ago, so I'm not sure if it still likely to have places or not)
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Permalink Reply by Alison on
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I think there is a huge shortage. I live in N8 and have applied to six nurseries. I was only offered a place at one and that is because its a religious school and we go to church. Honestly if we have not been going to church we would have NO place for september.
I really dont understand how the schools in this postcode can continue to have distances of 0.1 or 0.2 when there is a huge influx of young families with young children moving to the area every single day. Its crazy that there are 5 schools less than half a mile away that I cannot get into.
I have been told even at the nursery where I got a place that a place in reception is not guaranteed...so I am very worried about a place in 2014.
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It's precisely because of the influx of young families that the catchment is so small. The more dense the population of children that live around the school, the smaller the catchment will be. If a school can only accept 30 children and it has to accept them on the basis of who lives closest to the school, then the catchment grows smaller the denser the population of children is.
This is further compounded by the fact that other factors (rightly) come into play before distance, such as whether child has siblings at the school already, whether the child is looked after (in care), has special needs, etc. This tends to mean that only about 15 of those 30 spaces are allocated on distance alone.
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From what i have heard/read ect yes. I need to apply for Sept 2014 and even though there are three schools within a ten min walk (2 or which I would be very happy with, one maybe not so much) looking at the current catchment I'm not confident we will get into any and that is a worry. Feels like we maybe in a 'black hole' and therefore may get a school which will have to drive to or get a bus which wouldnt work for us as a family. Need to do a bit more research.
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The Council produces a report each year on place planning. So all the information you require should be here: http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/children-families/education/projec...
There is generally a shortage of primary places in the borough, with several schools being expanded to accommodate. Of course particular schools are over-subscribed as well, so even if there are spaces generally you may not be able to get your first choice if it's lots of other people's first choice too.
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Permalink Reply by DrWhams on
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We were very fortunate to get a place for our son at our preferred school (Belmont), but I think we must have been close to the edge of the catchment this year. The table of places applied for and offered was very interesting -- many of the schools had a catchment of below 0.3 miles this year, which seems crazy. There were a few that had much larger catchments (I say 'much' - about 1.5 miles), but I think in at least one case it's because an extra form was added to a school to cope with demand).
Interestingly, there was no mention of Downhills (or Harris Academy as I think it now is) in the table. Anyone know why that might be? Noel Park (which is also now an academy) was in the table, so it can't be that the table just doesn't show academies.
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The tables only show "over-subscribed" schools - so schools like the one my son attends (Tiverton) isn't on the list either; although there's no such thing as an under-subscribed school (they are all full).
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Without doubt there is a shortage of places. I can remember this time last year we had a discussion on this site about the fact that through no fault of our own, our house in Umfreville Road does not fall within the catchment area of ANY school, and we now as a result have to get in the car and make 1.5 mile journey (to Tiverton School and back) twice a day. We had in fact given up owning a car, but were effectively forced back into car ownership as the only practical way of getting my son to/from school which is otherwise a 25 minute walk or 2 bus journeys each way. Your advice this time last year (following an unsuccessful appeal which never had any hope - also a very depressing experience) was to join the waiting lists and hope... My son is currently 12th on the waiting list of our nearest school (South Harringay) which is just 295 yards away. We are currently 3rd in line for our 2nd place option (Weston Park) having very briefly got as high as 1st place on the list only to fall back down to 3rd again presumably because other children moved in to the area. I ring the Council every couple of weeks to check but realistically there is NO light at the tunnel - it is very, VERY upsetting and highly unsatisfactory. For the record, it was a struggle to find the £600 to reinsure our old jalopy of a car this week. We should be able to walk our son to school. Can you tell me why I can't?
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Hi Antoinette, I can recommend Stroud Green Primary, which is much closer to you than Weston Park, and although most probably a 20-25 min walk for you is through Finsbury Park, and a great start to the school day, and quite a few children and parents stop off in the park after school for a play and cup of tea!
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With the greatest of respect, I have to hold down a full time job and do not have 50 mins x 2 each day before I then have to travel to/from my job. I barely manage even with breakfast and after-school club provision (which is far from cheap).
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I have been concerned to hear about the issues with the allocation of school
> places. A number of residents have contacted me with similar issues and I
> have raised these concerns with senior officers at the council who oversee
> school places. So far the answers I have received do not fully explain what
> has happened at schools like Weston Park. I am pushing them for more
> comprehensive answers.
>
> Residents can appeal against school space allocations. There is more
> information on how to do this and your rights here:
> http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/children-families/education/school...
>
> Councillors will be meeting with officers on Monday to discuss school place
> allocations. I will let you know if there are any further developments
> following this meeting.
>KatherineCllr Katherine Reece, LibDem Stroud Green ward and LibDem spokesperson on Children
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