Parents who’d like help applying for their child’s Infant or Secondary School place next year are being invited along to a special event this week – which is the first of its kind in Ruddington.
The ‘School Admissions Evening’ will offer information and advice specifically tailored to help Ruddington residents who need to apply for a place in September 2024 and has been organised by village mums Katie Santana and Jen Walker. It’s happening this Wednesday night at Ruddington Village Hall.
“Unfortunately, over the last few years, too many Ruddington families have run into difficulties when applying for a school place for their child at both infant and secondary school” says Katie. “We devised this evening to help families navigate what can be a difficult system, so they can truly maximise their chances of getting a place at the school that is the right fit for them. For example, if we were to have issues with James Peacock being oversubscribed again, and with no current plan to expand the school, we wanted to help families really think about what they put down for their 2nd, 3rd and 4th preferences that they are encouraged to use.”
The information evening is especially timely right now, since the Nottinghamshire County Council’s deadline to apply for a Secondary School place next year is looming at the end of this month, on Tuesday 31st October 2023. The window for families to apply for Infants and Junior School places will then open next month.
Jen, who is also an elected Borough Councillor for Ruddington, says: “The issues around school places for the children and families of Ruddington have led to a sense of unease and confusion amongst residents. Not only are children not getting into the obvious choices for our village, but issues continue to be unresolved around transport as well as discrepancies and inequality around uniform cost.”
Katie agrees: “My son is currently attending Rosecliffe Spencer Academy. Unfortunately Nottinghamshire County Council’s school transport assistance policy is not to provide a school bus or taxi, despite the school being over 2 miles from our house. In our case, NCC did offer to fund free bus passes for use on existing public transport, although this would mean spending 3 hours every day travelling on a bus to get my child to and from school, or some money towards mileage. If you have car access issues, this school is an unsuitable preference – with schools with direct public transport links being better options, such as Heymann or Greythorn Primary, despite them being feeder schools to a secondary school that we are not in catchment for.”
At this open meeting, other Ruddington parents, who’ve already been through the admissions process, will also be attending to share the experiences they’ve gained over the past few years with their school applications. It will cover issues such as how to apply, which schools you should apply to, and getting help with transport.
Katie adds: “We also want to ease parents’ anxieties, such as letting them know that, for the first time this year, those choosing South Wolds Academy in Keyworth as their 1st preference were provided with a free school bus – which may have previously been a barrier to choosing this school.”
This inaugural Ruddington ‘School Admissions Evening’ takes place on Wednesday, 18th October 2023 at 8.15pm, in Ruddington Village Hall on Wilford Road. All local parents and guardians who are (or will soon be) going through the school admissions process are most welcome to attend.
