Welcome to School Gate - your guide to Britain's education system

We all know how much education matters, but it can still be frustrating, upsetting, exciting, and often, as much of a learning experience for parents as children. That's where we come in.

We'll be commenting on education in the news, explaining how things work in the classroom, and, above all, talking about what you're discussing at the school gate. We also want to help you with the kind of information you really want to know, but aren't sure where to find. We'll be using Parent Power and the experts from the Good University Guide, as well as trying our best to help you find out the best ways to get into the right school or university. So let us know what you're talking about, and what you're looking for.

If you're looking for information to do with A level results, please read our new A level posts on the top subjects to get into through clearing, discuss whether examination standards have fallen and find out what to do if your results are better or worse than you expected. And discover why Pixie Geldof is offering sympathetic advice to people who may not have done as well as expected.

(picture from Iwona Kellie on flickr.com)

Comments

[Mrs L]

Dear Alex and Sarah - thank you very much for this advice, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to me.

[Sarah Ebner]

Dear Mrs L,

I hope that this reply from Alex Frean, Education Editor of The Times will help you.

She says:

"Every local authority in England has a website with a list of all the state primary schools and secondary schools in their area. The websites will also have a section on how to apply for a place at local schools. The list will make clear which schools are faith schools and what their entrance procedures are. Some faith schools (i.e. Church of England ones) do take children who are not religious, and it's quite possible that there will be a number of good non-faith schools in the area that you wish to move to, or a Church of England school, that is willing to take your child.

The system is not really that complicated. Generally, you are supposed to apply for a school place via the local authority. But if you are starting in the middle of a school year or at times other than age five (for reception year) or age 11 or 16 (for secondary school/sixth form college), you can, as a parent, ring individual schools that you like the look of and ask them if they have any empty places in your child's relevant year group. For the most part, schools are really pleased to fill all places that fall empty during the school year (because a good deal of their funding depends on a head count of pupils). You cannot, however, leave your name and number with a school and then expect them to call you back when or if a place comes free. Some schools will do this, but they are not really supposed to operate 'waiting lists'. This is not because schools are being unhelpful. Instead, it's a general rule that applies to prevent schools from poaching pupils from rival establishments. If you really like a school and they don't have a place, keep calling them on a regular basis to see if a place becomes free.

The best thing that you can do is to decide the general area where you want to live and then take a look at all the schools in that area. You should take a look at their most recent Ofsted report (on the Ofsted website) and also at their national curriculum test or GCSE results (these are all available on the DCSF website). But these will only tell part of the story. There is no substitute for visiting a school. A visit and a chat with the head will tell you more than anything Ofsted can say. Most heads are very welcoming to prospective parents."

[Mrs L]

We are relocating from Scotland, where the school system is very straightforward, to England where apparently it isn't. Where can we find a list of community primary schools in England? We are not religious and are therefore apparently barred entry from nearly one-third of primary schools in England - how do we find out where the other two-thirds are? I am not interested in muscling my way into a faith school or whatever, I just want my kids to go to their local school. I will be devastated if we move to a village and then discover our children are not welcome at the village school, in spite of the fact that we pay our taxes like everyone else.
Any advice would be welcome on this. I feel I have been utterly naive about all this - until recently I had no idea that taxpayer-funded schools could refuse entry to local children.

[jane]

I was supposed to be relocating after a job offer which I accepted. However in the new town (Cheltenham) I find I can not get my eldest child into the school yards from her home. She will have to travel 10 miles to school if we are to live there. Therefore I can not move, therefore I am now out of work. How does this happen in 21st Century Britain? We no longer have the infrastructure to support our citiens. I just can not afford private school fees, especially with the credit crisis too! What an intolerable government.

[A mother]

If this blog is indeed intended to be our "guide to Britain's education system", then may I suggest that you regularly post about Home Education too? It's a growing community, with a big online presence (you might enjoy exploring the Early Years HE blogring at http://codeplacidly.com/ringmaker.php or the Home Ed UK blogring http://www.notsheep.net/ringmaker.php as starting points for exploration.

I'd say the absolute must-read in the HE blogging world is Carlotta's http://www.daretoknowblog.blogspot.com/ This is a bit of a Reddit-style news accumulator for UK home edders.

Not all education in Britain is happening in schools, and you'll almost certainly find Home Education topics provocative and comment-inducing, if you are looking for a blog with active traffic.