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Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

Didn't get your first choice school? How to turn it around

Dad and daughter smiling
If you child won’t be going to their first choice secondary school, how do you make the best of it? Camilla Chafer investigates.

There are a number of factors that can influence school place allocation, such as sibling priority and geography, which vary year on year leaving thousands of families disappointed when they don’t get their first choice.

However, it’s not all bad news... 

Things aren’t always what they seem

Not getting your first choice of school can actually work out well says mum of one, Kim. After being rejected by their local primary school, she sought out a school further away where her daughter was accepted.

“I felt everyone else was looking at me pityingly,” reflects Kim. But by the time Kim’s daughter reached year four, the tables had turned. Their first choice school received a ‘good’ Ofsted report, whereas the school Kim’s daughter was at shot up to ‘outstanding’. Kim admits to feeling smug that their second choice ended up being the better-performing school.

“If you get your second or third choice school, it's worth wondering why these ones didn't top your list and whether they ‘beat’ your first choice in another way. For example, that school with mediocre results may have a cohort of children who have English as a second language, and so their average scores were really excellent for them; or the buildings may not be brilliant but the children's behaviour might be,” says a chair of governors at a north London primary school. “Don't write off any school; you can always improve it, even the very best.”

Invest your own time

Parents are no longer bystanders at their child’s school. Instead they can be a force to be reckoned with when they team up for a common purpose. A good school will recognise this and be keen to harness parents' power to help them with fundraising and other activities. You can work with a school to create the results and atmosphere that you want.

“Schools always need active, involved, interested parents. Whether that's volunteering half an hour a week to sit with a small group to help with their reading, leading a fundraising project, or becoming a parent governor,” says the chair. “Schools are pretty much always short of money, so don't be put off by facilities that need a lick of paint or equipment that needs updating. The chances are that the budget has gone on something that really matters instead, like staffing.

Your school may welcome your offer of help so think about what skills you can bring to the table. Can you:

  • be a classroom helper (think listening to reading practice and other similar tasks)?
  • create a website to give the school a professional web presence?
  • make costumes for school plays?
  • donate costumes or needed equipment such as PCs or musical instruments?
  • provide ad hoc technical support?
  • fundraise to get together money for needed equipment?
  • develop a relationship with local businesses to ask for donations or sponsorship for the school?

Find out about how to appeal

Determined to make every effort possible to get your child into their first-choice school? Read our step-by-step guide to school appeals, with sample appeal letters to download and a timeline of what will happen when. Good luck!