Deprived of school place due to admin cock-up?

[MandyD]

I filled out my local school's application form and returned it to to them before the deadline in November 2002. (The school is 300 yards away from home BTW, and half the children arrive by car). In January this year the education authority wrote to me saying they weren't happy with the proof of address I'd given them, could I provide more evidence. I did so, posted it, but by end Feb/early March I still hadn't heard anything.

Phoned and they'd never received it. Took more copies of bills etc to the head office and handed it in. Heard nothing. Phoned again and apparently they wanted proof of my SON'S residence at our address. I reasoned that as I'd proved that my partner and I lived there, where was our son likely to be living?

They then wanted a particular letter from Child Benefit that I hadn't yet received, but finally I did get it with 1 day to spare before the admission letter were going to be issued. I took it to the head office and handed it in FAO the person dealing with my application.

This week is 3 weeks after the admission letter were due to go out, I've heard nothing so I phoned. Apparently they had no record of my application and therefore my son's name isn't on the school list for September. The reception class is now full.

Have spoke to a manager today, she's "going to look into it" and look for the papers "in the unlikely places". What hope do I have that my son is going to get an education at all? Has anyone else been in this position, who do I get to sort it out if the papers can't be found? Do I have any redress at all?

[ScummyMummy]

Good grief! Sympathies. I think the only answer is to kick up a big stink. Nag them like crazy- phone every half hour or so- and take any confusion they express as an admission of guilt which needs immediate redress. Sound like they've really mangled the whole process.

[sb34]

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[Bozza]

I agree with the others. It can't be right, you've done everything you can to make sure they got the info. If you don't get anywhere perhaps you could get in touch with your local councillor to add a bit of weight to your watertight case.

[MandyD]

Hi Batters, it's a London borough that begins with 'H'...place your bets here!!

[emsiewill]

I would go to my MP if I was you - this is just outrageous!

[Jimjams]

Mandyd I've just been browsing my LEA boole;t about starting school.

It says " The law requires that no...child shall be in a KS1 class of more than 30 pupils......Exceptions are allowed in certain circumstances, for exampple, where an error has been made in implementing the admission arrangements......"

If I was you I would get onto your LEA admissions office and kick up at stink. ALso contact local councillors and MP. IME- kicking up a fuss with LEA's can produce results. Haven't done it for this, but have gone into battle for other reasons.

May be worth looking at the DFES website before ringing- see if you can find something like the above quote to tell them when you ring.

Which reminds me I have to go an ring my LEA now. fun fun fun.

[MandyD]

Thanks everyone, just to clarify - it's the Education Authority that's made the cock-up, not the school. All the school does is pass the paperwork on to the LEA. Is it worth contacting the school do you think?

[helpplease]

I feel quite bad about the fact your child hasn't got a place it just doesn't seem fair. I think the reason I've got quite strong feelings about this is because a friend of mine has just got her ds into a very popular out of the way school by lying. She lives quite a distance away in a bad area and wanted her ds to go to this other school. She was told he wouldn't get a place so has lied and said she and her ds live with her dad who lives up the road from the school.
She can drive so can get her ds there easily but I keep thinking that a child who does genuinely live closer to the school is missing out on a place due to her being dishonest. Sorry to take over this thread but has anyone got an opinion on if I should just keep quiet or not?

[Jimjams]

Definitely keep quiet. Nothing about schools is fair- eg it's not fair that living in a bad area gets you a crap school, or that having an extra 100 grand to spend on a house will get you a good one. a lot of leas are cracking down on this anyway-you have to show child benefit books etc.

I have the opposite problem. I'm in the catchment for a very good , oversubscribed, very popular school. Trouble is it is totally crap with special needs (even the LEA have told me that), so it's a total no go. We live 2 streets out of the catchment for a school that seems very good with SEN- but we won't get in- although we are on the list- it's oversubscribed.

Instead I have applied to a school a long drive away (about 30 mins in traffic), and to my surprise we have been offered a place. It should be good for my ds1 but I'd really prefer not to have to go so far each day. I guess I'm just saying it's rarely fair....

Mandsy- be polite to the school and shout at the lea!

[zebra]

This is the part I don't understand. Suppose my local schools are full and the nearest school with a place is "30 minutes drive" away. We don't have a car, and suppose the busride would be 1 hour each way. Can the LEA insist we go to the 30-minute drive/1 hour-busride school?

[Jimjams]

They can- but you can appeal. Schools have a problem because of the 30 classsize limit. Some schools can go over this limit- but some- with no physical space really cannot. I have a feeling we may live in one of these catchment area blackspots. I have applied to the good and oversubscribed local school just to see if we get a place- I won't be accepting it, but i have a feeling we won't get one. I have no idea where we would be meant to go then becuase the next 4 closest schools are oversubscribed and we are outside the catchment (I have applied to 2 - the other 2 are crap with SEN). I will be interested to see if we get offered anything. Actually it makes my life a bit easier as the school I have accpeted is in a different LEA and I am expecting the LEA to possibly kick up a fuss (because of the statement funding) but as I see it they haven't actually offered anything else suitable.

[tallulah]

helplease, do you know she actually lied? My DS3 goes to a primary school 22 miles away (!) When he started there in Y3 we got a lot of hostility from some of the locals because other kids from the village had been turned down- though not in his year group. The school knew where we lived & offered us the place that July after we'd decided to take him out of a school we were really unhappy with.
We have a school at the end of our road & he'd been on their waiting list for 2 years (since we moved house). ALL the other schools in the town told us we weren't in their catchment area, yet 6 schools in the next town offered us a place! The whole system is crazy.

[MandyD]

I'm assuming I might end up in the same position as it appears all places have been allocated now. The problem is, I am disabled, don't drive, and cannot walk my son to school more than half a mile away.

My second choice school is a bus ride away because it's up and down steep hills, but I'm used to paying out for the bus to get him to playgroup. But no other Haringey (ooops, gave the borough's name away!) schools geographically local to me are on a bus route.

I will find out what's happened from the Education Department Admissions Manager on Monday. She will have spoken to the clerk who I addressed the final piece of required information to, and who may have put it in the "unlikely place"

One bit of good news, a friend who does a lot of fundraising for the local Catholic church has offered to speak to the Priest to see if DS can get a place at the Catholic school. They have 2 reception classes! I went to a Catholic school as a child and loved it (although my parents didn't have me Confirmed) and had wanted a church school for DS - although I can't get him to go into a church at the moment! It will take 2 buses to get there but it is a possibility.

[robinw]

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[Jimjams]

Now I'm worried that when I turn up at ds1's school everyone will hate me because we're out of the area. It does look suspicious as my Mum and Dad live just around the corner, but I did apply from our proper home address. I had to as ds1 is being statemented so I could hardly lie......

Mind you we have a bit of a tallulah situation round here. Crazy isn't it talulah?

[suedonim]

Mandy, as you are disabled, is there some sort of mobility provision to enable you to be able to get your child to school, maybe in the form of, say, a taxi, being provided for him?

Maybe I'm completely off key here, but it's just that my sister's DH has health problems and when he was in hospital once, he was told he was enttiled to transport help - and indeed had been entitled to it for many years previously. No one had ever told him and I'd hate to think of anyone else missing out. Best wishes.

[Jimjams]

that's a good idea suedonim. You get a taxi (plus escort) if your child has to go to a distant school because of their special needs, so it may be the case for a child with a disabled mother and no transport. Especially if the LEA have made the cock up. It may be enough for them to "find" a place at the local school. I'd contact them by phone in the first instance and then follow up with a letter. I have had quite quick results when I've complained to the LEA before. I did get the impression that they took complaints from parents quite seriously.

[zeinab]

Mandy, a friend of mine in another London borough beginning with H had a similar problem. She applied to a school 250m away from her house, didn't get in because her application was lost. She's also disabled, and in her appeal she got her consultant to write that in her child's interest she HAD to go to this school so that her mother could pick her up easily.

I know it's probably not what you want to do, bring your disability into it - but getting into schools is like war now and you need to use all the ammo you can. Plus you need to make them feel guilty for being crap.

Good luck.

[robinw]

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[tallulah]

robinw, one of the others mothers had a "casual" chat with my DH to find out where we lived etc. He pretended he didn't know what she was getting at & laid it on thick about how much we'd wanted our child to go to our local school but they wouldn't take him. Then he "casually" mentioned that 2 of our others were at a particular school.. she said "isn't that a paying one".. I asked him if he'd mentioned they were on an Assisted place- oh whoops, he forgot that bit! ... we were never troubled again....!

[Copper]

Mandy D
any news on this?

[MABS]

i also want to know how it's going.. My best friend was not sent any application forms by her LEA and only found out yesterday that it should all be finalised. Maybe she should have known but she's a first time Mum and had Number 2 at Xmas so was somewhat distracted... She's today been told that the top 3 schools are full, tough luck basically, and the only available one is cr*p. Any thoughts anyone?

[seahorse]

MandyD

I recently went through the appeal process for a school place for ds where the class size was already full to the 30 maximum. I posted on school appeals/admissions some time ago. You will definitely get a place even if you have to appeal as it was a procedural error that should not have happened. It just might be a pain having to the appeal. I looked at the website run by ACE which provide help for 'appealing' cases. My best advice would be to write to the school setting out your case and indicating that forcing you to appeal would be a waste of time for both parties and that they should allow your application now. Also insist on a meeting with the headmaster.

[MandyD]

Sorry for the delay in replying, went away for Easter and haven't had much chance to get on Mumsnet till now.

No news. The manager at the Education Department was away on leave till Tuesday after Easter, I rang her on Thursday and she put me straight on to the assistant who has screwed up my application in the first place. So couldn't make any progress. I said I'd taken the proofs of address in, he said he hadn't received them and so kept going round in circles.

I resorted to saying will you just [cut the crp and] give my son a place. He said can't. I said well who would you prefer I complain to: Education Department senior management, my MP or the Dept of Education and Science? He said you choose. And so on.

He said he'd search again for the file, rang back to say the proofs weren't in it, then proceeded to use my (late) husband's name as being father of my son, and asked for my phone number again. So he didn't even have the file in my estimation. I said I had no more to say to him and would he get his manager to ring on Friday (yesterday). Needless to say she didn't.

I think I will have to make an appointment to see the Head at the school and see if she can help. The dckhead in question told me that he would put my son's name on the school list, subject to confirmation, but on Thursday he denied saying that. I think it will be appeal time! Seahorse, can you give me the website address that you refer to? Thanks.