Need advice about admission

[17anna]

My child got a places in her first and second choice schools, of which we accepted first choice. We were all happy and in the mean time i got job offer which i was able to accept because my child was admitted to this school(friend got child in the same school and agree to drop and pick my child up).Today we got phone call from Lambeth informing us that this place was withdrawn because it was offered in error. They said that she can go to her second choice school but my situation changed and this choice is not valid any more(got nobody to take my daughter there). I can not give up job because my employer would have to give up hers.I ask them if she could go to another school nearby but they said they haven't got any places and it wasn't on my list. I really don't know what should i do? I don't know if i can still appeal( deadline was last week)? If only they did let me know 2 weeks ago i would not committed myself. pls help.

[NellieForbush]

Sorry I can't help (what a nightmare) but bumping for you and hopefully someone who knows about this.

[bubblecoral]

From what I have read on here, you can still appeal. They set deadline dates so taht they can organise all the appeals that come in, but that does not affect your rights. I think it would eb well worth appealing. Speak to ACE (advisory centre for education) you can google their website and phone them. and see what they say. I think you would have a good case for appeal, because clearly there has been a mistake somewhere.

[mummytime]

I don't think legally they can do this. Hopefully this will bump this up for the admissions gurus to give you chapter and verse.

[17anna]

bubblecoral thx. I will call them in the morning.

[whomovedmychocolate]

I don't think they can do this either. If they made a mistake based on info you gave them they can, but I'm not sure they can because they made a mistake. Definitely appeal and go on the continued interest list as well. Good luck.

[17anna]

mummytime they said that they can not force the school to admit my child since the school did not offer her place. the LA admission team send the letter in error.

[beautifulgirls]

It is their error, not yours from the sound of it and they are not allowed to withdraw the place. You need to challenge this.

[bubblecoral]

The majority of schools don't offer places, it is usually something that is done by the LA. It sounds like they are trying to put you off making a fuss, but don't listen to them. You only have to read some of the stories on here to see that LA's are not always the lovely helpful people that care about out children that we expect them to be. Your story can be included in that now!

[admission]

Paragraph 1.50 is the relevant part of the admission code. What it says is that once an offer of a school place has been made it can only be withdrawn in very limited circumstances. These may include when a parent has failed to respond to an offer (not relevant here) or when the admission authority offered the place on the basis of a fraudulent or missleading application from the parent. Or where a place was offered under co-ordination by the local authority, not the admission authority, in error.

So there are two questions that need asking is this a community school or a school which is their admission authority (a faith school?) and was the school in a different Local Authority. Under those circumstances they may have a case for withdrawing the place but if it is a community school within the Local Authority that you live in then they should not have withdrawn the place.

If that is the case I would go back and say to them that under paragraph 1.50 of the admission code there are only very limited circumstances that a place can be withdrawn, you do not believe any apply and that you want written confirmation of the first preference school place being upheld.

Of course that may not stop Lambeth from saying we are taking the place of you. So ask for it in writing with a reason for the decision made. It would then be sensible to accept the second placed school but then appeal - forget the deadline date that is just for the convenience of the LA

[Panelmember]

The School Admissions Code says -

1.50 Once an offer of a school place has been made it is only reasonable for an admission authority to withdraw that offer in very limited circumstances. These may include when a parent has failed to respond to an offer within a reasonable time or the admission authority offered the place on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application from a parent (for example, a false claim to residence in a catchment area) which effectively denied a place to another child; or where a place was offered under co-ordination by the local authority, not the admission authority, in error. If a parent has not responded to the offer of a place within a reasonable time, the admission authority must remind the parent of the need to respond within a further seven days and point out that the place may be withdrawn if they do not.

So, my questions are

1. How did you receive offers from two schools? Was one a private school? You would normally receive only one offer, even if you applied to more than one borough.
   

1. Is your 1st choice school a voluntary aided school (eg a faith school) for which the LEA is not the admissions authority? Your post makes me think this might be the case.
   

1. If I am right, the LEA can withdraw the offer but they are supposed to do so quickly after the mistake is discovered. How long ago did you receive the offer of the place at your 1st choice school?

[17anna]

1.one is community the other foundation. none private

1. it is foundation school.
   
2. received both letters on 4 April. Send back form on 8 April

[17anna]

admission- i can not accept second choice any more.(got no one to take my child there) i asked them if they can place her in other community school nearby which wasn't on my list by my friend children go there so i would get help, but they said there are no places there and i have to fill up CAF again.

[admission]

Ok, anna, under paragraph 1.50 as it is a foundation school the LA are probably relying on the phase "where a place was offered under co-ordination by the local authority, not the admission authority, in error. The bottom line is that if the LA made an error in offering a place then they may just have cause to withdraw the offer, whereas if the admission authority (the school, who drew the list of applicants up) made the mistake and the LA simply followed their instructions then they should not withdraw it.

There is case law on the withdrawal of places and the whilst each case is different the perceived legal situation is that a place can be withdrawn if it was done say the same day but once it gets to 3 days (as in one case) the parents and pupil have a reasonable presumption to the place and the La was wrong to withdraw the place. That is clearly not the situation here

I would go back to the La in writing and say that you do not accept the phone call withdrawing the place. I would say to them that under paragraph 1.50 that places can only be withdrawn under certain circumstances and even more critical is the time factor of it being over a month since the place was offered and accepted and there is no legal precedent for withdrawing a palce after this time. Ask them to confirm that the place will be made available and if not the specific reasons as to how this place was offered in error.

This is likely to get messy and there is no guarantee that you would win at appeal - you should but.... You do need to make sure that you log every contact with the LA and keep every bit of written correspondance for any appeal.

[southofthethames]

Poor 17anna - you have my sympathies. I did find it strange that they gave you two schools, but of course, what can you do, you do what every other parent would have done which is to accept the first choice. And they had a whole month with your reply to get in touch. If it is any consolation, something similar has happened elsewhere:
www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/news/Families-distraught-schools-fiasco/article-3519792-detail/article.html

However, you are in a slightly better situation than those parents because there's only one child to place in your situation. Definitely write back to the LA as @admission says, and definitely get the papers to appeal. The deadline doesn't apply in your case because the LA messed up after the deadline. There was another precedent of it happening to a family quite late (like you) and they had to give the family the place back because they'd already accepted the place ages ago, like yourself.

I'm no expert, just passing on what I've learnt from other experts on MN. Good luck, it sounds like you have a good chance of winning this, with all the right (copies of) documents, offer letters and emails, etc. (and enough fortitude to handle the stress!)

[17anna]

admission what about the other school should i fill up CAF again?

[17anna]

I just found out that Lambeth Independent Education Appeals Service does not accept appeals against foundation school. So in another words i have lost right to appeal. Where do i go from here?

[ComeIntoTheGardenMaud]

That isn't quite right.

Any refusal of a school place should attract a right of appeal. The difference is that the LEA's school appeals service arranges the appeals for community schools while foundation and voluntary-aided schools arrange their own appeals. You need to contact the school urgently and ask them where you should send your appeal.

[Blu]

Does that mean Foundation Schools have their own appeals procedure?

This sound a nightmare.

While everything else is going on, Put your dd down on the waiting list for the foundation school and also the other local community school - if you live nearby you could have a v good chance as a lot changes between now and SEptember - people move away, people don't turn up at the beginning of term., people accept other places or go private at the last minute. There is a lot of mobility in much of Lambeth so someone may well move.

But keep pressurising them to give the place they offered in the meantime. Gave you contacted the school itself? Ask them about appeals.

So sorry you are in this situation - very stressful and unfair.

[ComeIntoTheGardenMaud]

They are still bound by the admissions code and appeals code (and the appeals are often heard by some of the same people, as many foundation schools invite members of the LEA's pool of appeal panellists to sit on their panels). The main difference is that it is the school, rather than the LEA's appeals secretariat, which arranges the appeals.

[17anna]

I will contact school tomorrow to hear their side of the story because i am getting nowhere with Lambeth. I was advised to make an official complain against admission team(i think its them who made an error).

[admission]

There is an appeal process for every school. Because the school is a foundation school it is responsible for organising its own appeal process. Many foundation schools still do use the LA process as it is convenient but obviously this school is using some other method - there are some private companies that do offer such a service. You need to contact the school and ask them how to appeal, do not accept any rubbish about the fact that the date for appeals has passed that is simply not true, you have a right of appeal.
I would also tell the school that you are appealing because of the fact that they have illegal removed a place offered to you. Let them know that they are not going to be able to sweep this under the carpet.
If they are organising their own appeals I think that you also formally need to inform the LA in writing that you are appealing and that you require from them a written statement of how this mess was caused. If you do not get that you are going to be in a situation where you can prove nothing. If they do not seem keen to do this, I would say that you will therefore have no alternate but to go to the Schools Adjudicator as they clearly are not abiding by the admission code in terms of removing the place after such a long period of time.
As far as other schools are concerned the only problem is whether the LA assume that the problem has gone away if you start asking for places at other schools. So I would fill in the CAF but state that you want this school as your first preference, so there can be no question you still want the place.

[admission]

Sorry, what I need to also say is that there is the possibility that they had the right to remove the place based on paragraph 1.50. What they however should not have done is removed the place after such a long period of time for which there is legal precedence. They should have accpeted a mistake was made and simply offered the next pupil on the admission criteria list a 31st place and they would have been an excepted pupil for the year. So you need to be saying the appeal is about the illegal removal of the place not the fact that they had no right to remove it.

[17anna]

what if i appeal to school but is LA fault because they gave me place which school didn't offer?

[CheeseMeisterGeneral]

Do not know the circumstances but at my local faith school the LA made a mistake a couple of years ago, and they had to admit 31 children to the primary intake, the the LA had to fund an extra teacher until year 3 when they could legally have 32.

[admission]

If that is the circumstances that did exist then my reading of paragraph 1.50 is that they did have the right to withdraw the place. However they also needed to take into consideration the issue of the timing of the withdrawal. They can withdraw if it is done quickly but if the parents have gained an expectation that this is the school that their child is going to then the place should not be withdrawn. This expectation is time dependant and nobody could dispute that a month is more than enough time for them to gain such an expectation.
I agree that there is a danger that both will blame each other and in those circumstances it may be necessary to involve the School Adjudicator before an appeal. Best to see what is said over the next few days by both parties involved, but you must not be arguing about the fact that place was withdrawn but the manner and timing of it being withdrawn.