So So Angry, In year school admissions

[bloodychildishifuaskme]

In June/July I put in an in year admission application for my daughter.

She was put on the waiting list, she was top of the list.

Today she was picked up from school by my friend.
My friend was handed all my DDs school work and told she wasn't coming back after half term.

This was the first my friend knew about it, hah, was the first I'd heard about it either!!!

Apparently the HT told my DDs teacher she was leaving, then whilst my DD was taken out of the classroom, the whole class was told my DD was leaving and made goodbye cards for her!

Then my DD heard from her friends she was leaving!

I haven't even had a letter offering my DD a place yet.

I spoke to county, eventually, and they said that yes the HT was told my DD had been offered a place, and yes we would be getting a letter this week about it.
It's not our first choice school, we haven't been to look around and obviously cannot do that till after the holiday, and chances are we won't take the place and will wait for a place at out first choice.

I am furious that we have been put in this position by the current school, furious that my DD class were told she is not coming back, furious my DD was told she isn't coming back (and not by us!)

Just furious in general.

My DF wants to complain, so do I.
Any help as to who and how would be appreciated.

[Ghoulwithadragontattoo]

I think you should complain - that's not on and a very strange way for the HT to act. I hope your DD is not too upset by it all.

[animula]

Can they do that????

I thought you had to sign all sorts of forms accepting the place, after it's offered - to you - and then the old school is informed??????

If you don't really want this new school place, don't get bumped into it. Do complain.

It seems that the problem may lie with the council, though, who don't seem to have followed any recognisable procedure at all.

It sounds bizarre to the nth degree, so sending your dd back there ...

[animula]

Actually, it really isn't the school at fault there, at all. And, in the circumstances, making the goodbye cards is a nice thing to do.

It sounds like a real mess at the council.

It also sounds as though they haven't managed to get to grips with taking over admissions.

[cjbartlett]

that's awful
poor dd
I think the school should wait until parents confirm a child is leaving
hope they haven't given her place away

[RustyBear]

cjbartlett - if schools always waited till the parents confirmed a child was leaving we would still have several on our books who haven't been there for years.....

[mummytime]

Well at least the school should try to contact the parents.

[Sandalwood]

I can sort of see why they would think that you'd got what you wanted and would be leaving, or why would you put anything other than your preferred choice?

[DemonMousse]

That seems really odd behaviour by the school. Maybe the teacher was worried that your DD would go without any acknowledgement from her classmates - the leaving cards were a nice gesture but why on earth didn't the Head just give you a ring to confirm?

We have had only one case the LEA notifying us that a child was leaving before the parent did - the Head rang immediately and the parent confirmed that she had only just recieved the offer that morning but was coming in to tell us later.

I think you'd be justified to complain - especially the fact that they 'notified' your DD!

[prh47bridge]

You have not yet been offered a place elsewhere, let alone accepted it. You are perfectly within your rights to reject the offered place and keep your daughter at her current school. But if the LA have got this wrong I wouldn't be at all surprised to find they've offered your daughter's place to someone else. Ring the Admissions Manager and complain.

[saggarmakersbottomknocker]

Sounds a right mess.

In our LA we can't off roll a transferring pupil until they've been admitted by the other school so hopefully your current place is still available.

[admission]

The behaviour of the school in this matter is very bad. The regs are very clear no child has left a school until the parent officially tells them they are going in writing.

I can only assume that as you are now on half term this is the reason for the panic created in the school. But the school should not have been being told of your offer of a school place by the LA. I just wonder whether actually the head heard it from the head of the school where the place has been offered. It is not unknown for heads to talk to each other about pupils moving between schools.

However from your post, you obviously are not sold on the idea of this other school. I would take immediate action on this to stop yourself being in the situation where you have no school place. I would email both the school and the LA admission manager and confirm that as of now you have no written offer of a place, that it is not the school you really want and you will only make a decision when you have written confirmation and you have had the opportunity to visit the school. Until then your daughter is a pupil at the current school. If you do this over the weekend then it stop anybody taking up your current school place.

You might also ask the obvious question of what the LA / school intend to do over the anger and embarrassment caused.

[bloodychildishifuaskme]

Thanks for the replies,

the school we will be offered is/was our second choice, at the time I didn't realise it is was further away than DDs current school, and part of the idea is I don't want to be driving every day when there is a v.good school at the top of the road.

also the move was based on bullying by parents towards me (and other parents) being threatened is not my idea of a fun morning!

DD is 6 btw!

I wasn't told who told the HT about the offer, but to tell a class full of 6 YOs is not on, particularly when we didn't know about it.

[bloodychildishifuaskme]

Oh and I agree the leaving cards are a nice idea......but when it is confirmed she is leaving, it seems like they can't wait to get rid of her, commenting to her at the end of last year that she won't need to do the holiday HW as she isn't coming back and now this.

[Iamseeingstars]

I would send my child back until you have sorted out a place. The school should be talking to you
My understanding is that you have to inform the school yourself that a child will not be returning. Had this been done?

When we left our last UK school, I kept deferring the date and in the end the HT said that when I gave the last date that he would be accepting this because another child had been offered the place so I had to be definite on my final leaving date.

[kipperandtiger]

Write a letter of complaint to the Headteacher as well as the Local Authority admissions officer/manager.
It really seems very unprofessional of the class teacher or the principal not to have contacted you first if they were going to do stuff like tell her class and make goodbye cards for her (as sweet a gesture as that is). Then again, I have heard of some schools making gaffes like this.
And I'd take the advice of admission and pth47bridge, who know a lot about matters of school admissions, etc.

[MigratingCoconuts]

I also think this is odd and highly unprofessional!

I always thought you had to actually formally withdraw your child from school and in writing before it became official!!!

I have never heard of teachers pre-empting the parents in announcing they are leaving!!!

[bloodychildishifuaskme]

iamseeingstars

All we have done is fill out the in year transfer forms so far!!!
That was june/july time.

WE have not even had a letter offering us a place at the 2nd choice school yet, let alone looked round it with DD.

Yet the school have told DD (6 btw) that she is leaving and not coming back, told her whole class she isn't coming back and bagged up all her work to give to her!!!