Managed Move

[sallywaterhouse5]

Hi
Could anyone please advise.
I removed my son from school, yr7 after 3 months of bullying and school not being interested. During this time he had lots of time of school.
In Jan I applied for a new school place. An in- year transfer. Every week I phoned LA to check progress and basically got fobbed off.
I phoned Mon of this week to be told his case had been heard by the Fair Access Panel last week , a decision had been made and a letter was in the post. Yesterday I received an voice mail from his old school informing me he had been put back on their school roll and they were organising a managed move and would organise a meeting between them myself and a Mrs Palmer at his new school. I am gob-smacked. I have had no communication from the LA. When I ring they wont discuss it over the phone. I have nt received a letter a week after the panel hearing. I have nt given permission for my son to be added back on the roll. I dont know what a managed move is and I dont know which school a meeting is being arranged with. What should I do next ?

[prh47bridge]

A managed move is a process whereby your son would be moved to the new school while staying on the roll at his existing school. If the new school aren't happy with him they can send him back to his existing school.

If any of the schools you named on your transfer application had a place they should have offered it to you without going through the FAP, etc. If none of the schools have places you should have received a letter telling you this and giving you the opportunity to appeal. Unfortunately a number of LAs seem to think they can ignore the rules when dealing with in-year transfers.

A managed move is usually used when a pupil is likely to be permanently excluded from the current school. It does not appear to be appropriate in your situation.

I would reject the managed move and demand that they either offer you a place if one was available at one of your preferred schools, or allow you to appeal if there were no places. If they refuse, tell them that you will be referring the matter to the LGO as a clear breach of the Admissions Code.

[sallywaterhouse5]

Thank you for your reply. My son was never at risk of being excluded. He has never been in trouble. I never received a refusal from the school I applied for nor the chance to appeal. My chosen school was over subscribed and I expected to appeal a place. I am told the LA has gone through this process because my son had poor attendance, which is true but only due to the circumstance at the time. He has a spotless school record. He ended year 6 in greater depth with an excellent behaviour record. My dilema is that the managed move is to the school we want . If we turn it down and go to appeal, we might lose.

[prh47bridge]

You may lose an appeal. You have to balance that against the risk that you accept the managed move and, after a few weeks, the new school sends him back to his old school. There is no independent appeal in that situation. Not an easy decision.

[sallywaterhouse5]

Thank you. Im very unsure what to do. I feel my son is getting a raw deal. He has done nothing wrong. He was let down by his last school. (well documented) has been let down by the LA and now has to jump through hoops for a new school.
If I insist on an appeal can I bring up the breech of Admissions code and will it hold any weight ?
And if i turn down a managed move what will happen then ? Can I appeal the FAP ?
Sorry for all the questions. Ive absolutely no idea.

[prh47bridge]

You can bring up the fact that they've tried to force a managed move when your son was not at risk of permanent exclusion and you had used the normal admissions process. It won't win your appeal. Strictly speaking, it isn't relevant. However, the appeal panel is likely to be unimpressed which will make them less likely to give the school/LA the benefit of any doubt.

You don't need to appeal the FAP (and there is no mechanism for doing so). You can appeal the refusal to admit your son to the school you want. If you reject the managed move that is the option you should pursue.

[BubblesBuddy]

If your DS fits in well at the new school via the managed move, and you clearly think he is well behaved etc, then why would he go back to the first school? Why would your preferred school do that? You would take him off roll again if he was unhappy, surely? The managed move means you should get the school you want and, if it works for everyone, it’s perfect! If it doesn’t work for DS then you can remove him from that school.

The appeal might not give you a place. It is possible the LA are circumventing that outcome? Not strictly by the book but you get what you want. The worry about going back to the old school seems a bit unfounded to be honest.

[ColeHawlins]

Managed move could be a good option for you. At least, being back on the school role is.

If you withdraw him from the school, you're on your own in finding another place and generally only dreadful schools have places.

I suspect some diamond in the LA is trying to save you from yourself and hold the school accountable for its poor handling of the bullying.

[ColeHawlins]

I would go along with this approach on the proviso that your DS is not required to physically attend his original school.

[ColeHawlins]

These people are a good source of information and advice.

www.ace-ed.org.uk

[prh47bridge]

Why would your preferred school do that

Having encountered this kind of issue before, I am suspicious of the motives of any school that insists on a managed move instead of simply accepting the child in this kind of situation (i.e. where the child is not in danger of being permanently excluded from their current school). I have seen this approach used when the receiving school had no intention of keeping the child long term but wanted to prevent the transfer without allowing any appeal.

[DonPablo]

In my (limited) experience of a managed move (not my children in either case) both schools swapped students.

In one case it was because an exclusion was on the cards and the other situation was similar to yours.

I have no idea if this was the correct way to do things, but I wonder if in your case that's why the managed move is being suggested-there's no space at the school so if they swap your child for one of their students then there's room to accommodate them both?

[sallywaterhouse5]

Thank you all.
prh47bridge I am of the same opinion as you and am highly suspicious of the motives behind this decision. I dont feel I have been treated fairly, with honesty or courtesy throughout the whole process so have no reason to believe that this decision is any different.

[sallywaterhouse5]

Just another thought. I have spoken to my sons old head of year today. She would co-ordinate the proposed managed move.
She explained that there were 2 schools at the FAP meeting and they were directed that one of them must take my son. Would the managed move been at the direction of the panel or could that be something the school as added on ?

[prh47bridge]

No way of being sure but my guess would be the school.

[sallywaterhouse5]

Thank you so much for taking time out to reply.

[MsBeaujangles]

My LA use FAP for lots of in-year admissions, not just those who are vulnerable, with the purpose of ensuring children aren't out of school for too long. All local schools are full/over subscribed so FAP is used to provide places.
The FAP does mention 'especially the vulnerable' but talks about the process being applicable to all children.

[prh47bridge]

There is no problem using the FAP to find a place for a child. Making it a managed move, however, is questionable.

[sallywaterhouse5]

I have found out today that it is the FAP that has directed a managed move. If I refuse where does that leave my son ? We would then be with out a school place. Do we go through the whole process again ?

[prh47bridge]

You still have the right to appeal for the school that you applied to initially. They must send you a letter refusing admission and offering you the chance to appeal. Their failure to do so is a clear breach of the code. If you don't want the managed move you can go down that path.

[sallywaterhouse5]

LA are telling me because I ticked on the in-year transfer form that my son had been out of school for more than 2 months that I by passed that stage and triggered FAP and that I have no right of appeal. Is that incorrect ?

[prh47bridge]

The Fair Access Protocol is triggered when the parent of an eligible child cannot secure a place through the normal in-year admission procedure. As your child was out of school for 2 months he is eligible for the FAP so there is no problem with them triggering it. However, it does not remove your right to appeal.

Point them at paragraph 3.24 of the Admission Appeals Code which says, "The allocation of a place in accordance with a Fair Access Protocol does not override a parent’s right to appeal against refusal of a place at any school for which they have applied". If they still refuse, tell them you will refer the matter to the LGO.

[BubblesBuddy]

Well if DC gives new school no issues then he’ll get to stay! If he’s a problem then, yes, they might send him back. Even if it’s not a managed move they could exclude. No reasonable school gets rid of a perfectly decent kid and OP says hers is. You can fight it of course but you might not get it. It’s all very well being suspicious but you get what you want with the MM and I cannot see that you are really worse off by accepting it, unless your DC isn’t an angel of course!!!

[prh47bridge]

Well if DC gives new school no issues then he’ll get to stay

That may be optimistic. As I say above, I have known schools that have used a managed move as a way of preventing the transfer without any appeal. I can name cases where the child has been sent back to the original school on clearly trumped up grounds, including one where the school's only justification was that the child's work was untidy.