In-Year Admissions

[PeanutButtercup1]

Hello All,

We have had the privilege of having 2 wonderful siblings placed with us for the past 2 weeks. It was nerve wrecking at first, but now we are all slowly settling down and have started understanding each other's rhythms.

The elder one, however, requires proper structure and order to keep her calm. So, my thought was that she should start Reception in the autumn term (October-November). The trouble is, there is no proper guidance on In-Year admissions that I could find either in my council website or anywhere else. The schools don't want to hear about it - they are just asking us to go and talk to the council. Council can't be bothered to pick up the calls either.

What advise does anyone have? Do we just go announced to the town hall and talk to them? E-mail them (not sure if that will help)?

Two weeks is early in placement to start school if they haven't already- is your child "summer born"? If at all possible, I'd wait until next September to start reception if only just placed.

To be thinking of school, I'm wondering if you're struggling with the early days? This is normal- you've just met, and the early days are hard. Does your social worker know how you're doing?

The best place for these children in the early days is going to be home with you, to build that attachment. If you need a break, is there anyone that can help out?

A strict routine for all of you sounds like a good idea.

I’d not consider school either until next academic year. Your little one has just gone through a huge trauma (moving family, home, area etc) and it’s not clear how this will play out in the months to come. To add the stress of school might be too much. Is there any other local groups or clubs she can attend to assist in socialising? I think you need to think about what school can offer her and if you can provide similar in a smaller, more manageable way (I’m thinking routines, friendships, learning opportunities).

@Catleveltired - No. We are not trying to send them to school to avoid "troubles" for us. They are fine as is. She was born in May. Turned 4 this May. She should have been in Reception this September, and she already had placement confirmed at her FCs before being placed with us. She has attended nursery / pre-school full time for an year already. She is wanting to go back to school. That is all she talks about sometimes.

If we wait until next year, she is behind on her school. If we dump her straight into "class 1", she will struggle. She needs to go through reception - that is what the child's SW and our SW say.

@PeanutButtercup1

can the SW not help. my son moved in year and I did nothing other than tell the SW which school I wanted. His SW got the the two LEAs to sort it out.

The OP isn’t talking about starting school until October, so not two weeks into placement. My two were placed in early August and school starts here mid-August. They were both used to being in school and nursery and really struggled without the routine.

In discussion with both social workers we had them start school at the end of September following the September break. It was quicker than I had anticipated but that both thrived in school and nursery (the nursery attached to the school. It’s very common here to defer 4 year olds, which we did with my DS but he started in P1 (no reception type class here) with children from his nursery, if he was likely to fall behind I would have started him at school.

Besides which the OP didn’t ask if her children should start school, she asked how to obtain a mid-year place.

@PeanutButtercup1 my school system is different but I’d echo @Ted27 suggestion of social work who should be able to support the process of finding a school place for a looked after child.

I agree that the route here is to go back to LO's SW and get them to make the application.

Our DS was placed with us last July and like your LO needed the routine of school. He talked about it alot in the run up and went in September for the start of term. Best decision we made in those early days because he took to his new school really well and it was really stabilizing for us all.

Our DS's SW told us she had to make the application because we did not have full PR at the point. Despite that we really had to keep on top of DS's SW and our LA (different authorities) to get it all settled. His school place and class were only confirmed 2 days before the start of term.

If you LO's SW is dragging their heels or reluctant to help, then you could also try getting in touch with the Virtual School team for your LO's LA. You should be able to find details for them on the LA's website (or your SW maybe able to help if they're from the same LA). Virtual School will still have responsibility for overseeing your LO's education at this stage, because she's only recently placed. The Virtual School will only step back from that role when your adoption order is granted and you stop sharing PR with with the LA. (So for example we were having termly virtual meetings with DS's class teacher/head teacher and virtual school, so they could be updated on his progress. It was super useful to have those meetings, especially early on in the year.) They may either be able to make the application or at least help in chasing LO's SW.

The schools are right that admissions are handled by the local authority. I'd also get the child's sw onto this.

I notice you mention schools (plural) though. Have you decided which one is best for your child? The schools can and should still meet with you and show you around even though they don't have the powers you admit them. You don't have to make a decision blind, you don't have to accept your catchment school and you don't have to wait to see which school the LA suggests. Your child has looked after status, which puts them at the top of schools' oversubscription criteria and the LA can still place a looked after child in a school which is technically full. So if you haven't already, do arm yourself with information on what each school can offer, before going through the admissions process. Each school has a designated teacher for looked after and post-looked after children so you could ask to meet with that person.

I would visit the schools, decide which one you prefer, then apply through the council with SW / Virtual schools backing if needed to take your child as an 'excepted place' (ie Number 31 when the limit is 30.

I would however look to start possibly mornings only or at least not 5 full days, so as to balance the need for structure with bonding and feeling secure.

If she's summer born, she can start reception next year. I would push for this, as placement is so new. If you're not struggling, then there's no reason to send her to school before compulsory school age, especially in the circumstances. If you were struggling, my advice would be different.

Assuming you are in England, you are aware aren't you that by law Adopted/Looked after children are pretty much top of admissions criteria.

If doing in year admissions and the class is full you may get turned down in the first instance. However you really 'should' win an appeal and it shouldn't get that far anyway with SW backing.

All great suggestions. Have been working with the LA, SW, Virtual Schools and the council to see what we can do. Finally got a response from the council with admission forms etc.

Just wanted to ask adoptive parents / prospective adoptive parents - would you prefer to send you child to a school 3 miles away if they are a good school with good reviews from other parents? Or would you stick to the closer ones with the aim for a smaller commute?

I would (and do) send my child to the school that I thought was the best fit for him. For me this involves driving past three other primaries.

You want the school which can best meet the needs of your child.
It's really important to remember that your child will have very different needs to the average child living happily with their birth families. Visit the schools and look at their experience of looked after children and additional needs. Do they understand trauma and attachment.
Other parents reviews may not be very helpful in this context.

I sent my school to the 'worst' local primary. But it was the most ethnically diverse school and had a lot of experience with LACs and ASD/ other special needs.
Similarly, his secondary school was not the most popular choice - but it was inclusive, supportive and knew its stuff as regards my son's needs.
I packed my son off to uni this week - the right school is worth any commute

I couldnt agree more with what Ted and sunshine have said, it's about choosing the school that you feel best about and can meet your child's needs the best. The tag line of the school near us that everyne clamours to get their child in to is 'we are unashamedly academic', hmm.. I gave that one a miss and opted for a one form entry, high % free school meals, 'rough' school, it has great pastoral support and enrichment, and a great approach to behavior support.

Friends couldn't believe I wouldn't use my ability to choose whichever school I wanted to get in the 'best' ones but I'm happy with my choice. Need to choose a primary for dd2 for sep24 now, probably a special school and it feels daunting!

You might want to have a look at these questions: https://www.adoptionukforum.org/topic/64b0fb16-bd2d-40a1-acd7-921588b961c7

You need to dig deep and read between the lines. You will find that some teachers tell you they have lots of experience with adopted children, but actually have no clue.

As far as I know, schools have to exceed the maximum number of children in a class to accomodate care-experienced children. I would give holding your child back a year some thought. Mine retook a year even though they are academically doing well. It makes easier in the teenage years.

I’d also go for the school that meets their needs. I literally live next door to our local primary school but my two go to one 3 miles away because it was the best school for them. The HT is an adoptive parent, she’s had all the staff trained in developmental trauma, positive behaviour management and attachment. The school is very experienced in adapting the school day to the needs of the child and she very creatively manages resources to ensure nurture support for the children.

Had I sent them to the local school they would have got lost in the midst of kids who have been hot housed from birth.

Do consider that your kids needs will differ so visit schools, watch staff interactions with the children, explore how flexible the school are, how important academics are and get a feel for the place. Listen carefully to how staff speak about the children, and get them to explain to you their understanding of developmental trauma and how it can impact children, don’t take “yes we’ve had training” as an answer - ask what concrete difference the training has made in the school.

Definitely visit them, don't just believe the reviews. PPs have said pretty much everything I would say about the staff and applications etc. Don't base it on distance alone!

However, in regards to distance...

You can make a longer commute work (more decompression time, chance to have clear structures and routines), some potentially decent exercise opportunities etc, but 3 miles is quite the journey for little legs, so you might be beholden to bikes, cars or public transport.

I have found that having a school 10 minutes mooch away from us was really helpful in the early days because getting anywhere took forever, but the walking down to school helped everyone to regulate and chill, but we could mainly chill because it was such a short distance and we left half an hour for a 10 minute walk to account for fallings over, inspection of dog poo, loud commentary about why the van still had a flat tyre, going back to get water bottles, wailing because the icecream van wasn't there etc. Plus, if you have siblings, you may need to do 2 drop offs at some point, and from a practical POV, being close reduces family stress. Luckily our two nurseries have half an hour between drop offs, so we can mosey on down from one to the other but I can imagine that the stress if they were further away or times were closer would be a significant factor in our family stress levels,especially in the early days.

For us, the ability to walk to school and really get to know our local area, say hello on the same walk to the same people, pass by nursery in the summer holidays to prompt remindingthat it still exists on a weekly basis has been valuable. Plus, it meant that I got a few more precious minutes at home on my own!

Don't choose a school on that basis, but you are right it is a factor worth considering.