Disability and school admission

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

If a child has a disabled parent who applies for the closest few schools, is it actually discriminatory to refuse these?

Really don't want to have to "play the disabled card" to the council but as it stands, I'm home-edding, as the place we've been given is the other side of the city!

bugger. thanks though lougle

If there is a school right over the road, how come you didn't get in based on distance criteria anyway?

I don't think it's discrimination that they didn't ask you about your disability on the form.

I'm in Scotland, which might have made a difference. I just phoned and asked, heard back same day.

Woo, I'm guessing that was because the one over the road was my second choice, the further one first choice. So I guess anyone who put first choice in catchment comes above us on the list? If that isnt it, no idea.

When i applied for his place, my mobility was nowhere near as bad as it is now btw, if you were wondering. I was ill but didnt see it getting so bad so quick, so it wasnt so big a deal then to get to the further nursery. If it had been this bad then, I would already be in the system and i imagine have the motorbility I am hugely relying on qualifying for, rather than still waiting for assessment, and again, it would be less of a worry to get him somewhere.

Will look at transport as an absolute last option, literally all of the other nurseries with spaces are closer than the allocated one, so will see if he can go to any of them (at least two of them are within one bus journey, assuming I do need to take him), plus see whether I can apply for the Summer or even Autumn allocation for the local nurseries, then there are also private nurseries and childminders that offer the rising three places, so will look into all of that. :)

Just not really in a good place to be dealing with it at the mo, so thanks everyone for helping

Is this the term past three one? We didn't get a place offered but I thought it had to be within 2 miles for a state one or you could get money for a private one?

Just looking at private now. We would need to pay for it, and then the council would reimburse us each term.

It shouldn't be based on first choice, it should be equal choice - in other words, each school treats you as if you had placed them first, then decides if they can offer you a place, then you get the school which both can offer you a place and is your highest preference.

Surely with a pre-school only wanting a place in January causes problems anyway as a good one will probably fill in the September and not have places until the following September when others leave to go to school?

Just to comment to the above about medical priority: a child cannot get medical priority based on a parent's medical issues, but a child can get social priority based on a parent's medical issue. Look into that.

iiii only if there is a criteria for it. If the LA chooses not to have a social criteria, they don't have to take account of it.

The idea seems backwards to me anyway, its the youngest kids in the year that get behind, so why give even more education to the oldest kids?!
Surely the gap then gets even bigger?

My eldest will have two terms more nursery education by the time he starts school than my youngest will, just because one is autumn born, so will be nearly five, and the other easter, so will be only just four.

Will double check the distances with the council. I know one little girl who has got a place, and she does live even closer.
And yep sirzy. So I'm hoping there will be space in Sept even if there isnt right now...