AIBU to want to shop another parent to the LEA for Primary School Admission Fraud

[eminthebigsmoke]

A lady I know in passing has scammed her way to a place at the best local primary by renting next to the school for 6 months. Two days after offer day she is back at her original address near us. AIBU to think that she has cheated someone else's child out of a place and shouldn't be allowed to get away with it?

Has no bearing on what will happen to my DC as we're 20 odd places down the wait list for that school.

YANBU

This behaviour seems a lot less like a victimless crime when you're walking a reception age child to her nineth nearest school, as that's where the nearest place was.

*ninth.

Sorry, the rage seems to obstruct my view of the keyboard.

It's baffling that anyone could consider this a victimless crime.

Someone who gets a place for their child by breaking the rules has deliberately deprived another child of a school place that they were legitimately entitled to. Its completely immoral.

All the defenders talking about how it's not their fault, it's that there are bad schools etc. That's nonsense in lots if cases, often it's because they don't want the ofsted 'good', they want the outstanding. Or the ofsted is the same, but one is the one beloved of the middle classes. And allowing this sort of fraud only promotes the idea that there are only some schools good enough for their darlings.

The vast majority of schools, certainly at primary, are absolutely fine. Save all that angst and energy for reading with your child and talking to them about the world.

"I am intrigued by the difference in the balance of responses to this type of fraud compared to threads about benefit fraud. People seem more likely to report potential school place fraud than benefit fraud. I'm not sure if that is because it is possible to identify the victims of school place fraud (the child at the top of the waiting list). Whereas benefit fraud does not have a single identifiable victim."

Well, because it is clear-cut dishonesty isn't it? And what is more, it's the kind of dishonesty that can only be carried out by priviliged people with quite a chunk of spare cash under their belts.

FGS if people would stop being so hysterical about whether a primary is in special measures, good or outstanding and just calm the fuck down - and get real about what Ofsted ratings actually mean - then there wouldn't be all this stupid jostling to get into the so-called "best" primary schools.

When my dc started primary they had the choice of two schools. This was 10 and years ago in London and I suspect we would only get one choice now. But, anyway, we chose the closest school and it has been Good, Not So Good, Good with Outstanding Features in the time my children have been there. The other school we could have been there has been Outstanding, Good, now Not So Good. Again, all in the same timescales.

If you believe in the comprehensive system then get behind your local school and support it. If you don't then bloody well pay for private (or fake/scrounge your way to a bursary) or move permanently away from the dodgy school you want to avoid in your neighbourhood.

Dear God, all you primary school wusses are going to get a shock when it comes to the secondary allocation process!

Think I cross-posted with ThankGodItsOver there. Well said .

No, mintyy you said it so much better!

The neurosis is bonkers. Go to your nearest primary, if possible, and if not a hellhole. Visit it once beforehand, potty train your child before reception, get them there on time. Job done.

ShadowSteam, ALL children should be legitimately entitled to a first class education. If they were these things wouldn't be happening.

We meekly accept the ridiculous situation whereby the standard of education our children receive all too often relies on where we can afford to buy or rent property and/or whether we believe in (or pretend we believe in) a god.

Are you unreasonable emin? That's for you to judge. Would I report the parent? Like hell. Would I be that parent if I needed to and was able to do as this one is? Hell yes.

It's just really hard isn't it..i see both sides.

I know of people who did the church thing then stopped going once they got in the school.

would in be annoyed that I was the one who missed out due to a stunt like this. of course.

could I do it? No.

But do I understand why, when it was us faced with the worst school in the area. of course I do.

All these people claiming others are hysterical over schools, well I'd hope they aren't the ones who had to remove their children due to bullying, the fact their kid can still barely read or count, or been through so many teachers they don't know whether they are coming or going. because until faced with a shit school it's easy to be the smug cow who thinks we should all just go local. yy your kids did ok. well you got lucky. I know plenty who didn't. when your told to fuck off or spat at by primary school kids from a particular school then if course parents might have a thing or two to be concerned about. like why were the kids out the school in uniform in school hours.

I don't condone lying and cheating to gain a school place. that place at a decent school should be there for all children everywhere. but let's not pretend we really all are prepared to use our kids as some kind of guinea pig.

I think some people have no idea just how bad some schools can be

Of course some schools are shocking, but really how many? The notorious case of this in Camden involved some really great schools being rejected in favour of a minimally better school.

Yes if your child is bullied etc, move them or do all that you can to do so. But why not at least give the school that would be offered to you, legitimately, a try first?

for the same reason everyone else picks a school. wrap around care available. certain activities available. personality of the child vs what you see and hear through friends and neighbour.

I just don't think you can blame people for trying.

ethically, well it's a different story and certainly not something I could do. having a space pulled and having to take my chances miles away and not on a bus route would be far more disruptive for my children.

but I do understand the thought process behind it. even if I dont agree with it enough to be able to do it myself.

a school doesn't even have to be bad to just be a bad fit fir a child. There are many reasons why people reject outstanding or good in favour of something else. because that place would fit their kid better.

Yes but how do they know that it's not a good fit before they've given it a go.

The ones that I know who say their child won't fit in mutter something dodgy about how bright and sensitive they are, while the rejected school has too many poor kids/eal and how their child will inevitably under stimulated.

I get that, I really do, and usually, I'm all for people sticking to rules. As I alluded to in an earlier post, I wish people would care more than they do about the rules that say you can't take your child out of school during term time to go on holiday.

See, I am not for sticking to the rules. However, some rules are there for good reason. In this case, we simply have to have them; there has to be some admission criteria because some schools are just plain full. Once you accept this, the hope is that we can come up with rules that are fair.

The problem is that coming up with a really fair system is difficult to do. Just saying that we should have good schools isn't a solution. it's a goal we all want, but that goal is hard to achieve. So, until we have achieved that, we have to have some admissions criteria.

The problem with your position is that I imagine you accept that we must have admissions criteria, and simultaneously think that it's ok for anyone to flout the rules. That just can't work.

I know of people who did the church thing then stopped going once they got in the school.

this problem is easy to solve - get rid of the religious criteria for admissions.

Because people know their kids. You can't discredit genuine fears of the parents. for instance dd2 is not bright at all. A heavily academic school would not fit her at all. I don't need her to go there to know that the mountain. of homework I know they get would be beyond what she could cope with. what dd1 gets is bad enough. I know. what they get because I know. people who go there.

We meekly accept the ridiculous situation whereby the standard of education our children receive all too often relies on where we can afford to buy or rent property and/or whether we believe in (or pretend we believe in) a god.

god aside (we do meekly accept that), we don't meekly accept that school quality can be bought through house prices. This is a consequence of some schools being better (only perceived perhaps) than others. You have to exclude some children from those schools. They are just full.

And it's not just easy to make all the schools good. The UK, along with a lot of countries, struggle to do this. It's not a simple problem.

get rid of the religious criteria for admissions

Yes - but then cue loads of fashionable anti-christianity folk campaigning and complaining for religious education to be completely thrown out of said faith schools

I went to a faith school and so did my DCs. We were raised in the faith, Im not deeply religious but did what was necessary to get them into the school I wanted and anyway, theyd been baptised, went to church etc. If they'd been offered the state secondary schools nearby Id have been seriously tempted to up sticks. I hope faith school criteria remains..if you aren't into the religion and can't bear it as part of your child's education it wouldn't be wise to send them there anyway would it

OP why are you intending to report anonymously if you think yanbu?

I'm kind of assuming that if their offer is revoked they will be pretty peed off and I don't really want a confrontation.

"Yes - but then cue loads of fashionable anti-christianity folk campaigning and complaining for religious education to be completely thrown out of said faith schools"

Does one have to be fashionable to be anti-christianity? Who'd have thought that after all these decades I was fashionable? Well, well.

Does one even have to be anti christianity (or any other faith) to believe that religious selection has no place in state education?

Yes - but then cue loads of fashionable anti-christianity folk campaigning and complaining for religious education to be completely thrown out of said faith schools

two birds, one stone.

I went to a faith school and so did my DCs. We were raised in the faith, Im not deeply religious but did what was necessary to get them into the school I wanted and anyway, theyd been baptised, went to church etc. If they'd been offered the state secondary schools nearby Id have been seriously tempted to up sticks. I hope faith school criteria remains..if you aren't into the religion and can't bear it as part of your child's education it wouldn't be wise to send them there anyway would it

are you saying you support a completely discriminatory system that discriminates in favour of your people? lovely.

Well it looks so to me..this is the only culture Ive visited where so many people seem to be furiously against the faith of their nation. Albeit I only really hear of it on MN, wasn't really aware of it before. There seems to be no unity that binds..anything.

But anyway with the faith schools thing...people who believe religious faith and selection DO have a place in education send their DCs there. Those strongly against it, will not. As ever its the system that screws over everybody and the model of chaos successfully created means instead of at least attempting to protest against and fight against the system that has created mess, people would much rather look over their neighbours' fence in a metaphorical "oh its alright for them, why should they get this? Its not fair!"I want a slice of that pie..even if its not the kind of pie I like, I want it anyway. Then when I get it I will make it MY type of pie" kind of way

Yes they could drop religious selection and the christian schools will be rushed by lots of people..and then what? The schools will be full. & complaints will start all over again. There is already a type of "selection" going on, whereby people with money can afford to rent a 2nd home for a period to ensure their child gets into their favoured school

There is far more to worry about than faith schools