Aibu to think school refused a place because of this

[Unluckyirish]

Hi,I'm new to the site so not sure where to post but this board looks active.

We moved house over the summer and dd's school is now too far to attend (4hours each way) and we haven't been able to find her a school place (year10) . We are planning to move again but haven't found the right house yet .so we applied to a school in the area that we want to move to.
We've looked around the school just before summer and were told when they move to the bigger building they will have space to take on more students. They asked Dd what options she'd pick and said she'd fit in nicely,just need to get in contact with precious school. so we really thought we'd get a place. Now they told us they have no space. Aibu to think they didn't offer her a place because they spoke to her previous school and found out she has a 'child in need plan' and didn't want all the extra hassle.

Sorry for rambling on,in a bit of a panic because she's not at school and year 10 is important ,can't get a place in the area we are in or the area we are moving to . Tried lots of schools but no luck.

I have filled out the form for in year admissions for both LEA but were told to apply to the school directly and if we aren't offered a place by the end of October then they can help. I did think distance was a problem but I've applied for schools in the LA we are living in but no luck

Thank you Leccy. I'm useless with this stuff. She was on a child protection plan and it's now gone to a child in need plan ,not sure what an EHCP is.

In my new LA the forms take 20 days to process, and until you send them in they have no responsibility to find you a school.

I'd query that advice and get the forms in sooner.

Haven't her old school reported her not in education if she's still under their LA? Our new LA had to formally take over from the old one or they report them as a missing child if they don't return to school.

Sorry- Educational Health Care Plan- usually for a medical need.

I've sent the forms in. Haven't been in contact with old school apart from cards from teachers that she was close to sent to old address

No medical needs just needed a lot of support to get her through the day

Did you de-register from the school she attended before the move?

It can be difficult to move over the summer as the places in schools will have been allocated - however if your child has additional needs you should contact the person in the LEA who deals with this issue and get their help.

I have red sky and they said to keep calling schools and if we can't find anywhere by the end of October they will help.

Ignore this. They have to find you a place today, though if they do it will be somewhere close to your present address and won't necessarily be a school you like.

The lea have told us that because she is still registered at her old school,she has to go back or try and find a place ourselves

If your current LA is saying this, they would have to supply transport as the old school is more than three miles away. I suspect if you ask they will very quickly change their tune about helping you find somewhere now.

But I agree with PP, you need to appeal for a place at the school you want, and do a Freedom of Information Act request for information about numbers of children in the school currently. If they have any spare places they aren't allowed to refuse you a place.

Educational Health Care Plan

No, Education Health and Care Plan. Not meaning to be picky, but they're not the same thing.

Op

You need to re-post in education where there are a number of admissions experts, Tiggytape Admission, PRH to name a few

As I understand the school has few grounds to refuse admission, you should start an appeal straight away and also as your DD is in a crucial year consider asking the LA to instigate FAP where by a school deemed most able to take her is instructed to do so even if full

Thank you all. I will speak to the la again and ask them if they are able to provide transport if they expect her to go back,well over 30miles! How do I do a freedom of information act? And we made the school aware that we are moving and she wouldn't be coming back but they said they can't de register until she has a new school.

I've posted in education but not sure how to add a link to this thread

For an information request, just write to the school asking for the number of pupils in the year group and any other relevant questions and say that you are making it under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Thank you so much Judy

Tiggy- one of the reasons we liked that school is so that she can continue her options and not have to change,we weren't asked to fill any forms ,the school just took details and then a few weeks after the school called us tosay they can't have her and that we can speak to them but it's not likely she will be able to join. Since then we've sent off in year application forms to the LA who haven't been helpful

They didn't have space before summer but said the will have 5+ spaces this September

No letter to tell us they can't offer her a space,just a phone call from the headteachers PA

Don't waste time with a freedom of information request - all the information you've asked for is freely available from the local authority on request. A FOI request will take longer and you'll get less because that information is not held by the school.

Escalate within the local authority to a more senior person than the one at the end of the phone. If needs be formally tell her last school you have moved and de-register. They are obliged to find you a place. You are entitled to apply to this school and if turned down you are entitled to appeal.

The point about an FoIA request is that it has to be met. The school must have information about how many there are in the year group in question. Whether the LA holds it depends on whether the school is maintained or an academy.

I'm confused - is the original school 4 hours away or 30 miles away? If it's the latter then I would keep sending her there until you can get this sorted out then at least she's in school. Obviously 4 hours isn't going to be an option!

I don't think they would have refused her for being a 'child in need' (I'm not sure what that is sorry, it sounds different to SN/SEN but won't be different in law). They would know they can't do this. I think the LEA should be helping but it all sounds very messy.

Child in need is one step down from child protection isn't it? So her school move should really have been managed / planned for as part of that plan? Do you not have a social worker / support worker to refer to?

I'm a bit confused now Judy and T4nut,do I just call the La and ask for that information then?

Original school is 4 hours away ,I said well over 30 miles... I should of made it clearer ,old school is 198 miles away to be exact.

Don't know if this is helpful but when we moved, two years ago, we needed for our child to go to the local mainstream school where his cousins go as we would be sharing school pickups.
He has Special Educational Needs (SEN) and has one to one help.
I contacted the school and was told they had no places.
I then contacted the SEN person at the LEA who immediately found him a place at the school we wanted.
I think the school did not want to take a pupil they thought would be difficult or demanding as when he started they suggested he did half days to begin with. He was 9 at the time.
He did two half days with no problems for anyone. After the second he asked if he could stay. The school agreed and he stayed on and did well there.
I got the impression they thought that we were sending them an out of control monster even though he had good reports from his previous school where he was well liked. So much so that his teacher cried when he left.

We have a social worker who says she can't help us as we have moved out the area and are planning to move again ,nothing's been transferred and haven't got a new one .