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Original poster

No secondary school offer ?

84 replies

Innatenvi · 01/03/2022 09:04

I have posted in secondary education as well but I'm posting here for traffic.

We applied on time, got email confirmation, put catchment school first, then another 2 sensible choices. Our LA only let you put 3 options.

We did not receive an email with school allocation this morning so we had to log into the council portal to find out our DC is on the waiting list for all three schools with no other offer of a place.

I am on hold to the council but I don't even have a reference number to check where we are on the list because it was on the email - which we didn't get.

What can I do?

OP posts:
prh47bridge · 02/03/2022 12:56

@Innatenvi

Update - the schools we were told had places in fact do not have places and they have their own waiting lists. So we're back to square one. Admissions say we have to wait for the letter to find out how to appeal and they can't discuss it over the phone. So what if the waiting lists don't move and we lose the appeals? They can't comment on that apparently. Banging my head against the wall! We don't have the money to go private, so what - my child isn't going to secondary school?!
As per my earlier post, the LA must find a place for you somewhere. Don't accept the current situation. Keep pushing them.
Crockof · 02/03/2022 12:59

Have they let you know how the places were allocated? How can you assess if the LA have made a mistake if you don't have the information?

Original poster
Innatenvi · 02/03/2022 14:02

Well. You are not going to believe this. She had a place all along at our second choice!

After tweeting, facebooking, emailing the mp and head of children's services, a senior manager rang us this morning. The computer software hadn't picked up the fact that she is at a feeder school for the second choice and it affected the allocation process. All that for nothing!!!

Thank you everyone so much for your helpful comments and advice, it's really not true about MN being a horrible place!

OP posts:
prh47bridge · 02/03/2022 14:17

I believe it. That's nothing compared to the incompetence I've seen from some admissions teams. Glad it is all sorted for you.

SockFluffInTheBath · 02/03/2022 14:28

I believe it too, had similar ourselves Hmm I’m relieved for you and your DD, a good result.

Realitydawning98 · 02/03/2022 14:44

This reply has been withdrawn

Message from MNHQ: This post has been withdrawn

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 02/03/2022 14:44

That must be a big relief. Great news.

Blogblogblogblog · 02/03/2022 15:00

After tweeting, facebooking, emailing the mp and head of children's services, a senior manager rang us this morning. The computer software hadn't picked up the fact that she is at a feeder school for the second choice and it affected the allocation process. All that for nothing!!!

I expect it was all that that got you a place. Well done for all your effort.

RedHelenB · 02/03/2022 15:15

@Blogblogblogblog

After tweeting, facebooking, emailing the mp and head of children's services, a senior manager rang us this morning. The computer software hadn't picked up the fact that she is at a feeder school for the second choice and it affected the allocation process. All that for nothing!!!

I expect it was all that that got you a place. Well done for all your effort.

Not necessarily. I was told no for dds first place and just happened to ring the local authority ( different to ours) to ask where she was on the list to see if it was worth appealing or anything and they said oh just a minute we'll ring you back. And it turned out she did have the place after all, somehow the two authorities had messed it up.
Needdoughnuts · 02/03/2022 15:25

That's good news! Pass it on to anyone else without a place, they might have the same problem!

Blogblogblogblog · 02/03/2022 15:30

RedHelenB I stand corrected! I wonder if it is to do with academisation? Even indirectly in that the LAs have little money to spend now on decent software? Sounds more like a lottery than allocations.

EthelTheAardvark · 02/03/2022 15:43

Really glad to hear that you have a place, but I'm curious about the effect of that in relation to the school in question. Presumably they offered someone else what would have been your child's place originally - do they bump that person off the list or cross their fingers and hope numbers go down anyway? And if the computer failed to pick up that your child was entitled to priority, how many other children has it missed similarly?

Doodar · 02/03/2022 15:54

What a relief, very stressful for you though.

Crockof · 02/03/2022 16:42

Excellent news, but this shows why information such as the screen shot I posted above are so important. If you had access to that information you would have known that due process hadn't happened. Thankfully for your daughter you were willing to fight for an answer, feel for the children who have missed out and don't have such savvy parents

Crockof · 02/03/2022 16:45

I'm curious about the effect of that in relation to the school in question

PRH will have the definitive answer but in the two cases I was involved in they went over PAN to admit the child who was missed by mistake. In the primary school where three children were missed they had to employ a second teacher. In the secondary they just went over numbers.

LookMoreCloselier · 02/03/2022 17:14

Glad you are sorted now. The english system sounds like a total shambles. In Scotland all children get a place in their catchment school, you can make an out of catchment request but most people don't.

prh47bridge · 02/03/2022 17:15

@EthelTheAardvark

Really glad to hear that you have a place, but I'm curious about the effect of that in relation to the school in question. Presumably they offered someone else what would have been your child's place originally - do they bump that person off the list or cross their fingers and hope numbers go down anyway? And if the computer failed to pick up that your child was entitled to priority, how many other children has it missed similarly?
In theory they can withdraw an offer made in error provided they do so quickly. However, normally all that happens is that the child who missed out by mistake gets a place in addition to those already offered. The number may come back down to PAN if people reject offers. In the unlikely event that everyone accepts, the school just has to cope with an additional pupil. Unfortunately, many LAs insist on parents appealing even when there has been an obvious mistake, purely so they can blame the appeal panel when there are extra children in the year.
Oblomov22 · 02/03/2022 17:30

Phew. Thank goodness. For mn too. And prh47 as always with fab advice.

NeverForgetYourDreams · 02/03/2022 18:00

I always thought they had to offer a place even if not at your 3 choice schools. Neighbours daughter didn't get one of the 3 but had a 4th offer. Very very strange by your LA !

FluffyScarves · 02/03/2022 18:05

Oh phew!!! Great news. Cheers Gin

Original poster
Innatenvi · 02/03/2022 18:08

I have passed on the information to the other children's parents as well. Our LA is a shambles, it's not the first time they've made a serious mistake with admissions for us.

OP posts:
mumda · 02/03/2022 18:30

I'd love to see data mapping done of how far children travel to school.
All schools should be good.

MumGoneMild · 02/03/2022 21:58

@Crockof. Thank you for the info above. Ive just had a good nosey at our local schools and it was an eye opener, seeing all the religious schools criteria was certainly illuminating.
My sons new school offered to no one outside 1 miles and we are something silly like 0.9 miles and 72 were not successful in that band alone so he got in by a tiny margin

Mumdiva99 · 03/03/2022 06:43

Wow your LA sound seriously incompetent. If you hadn't pushed and pushed how would this have been resolved? And if they can make that mistake with your child what other mistakes were made? For example who wasn't given a first choice school that should have been and ended up with 2nd or 3rd choice? And why weren't you given a school anyway and told to just stay on the wait lost....that is so wrong.

I'm gladnit worked out for you but someone really needs to Audit the process - how will the LA make sure this doesn't happen again. - I know you are OK now....but if you could push it with your HT at your current school, and all the people you originally emailed maybe something will be done.

Original poster
Innatenvi · 03/03/2022 10:05

We are definitely putting a complaint in, asking them to look at this. Also asking how are they going to provide enough school places to cover all the new houses they are building?

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