Does my child's headteacher HAVE to see transfer papers b4 signing

[Stacey0782]

Long story short I must move my 7yr old son from 1 school to another due to many issues including him being bullied and the school basilly telling me it's his own fault (my child has some special needs but can still mainstream in regular school)
So anyway I filled out the forms and handed the 1 sheet in for them to fill out his attendance and other info they need to be told under no circumstances will they sign till they have read the rest of the form and what I have written..
Now I've been told by a few ppl in education that they don't actually HAVE to see it in order to sign but the school r telling me it's the rules and until I've given the rest of the form in my son will have to remain in a school where he is not safe..
This really worries me as the staff dnt seem to want to help the situation and deal with the bullying all they seem bothered about is the fact that it will look bad that a child is being moved.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated from a very stressed single mum of 3

If they're the in year application forms just send them to the LEA unsigned, perhaps with a note to the effect that you understand that the admissions code doesn't require it.

I did an in-year transfer and the school didn't need to fill in any forms at all. I would phone the LEA and find out exactly what is needed and go from there. If the form is not entirely necessary then just leave without it.

Can you just deregister him from his current school, they cant stop you, its legal & just takes a few lines in an email - lots of templates & instructions online. That way they don't get to interfere at all.

Unfortunately I can't just deregister him from his current school as there may well be a little wait for a place at the other school till a place is available.
The current school has done nothing but stand in my way when it comes to this transfer giving me false info at the begining...So this is just yet another thing they are holding over me it's very frustrating

Quite a few LAs require you to get the forms signed by the current school. In my view this is in breach of the Admissions Code which says that parents can apply for any school at any time. You do not, in my view, need permission from the current school. I would talk to the LA and push them to accept your forms without the current school's signature.

I totally agree with PRH, there is a presumption in the admission code that any parent at any time can apply for a place at another school. There is no way that admission is based on the current school agreeing to the move. That is potentially right in another situation, called a managed move, where both schools and the parents agree that a new beginning for the pupil could be advantageous and a move to the other school is arranged. But this is not what you are asking for.
Fill the form in and send it to the LA and force them to do something. It is quite likely that this is actually not the school system but is actually the LA who have introduced this system. So you may encounter some resistance. If you do ask them where in the admissions code it says that the current school should give information to the preferred school before a decision is made. That is in effect illegal as if there is a place open in the school in the correct year group then the school has to admit, not make a decision based on whether they like the kid, parent or whether the attendance record is OK.

Would you sign something you hadn't read?

Would you sign something you hadn't read

That is beside the point. The OP shouldn't need the head's signature in the first place. Even the form the OP has given to the school contains information the school she wants is not allowed to use in deciding whether to admit her son.

The head cannot decide which schools the OP applies for. The only effect this application has on the current school is that they lose a pupil. What the OP has put on the forms makes no difference. The head is not signing a contract unseen. The demand to see all the forms is unreasonable, especially as the forms may include confidential information the OP does not want to share with her son's current school.

I would like to see one of the LA's that does this referred to the Schools Adjudicator. I hope the Adjudicator would rule that this practice is a breach of the Admissions Code and must stop.

I wouldn't mind but the form they have to "sign" isn't really a signing it's just asking for attendense info and wether or not my child has any issues that may cause concern in the opinion of his current school.
So anyway I've decided that I will hand the form to the new school minus the bit the school has not signed and just see what happens if there is an issue I will then make a formal complaint to the LA and take it from there.
My child is just not safe at this current school not to mention I was pulled into the heads office and told off like 1 of there school kids for "slating the school online" yet in the online post to my PERSONAL facebook page I didn't not and would never name names nor did I mention the school by name either the head then proceeded to tell me that it's my child who's at fault he needs to learn right from wrong and that he brought the bullying on himself this was the final straw for me my son went into school this week and actually tried to make a friend out of his bully so just goes to show what sort of child my son is..

My LA has a space on the form for the headteacher to sign and comment, but it is not compulsory, On appeal panels we get the INCAFS, but whether it is signed by the head or not has little bearing on our decisions.

It must be different in different authorities. We don't see any paperwork when a child leaves us. Quite often we only find out because they don't turn up on their first day at the new school!

If another school has a vacancy then it has no choice but to allocate it to the first person on the waiting list irrespective of whether the current school has signed any forms. So there is no reason why you should not do as you suggest and hand the form in unsigned by the current head.

If you're just stating the facts about why you're moving, why wouldn't you want the current school to read it? Not saying they have a right to, just surprised that you care.

The head teacher of the new school can just phone the current school if they want further information anyway so it seems a bit of a fuss over nothing.

The reason I'm so against them having access to the full form is because some of my reasons are private and the current school are not very professional they gossip ALOT about the students and parents and I'd rsther not have my private life and choices gossiped about in what is a very small town/area we live in in leeds uk.

If the information is about your own private life, I'm not sure why you need to include it at all. The reasons should be about what's best for your child. Unless you're relocating, in which case that doesn't really count as private imo.

Also, it's normally only the HT and possibly the business manager who see the form.

If you were to find out that any member of staff had breached confidentiality by discussing a child outside of the group of people in school who need to know, you should raise it with the HT. Most LAs have very strict procedures about information sharing.

My friends sons school has insisted on her telling them where they are going i.e full address info and school even though they haven't got a place at new primary school yet. They told her if she doesnt give them this info they will report her son as a missing person. She is a lone parent I get the feeling if she was not they would not be interrogating her and bullying her - how dare they

I don't really see why you need to put anything on the reasons other than relationship has broken down?

It's not really the right form for listing a series of complaints about the school.

Why would the new school want to know about all this gossip etc. It's a fresh start and it's not going to influence whether you get a p scale or not.

Being a lone parent has nothing whatsoever to do with requesting information on a potential school transfer, having a child missing in education is! Just tell your friend to inform the school she will be home educating for a period. Then when her son does start at a new school, they will contact the old school directly.

Schools are meant to record where pupils have gone to and as a lone parent this was probably a trigger for them asking in what has been in an unfortunate tone.
The records for every pupil are transferred when they do move schools and so schools will ask where they are going to but in many family situation they are moving without having got a school place confirmed. So I just think somebody in the school is getting slightly carried away with power complex unless there are good reasons why the school have concerns about the pupil "going missing".

My friends sons school has insisted on her telling them where they are going i.e full address info and school even though they haven't got a place at new primary school yet. They told her if she doesnt give them this info they will report her son as a missing person. She is a lone parent I get the feeling if she was not they would not be interrogating her and bullying her - how dare they
They aren't bullying her - if a child moves and doesn't have a place at a new school then the old school has to refer them either for pupil tracking or as a child missing education before they can be removed from roll. There is lots of info online. This is probably what she has misunderstood 'missing person' for. It is not as straightforward as just removing your child from a school and their name coming off roll, they have to be tracked.

Same in.our LA. The transfer form requires the existing head to sign which made me feel uncomfortable. Why would you need the place you are leaving to sign?

Send it back to the LA unsigned. They are unlikely to pursue the matter through you.
Or ask for a second form & do not put any of the stuff you don't want sharing on that one & let school see that one. Then send off with a separate covering letter with as much detail as you see fit.