Primary schools won’t take my DD

[Misschiff]

I’m getting seriously fed up. We moved back to my home village in January this year due to needing support from family, and since December last year I’ve been attempting to enrol my daughter in the primary school behind our house. It’s just gone to appeal with the church and been rejected.

The school states that they have too many children in the class with special educational needs and it would be a strain on the teacher and the pupils to add another pupil to the class. My DD is 7 and epileptic (controlled with medication).

I have tried 3 other schools in our local area (we have no transport and we are rural) and they have also refused her. I’m pulling my hair out.

Admissions are holding meetings constantly to discuss what their plan is with my daughter, Children’s services are on my case because she’s not in a school and all the while I’m home educating her in accordance with the national curriculum for key stage 2 and I’ve completed SATS papers with her. I also have a toddler and a baby.

Nothing I do is good enough. I’m pulling my hair our trying to get her into a school and nothing’s working.

See I would completely understand if she was still having a lot of seizures, but it’s one or twice a month and that’s max. Always in the morning so rarely after 10am anyway. She’s more likely to have one when she’s sleeping in the early hours, so we have a camera monitor, bedguards and anti suffocation pillows. Yet it appears everyone sees epilepsy written down and writes her off completely. She wants to be a police officer.

Something is not right here. Unless your DC has an EHCP, the schools should not need to know she has epilepsy. And even if the local school is full, they can be forced to take her under the Fair Access Protocol, if alternate schooling is too far away. What do you mean you are applying in May and September? It should be an in year admission.

Surely they would need a care plan for the child's safety - you couldn't keep something like epilepsy from the school!

It is shocking that this should be happening to your dd, but have heard similar with a child who had diabetes and could also not get a school place.

Also, the schools' role in this should be limited, even if they are an academy - admissions will be managed by the LA. So phone up LA, ask for in year place, accept what you are given and appeal for an alternative. LA provide transportation to the school you've been assigned in the meantime.

State schools that are not full are not in a legal position to be able to say no.

I would be saying to the LA that you want a written offer of a school place by the end of the week or you will be contacting a lawyer.

You can apply to enter a school year at anytime. She does not need an EHCP and the school does need to know she has epilepsy. She had a school nurse.

Have you contacted your MP?

I'm confused by some of your posts: what do you mean the school says that they won't take her? Why are the admissions team going along with this?

On what grounds did you appeal? On what grounds did the panel uphold the decision?

Did you make an in-year application?

You might want to ask MNHQ to move your thread to Primary Education - there are lots of well-informed posters on that board, such as @Tiggytape, who might be able to help you

But I agree with pp - as long as your DD is being HEed, there is no impetus for the admissions team to try to find your DD a place, as the statutory obligations are being met by you

The school is a voluntary aided school and a such I could not even appeal through the usual procedures with a local authority I had to go through the Diocese. We have asked for a school place in any school with availability and yet nothing. Admissions are not happy and are already using their fair access protocol.

I'm going to ask @PanelChair @admission and @prh47bridge to take a look at this thread, @Misschiff, as you've posted in an unusual part of MN for admission queries.

If I understand correctly, when you first applied, you were told that the school had a space, but they had too many children with SEN already, so it wouldn't be fair on the other children or the teacher to take your child because of her additional needs?

They are allowed to refuse admission if they consider that admitting your DD would be an inefficient use of resources or would prejudice the efficient education of other pupils. However, if you are appealing, you need to show that admitting your DD would 'not' prejudice the efficient education of other pupils.

The fact that they already have pupils with SEN will be a factor, but that is countered by the fact that they should have provision for those pupils. The fact that your DD only has 1 or 2 seizures a month is a factor in her favour, but one area that you need to consider is what level of additional care and supervision her plan says she needs, and the burden that would put on the class, including the infrastructure.

Some classrooms are quite cramped. 30 children, 5 with SEN, with 5 1:1 supports, for example, would take a room holding 32 people up to 37 people. That's an extra 5 chairs, etc.

You say it's gone to appeal with the church and been rejected. Did you have a hearing? Did you get a bundle of papers with the Admission Authority's written argument, PAN, Class arrangements, Capacity diagrams, etc.? Did you have the opportunity to state your case, to question the Authority's representative, etc?

If they have places in that year group, I don’t see how all of them are refusing her?

We attend church, as have our family here for 800 years.

I’m not sure that will get you any sort of priority treatment

I am forced to home educate as they are not providing an education. If I DO NOT home educate it is classed as NEGLECT for not providing an education. I cannot win 😢

and yes, if you don't get anywhere, consider contacting your local councillor and MP to get some additional pressure. But it does sound as if something in the normal admissions system has broken down, and if the error is on your part (for example, not meeting the criteria for church attendance because of not going X times in Y months ahead of application) then this is likely to be pushed back at you

This isn't stacking up OP. Do you know exactly where you fit in terms of the admission criteria?

I give up. Schools are useless with children with health problems. It’s probably a good thing she’s not in one. Any home educating forums on here?

Yes I do, I know everything, SHE SHOULD BE IN SCHOOL. They are refusing her on the grounds of they have children with needs and can’t accept her. The other schools with places won’t accept her and won’t give a reason. Admissions are calling me on Wednesday with their next step.

I also would seek legal advice . I agree tell them you are not home schooling

There is no criteria for church attendance. Only it goes in your favour if your child is baptised.

If I say I am not homeschooling I have social workers saying I’m neglecting her education. I am forced to home educate and I am regularly checked.

I’m new to this. If I have posted in the wrong place I apologise I didn’t see anything else.

You have great advice here about getting your MP involved too

OP, people on here are trying to help you. We get that navigating the admissions process is hard enough at the best of times, never mind when your circumstances are more unusual. Shouting isn't going to help

There is an active Home Ed section on MN, though, if you want some support in that regard whilst you carry on working on getting your DD into a school. The point pp were making is that as soon as you say "I am HEing my DD" the LA doesn't have to move heaven and earth to accommodate her. You will not be charged with neglect for saying "I am trying to arrange a school place for my DD, and in the mean time I'm trying to make sure that she doesn't fall too far behind her peers by doing some reading and maths work with her"

We have done nothing wrong with our application to the schools. I even applied for September and she wasn’t given anywhere. It is clearly the epilepsy holding us back and that is not a justifiable reason for a controlled condition. I’m banging my head against a brick wall.

C,early no one understand the situation so never mind. Thank you all.

There is no criteria for church attendance. Only it goes in your favour if your child is baptised

What does this mean? That children who are able to show active church involvement are given priority, and the way that families demonstrate this is by the child having been baptised?

Has DD been baptised?