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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

No school place offered to ds

48 replies

kmlibra · 09/09/2010 12:18

Hi,
We have moved to new place nearly one month back.
Before moving here,I was continuosly asking LA of new address to send me the application form for primary admissions at my address and they said "you can only fill it once you move here".I explained to them that we will be moving there after 1 month (14th Aug') and I dont want to take any risk for his admission as schools are going to open on 3rd sept.I was told it will be quicker when you move here .

Still after struggling for so many days on phone, I came myself to LA of new address,and fill the form on 19th July.I was expecting my ds will definitely get the school place before school starts.
But as of today he is not been offered any school out of 64 schools under LA and when I phoned LA they say that he is on waiting list and they dont have any place in any school.
I am told by them just to wait,for how long donno.
Please advise what should I do,as I cant see him sitting at home.
Already he is upset bcoz of moving home n now no school place.

OP posts:

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lucythejuggler · 11/09/2010 16:33

Am going through the same process with my 7 year old dd . we moved the day after term finished as I wanted her to see out the last few weeks of her years in infant school. I contacted the schools in the new borough who all said no places. Astonishingly they also had no idea that the lEA admissions service was taking over the admisssions procedure! I tried to visit some schools but several said I couldnt until I had a place ( !!) and then of course they were shut over the summer. The forms from the LEA were never posted or emailed - I only found out by internet ( having just moved we were without internet for 3 weeks on top of everything) that they had posted the forms up 2 weeks b4 school term started. Now the phone is busy constantly and when I finally got through on Friday they said it would be at least another 10 days to 2 weeks. Had to send dd to gparents for a week as ds has just had an op .Total nightmare! Final rant - when I asked to see teh head at the old school to advise him that dd was leaving no one was interested and no forms to complete - no wonder they have no idea about availability of places !!!

admission · 12/09/2010 19:07

Kmlibra,
Are we talking about year 1 here or are we talking about reception class.
The numbers you are quoting may well be right for reception in the schools but seem high for year 1 classes. This is especially the case that until the 1st September the school themselves were responsible for in-year admissions. The LA admission office will probably not have the detailed information about year1 classes to know you are X on the waiting list. If they are they must be the only LA in the country that is so well organised for this new responsibility!

gottasmile · 13/09/2010 13:08

Any news Kmlibra??

Can anyone advise if it's reasonable to ask the LEA to phone the 1st preference school to see if there's a place for ds?

They keep telling me I just have to wait.......

Poor ds watches all the kids walking past our house to school. It's just so unfair.

Original poster

kmlibra · 13/09/2010 14:59

admission,
Yes I am talking about year 1 only and thats why I am so stressed and surprised that if there r so many kids in the waiting list then the council should have opened some new schools.
even today I was told the same thing about waiting list position n I came to know that even if child has got a place in some school ,they remain in waiting list for other preferred schools.I donno what this system is n how it works but i know that in the whole UK this is the LA which is irresponsible n not doing anything n bcoz of that my ds is suffering.
gottasmile,No news yet and even schools r not cooperating now.They r saying we can only do something once you show us the letter that your ds has been offered our school.
They themselves r not ready to do anything n not trying 2 understand my ds is suffering.gud luck for ur ds.

OP posts:

admission · 13/09/2010 18:49

kmlibra,
It is true that any parent can ask to be on the waiting list for any school. However until September 1st it was the responsibility of the school to offer any places that were available in any year group but reception. After September 1st it has now become an LA admissions office responsibility but I am not sure that they will be that well organised so early in this new organisation, having got the admission waiting lists for all these schools.
I would email the admission people emphasising that this is for a year 1 place and asking for confirmation in writing that they have so many on the waiting list for your preferred schools. I would also ask them to confirm that they will implement the in-year fair access protocol for you child if they cannot offer a place this week. They may well offer you a place at a school miles away but you need to start forcing their hand in this. Their response to date has been unacceptable.

nymphadora · 13/09/2010 18:57

Speak to Education Welfare. They should be able to give the admissions people a call and get them to clear it up. Otherwise go to the top of Childrens Services and kick up a fuss.

Original poster

kmlibra · 13/09/2010 20:05

admission,
Thanks for the information,I didn't know about 1st sept.thing bcoz I was misguided by the schools.When I used to phone them from my old place around mid July still they ask me to fill the CAF n come to them through Pupil Services only.
I have been asking them to give him any school,no matter where it is n the answer is just wait.I will surely ask them about fair access protocol this time.

OP posts:

Original poster

kmlibra · 16/09/2010 11:01

Hi All,
Today when phoned LEA came to know ds has been offered a place in some school.Till yesterday he was on waiting list,I donno how it happened 2day.
They said their system is been updated 2day.Anyways its gud news for me.But when I asked which school?,they didn't tell as its against Data Protection act.When I insisted They told its one of your preference and you have 2 wait till you get the letter.
I donno how long the letter will take to come.I am getting desperate to know which preference is been offered?Do I have the right 2 know this before the letter came? or do I have 2 again keep waiting?

OP posts:

zapostrophe · 16/09/2010 11:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

piprabbit · 16/09/2010 11:51

DPA???
So they have information about you and your DS on their systems but are refusing to tell you what they are holding. I'm pretty sure that that contravenes DPA.

Blardy stupid, ingnorant, unhelpful twits.

I hope you are very pleased with the school your DS is offered, and can put this all behind you in a week or two.

prh47bridge · 16/09/2010 12:13

I presume they are worried about giving out information over the phone in case the person on the other end isn't who they claim to be. That may be OTT but it is NOT contravening the DPA. If kmilbra made a written subject access request and they refused that would contravene the DPA but that isn't what has happened.

I hope you are happy with the offer you get.

gottasmile · 16/09/2010 12:23

Hi Kmlibra,

Just to let you know that after all my hounding, finally on Monday the LEA told me which school they were offering and I got the letter yesterday. So 2 days. I hope it's the same for you!!!

Good luck and I too hope you're pleased with the offer when it comes.

admission · 16/09/2010 16:16

To be honest I know a lot of LAs do this and will not state schools over the phone and there is a good reason.
All staff are human and they do occaisonally make mistakes. One such mistake was telling parents that their child had a place at a school when they did not - they got the wrong family.
It caused a lot of problems with appeals etc so whilst you would have thought they could email you, they will not give an answer over the phone.

Original poster

kmlibra · 17/09/2010 12:55

Phoned LA today to find out whether letter has been dispatched now.And the answer is no n will be dispatched early next week n I will get it by the end of next week.
How much time it takes to write a letter n then dispatch it,isn't LA realyyyyyyy slow?

OP posts:

prh47bridge · 17/09/2010 14:40

This is unacceptable. As Admission says, there is no reason why they cannot email you. If I were you I would be on the phone demanding to speak to someone senior.

cookiemagnet · 17/09/2010 16:14

Do you live close to the LA offices? I would tell them that you're coming to collect the letter in person!

DanBoff · 17/09/2010 20:44

I am a writer on the Mail on Sunday newspaper and researching an article on precisely KSLibra's problem. Thousands are in the same position as she is because of a change in the law regarding admissions.
Could KSLibra give me a call (or indeed anyone who is facing this problem). It would be really helpful to speak to someone in such a position and I may even be able to help
Thanks
Daniel Boffey
0788 418 6367

LIZS · 19/09/2010 21:21

I trust you knew about the MOS article ahead of them quoting you ?

Original poster

kmlibra · 21/09/2010 14:29

Cookiemagnet,Even if I am not close to LA offices still I phoned them and said Can I come personally to collect the letter and they said we are in process of writing the letter and will dispatch it on wednesday.

In the meanwhile after putting so much pressure I came to know ds been offered 1st preference school.I went to school thinking that they will allow him to come to school by tomm. and there reply was"first you will receive the letter from LEA,then you come and show that to us,then we will give you an appointment to meet the head teacher,then she will give you the date to start".
UNBELIEVABLE.When I told Schools have already started ,I was told it doesn't matter,its not going to make it quicker.That means in my borough everybody from top to bottom ,Pupil services to Schools,is non co-operative.
I wish these people shud move their houses and face the same problem, then only they can understand the pain I m suffering.

OP posts:

prh47bridge · 21/09/2010 17:08

This just gets worse. It is taking the LA far too long to send this letter. The school should have been told about your child by the LA. They shouldn't need you to show them the letter. As for insisting that you then need an appointment with the head teacher to get a start date for a child in Y1, words fail me. The school doesn't want your child turning up when they aren't expecting him but he has already missed at least 3 weeks schooling through the LA's failure to get its act together. They should be helping to get him into school as fast as possible, not putting more obstacles in your way.

I do wonder if the head teacher would take the same obstructive approach as the person you spoke to (presumably one of the secretarial staff). I hope not.

If the letter is delayed further or the school continues to be unco-operative I would lodge a formal complaint with the LA and threaten to refer the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman.

gottasmile · 22/09/2010 11:20

That's terrible, Kmlibra.

The school should understand the awful position you're in and they should be doing everything they can to let your ds start school. They could easily find out whether the place has been given to your ds.

My ds's school said we could take a tour even before we got the official letter. And when we did the tour, we met the headteacher and she said we should start as soon as possible, which was in 2 days (just enough time to get the uniform organised).

Your LA is inefficient and insensitive and the school is not much better.

Original poster

kmlibra · 22/09/2010 11:49

But this School is not even letting me meet the head teacher.Every time I go there n ask them to meet her ,they say she is busy,in a meeting ,taking class etc.....I cant even sit there n wait endlessly with my son so I came back home every time.Just now coming from the school n the receptionist said give us the message n contact no n head teacher will call you back when she is free.

OP posts:

prh47bridge · 22/09/2010 13:02

Have you tried making an appointment to see the head teacher? Head teachers are very busy and I can understand why you haven't been able to see her if you have been turning up without an appointment. Hopefully they will call you back so that you can see the head teacher today. If not, I would try to get an appointment.

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