Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Primary education

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

Original poster

my dd didnt get into any of preffered schools and was offered place in very crapy school,please help,what to do?

154 replies

helenbicari · 06/04/2011 22:42

Hi, I just received letter from school addmission and my dd not only didnt get into first choice school, she didnt get into any preffered schools and was offered placel in the worst school in our borough,Im soo upset, crying all day as i made all the effort,even moved closer to the school and missed the place by 0.018 mil. the school she got place offered is over a mile from my house and i have a sick husband, who has a back problem, one year old baby and cant drive,so i really dont know how would i manage to take her there every day,cos my husband cant help either with walking her there or looking after the baby. im going to appeal for the school, but can anyone give me some tips, how to build a strong case, cos i dont know if what i just has described will be enough. also im thinking to contact MP and if nothing helps, im gonna home school her until she gets place in a good school. do you think thats a good idea? i just dont want her to go to that school, the ofsted is 3 and i just really hate that school

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
Original poster
helenbicari · 07/04/2011 19:30

onehelloftheride I agree with you completely!!!!!

OP posts:
clam · 07/04/2011 19:48

Thing is, I cannot see that you have any grounds at all to appeal. The waiting list is your best bet.

Original poster
helenbicari · 07/04/2011 19:52

After reading some of the comments I realised that too, but I'm ready to fight till the end,I have nothing to lose and yeah, I do rely on the waiting list,she is already on it

OP posts:
Rosebud05 · 07/04/2011 19:55

Nobody is trying to convince you that the school is good. People have advised that you accept the school offered, get on as many waiting lists as possible, and wait until the waiting lists come out in a few weeks. Decide if you want to appeal and on what grounds and then do or don't. Also, that you have a very good chance of getting in from the waiting list as you live so close.

ballstoit · 07/04/2011 20:14

Is it possible to appeal against the authorities admissions criteria? It seems that your DD is being discriminated aginst because of her position in your family, and all children have not been treated fairly as those with older siblings have a greater chance of being accepted into the parent's hoice of school.

I have no idea if this can be done, just noticed that your areas admissions priorities are different to mine. Ours is priority area 1st, then siblings.

clam · 07/04/2011 20:24

"It seems that your DD is being discriminated aginst because of her position in your family" ?????? Are you serious????

Rosebud05 · 07/04/2011 20:35

ballstoit, admissions criteria vary; most are looked after, SEN, sibs, distance. Appealing on the grounds that those without an older sibling have been treated unfairly would be like appealing on the grounds that those who live further away have been treated unfairly.

Appeals about the admission criteria only have a chance of being successful if there is evidence that the authority applied the admission criteria incorrectly.

Clary · 07/04/2011 20:58

ballstoit you don't know (the OP hasn't said) whether or not the siblings admitted to the school are also in catchment, actually.

Many schools go looked after chn, sibs in catchment, catchment, sibs out of catchment. Some switch the last two around. Arguments in favour of both, frankly.

Anyway OP, some good advice here; I echo the suggestion of accepting the offered school - it won't harm your plans to get DD in at preferred school via waiting list; and if you refuse the school you are offered, as I understand it, that may actually harm yr chances on appeal? (I think I have read this from admission?)

I see you say you have refused it - this may not be wise simply because it's quite possible that there won't be the hoped-for movement on waiting list and you will end up with DD being 5 and needing a school and not having a place anywhere. It would surely be better to go there for a term or two than no school at all? (I live in a city and have been to some primaries in inner-city areas and there were none that I personally would refuse to send my child to, certainly on a hopefully temporary basis).

onehellofaride · 07/04/2011 21:21

helen good luck!! let me know how it goes

Original poster
helenbicari · 07/04/2011 21:24

Ballstoit I plan to home educate her until she gets the place in that school. I know many of you think that Im stupid for not accepting the place but that's how I feel,I prefer her not to go to school rather then go to that one,its just something me and my hubby agreed. And that school will always have places availible as no one wants their children to go there,so there is my back up plan and also I live in catchment area of few other schools,so I'm putting dd on waiting list there too.A few of the siblings who got the place are out of the catchment area but sibling link is priority.

OP posts:
clam · 07/04/2011 22:12

As long as you're aware that not refusing all places for her at all wont influence the LEA in offering you the school you want. The strategy won't work as a form of blackmail. As far as they're concerned they hve fulfilled their duty of offering you a place. If you turn it down they are under no obligation to find you anywhere else.

clam · 07/04/2011 22:14

Sorry that didn't make complete sense. Blasted phone typing! I meant as lon as you're aware that refusing all places....

ariane5 · 07/04/2011 22:15

what borough are you in OP?

teacherwith2kids · 07/04/2011 22:43

Also be aware that not all schools maintain waiting lists after the september of the Reception year - ie the waiting list is one for normal admission at the beginning of Reception, and once that school year begings, the slate is 'wiped clean'. Normally, waiting lists for first admission are maintained by the admissions authority (LEA) while waiting lists for 'admissions not at the normal time' are maintained by the school. So if you do go for your plan of home education while sitting on a waiting list, jsut make sure that you really ARE on a waiting list after September! You may find that you are not.

Equally, remember that places on waiting lists are by admissions criteria not by length of time. If 10 people move into the catchment area after September, and live closer to the school than you, then all 10 will have priority over you in the waiting list. Length of time waiting gives you no priority.

oh, and a final note. My daughter is in Year 3 at a local school, with an admissions number of 60. There has only just been the first move of a child from the school allowing a single new person in - 4 years after she started.

Rosebud05 · 07/04/2011 22:51

I get the impression that OP is in London, in which case no movement in 4 years would be very much the exception.

OP, yes ensure that both the LEA and the school have you on their waiting lists. If you're 30 metres outside the catchment as you say, you do have a very good chance of getting in from the waiting list, although if it is a very highly regarded school which people move close to to get in (as you did), there may be other who move in closer to you.

seeker · 07/04/2011 22:51

"The school I want her to get into had satisfactory Ofsted too but had a big improvement over the past two years and also my friend's son goes there and he is very happy and I really like the school too,so even though the Ofsted wasn't good, I wanted her to go there and by the time I applied the Ofsted changed from satisfactory to outstanding"

I'm not sure a school can go from satisfactory to outstanding in two years...I've certainly never heard of it happening.

And you still haven't said what's so dreadful about the school you were allocated.

GypsyMoth · 07/04/2011 22:52

waiting lists don't particularly move fast do they!!

my dd didnt get the middle school i wanted when we moved here,i appealed,on very tenuous grounds,i cant even remember on what! i just wanted that school....day after the appeal a place suddenly 'appeared'.

i'll be trying to remember forever now on what grounds my appeal was! there was no logic to my madness. this was 7 years ago btw!

prh47bridge · 07/04/2011 23:18

Waiting lists are erratic and unpredictable. Sometimes they move very slowly. Sometimes they are very fast. It really varies a lot.

Just to pick up on a point Clary made, it is true that refusing the offered school can damage your case at appeal although it depends on how you present it and the way the panel reacts. The problem is that it can look to the panel like you are trying to blackmail them into admitting your child to the preferred school, which can get their backs up. I'm afraid most appeal panels have come across parents who genuinely believe that the panel will have to admit their child if they refuse the offered school.

Saracen · 08/04/2011 05:00

@clam: "As far as they're concerned they hve fulfilled their duty of offering you a place. If you turn it down they are under no obligation to find you anywhere else."

Not quite true. It is true they are under no obligation to magic up a school place instantaneously upon demand if a place simply doesn't exist anywhere. But anyone is allowed to change their mind, or move into the area, or leave private school or home education and ask for a school place outside the normal admissions round. In such a case the LA is obliged to find the child a place if at all possible, and to provide an education in another way in the meantime if there really is no school place locally and there's nowhere farther away to which they could reasonably transport the child.

The LA is allowed a bit of time in which to make their arrangements if all local schools are full - I believe it is one term - but it is highly unlikely that the OP would be left with NO school place whatsoever in the long run. It's true that the LA might offer her a school she likes even less than the one she has been offered, or one far away (in which case they'd provide transport).

But I don't really see that it is essential to accept the place she has been offered, given that she is dead set against it.

Rosebud05 · 08/04/2011 08:23

The OP has already declined the place.

So, yes, hopefully she'll be lucky with waiting lists but she may also be offered a place at a school she likes even less even further away when the 'what's left' (if any) places are apparent.

dixiechick1975 · 08/04/2011 09:54

When is she 5? You can keep her in nursery 15 hours and keep getting funding for this until the term she is 5 eg my DD was 5 in january and her funding stops this easter.

Stay on the waiting lists.

You have my sympathy op - I was in your position last year and I cried.

My DD ended up in a private school. Thankfully I was able to increase my hours at work but private wasn't on our radar at all before.

My other 'plan' was too keep DD at nursery until legal school age - so after easter 2011 which would have given us 8 months to move to a better area for schools.

dixiechick1975 · 08/04/2011 09:58

We also declined the place offered immediately in writing as there was no way DD was attending effectively leaving DD without a school.

The LA did not notify the school so I kept getting letters telling me to attend. I eventually rang the school and they notified the LA.

Original poster
helenbicari · 08/04/2011 12:08

I live in Harrow borough, but would rather not tell the names of the schools,cos it may offend someone. I have already said if she doesn't get a place and she legally has to go to school I will home school her or opt for private school like dixiechick. I'm sorry your dd didn't get a place but I'm sure she will do well in private school. Like you I decided there is no way I'm putting her to that school. I don't understand why people keep going on about that, I mean if I think the school is not suitable for my daughter why should I still put her there? It wont make anyone happy and she will do better home until there is place available. DD will be 5 in October which doesn't leave me with much time, but she can stay in a nursery until December and by then hopefully there will be a place available.If not, I will decide between home schooling or private school as I have 2 very close to my home. I have a friend who was in the same situation and when he said he was going to take it further, even call MP, suddenly the place appeared like in IloveTIFFANY's case.I'm not saying calling MP is gonna sort out anything but I'm desperate enough to do anything

OP posts:
GypsyMoth · 08/04/2011 13:39

mine used to go to school in Harrow borough too......isnt it the three tier sysyem there?

Original poster
helenbicari · 08/04/2011 13:58

Sorry, I have no idea what is three tier system

OP posts: