Please help- place withdrawn!

[StellarforStarofAfrica]

DD has had her place withdrawn for our 1st choice school, on the basis that her foster sibling won't be starting in their nursery until January, and not September.

They have just picked this up now due to an internal audit, and for the last 6 weeks, we've been telling her she's going to the school attached to the nursery she's been attending.

I am devastated. Not only has she missed the first appeals date, she is now probably at the bottom of the waiting list, all because of an admin issue at the admissions office.

The admin officer I have spoken to was very lovely, and explained all the protocol to me, but I am still fuming! Ther is NO WAY she is going to go to the school they have allocated her, she wouldn't last a week there, so it's either get through to first choice on appeal (I have no idea how likely this is) or home ed (gulp) which I have no idea of how to do.

Has this happened to anyone else? If so, how did you get through it?

Sorry this is a bit of a stream of consciousness, but I am really shocked and upset.

I don't understand at all, are you applying for a reception place? If so then whether or not your DFD goes to the nursery in January March or September is irrelevant I don't know of any council that uses younger siblings as a link.

what reason have they given for withdrawing the place, if its the Nursery child's start date they are talking rubbish! go with tiggytapes, excellent advice and quote the LGO at them, I encouraged a parent at our school to do that when the LEA cocked up and they backed down and we had 31 in reception that year!

But it looks like that information (about the younger sibling being due to start Nursery) was given to them by stellar, so if they awarded a place but shouldn't have, it's their error, not hers and they will have to honour the place.

Stellar - can you post the admission policy on here?

Sorry coming to this very late in the day but I would agree with tiggytape. You have completed the form correctly and it is there mistake in somehow deciding that you had a sibling in the school. One of the reasons that there is a considerable time period from the cut off date for ontime applications and the actual allocation date is so that things like this can be checked. It is all their fault and as such, providing that it is a community school and not a faith school the LA should not be considering removing your place. The correct procedure on establishing such a mistake has been made is to offer an extra place to the pupil who has been disadvantaged by the mistake and should have been offered a place, not remove the place from the pupil who has got a place by accident.

Definitely ask for the place back and demand an immediate appeal on the basis that the LA are incorrect in law in withdrawing the place.

Yay! Admission's here!

Am currently in the supermarket, but will reply properly soon!

btw nurseries get funding for a child from the age of 3 years and 3 months, if that is helpful to anyone.

I thought the Early Years funding was from the term after a child turned three? (January in this case).

Thanks, Admissions! I am going to make notes on all these replies ready for tomorrow.

To be fair Nailak and Hanley I don't really have a clue about funding for the nursery place; I just went on the information I was given at the time, presuming it to be correct regards the September start- how wrong was I?

However, thinking about it, with what everyone has said, my theory is that they could be using this as an issue- as younger sibs don't count towards school placement "points"- to make sure they have what looks like a valid reason to withdraw the place.

I can't get on the website still, but I know I have not provided any false information on the application because I didn't need to lie about anything. As far as I was concerned, DD would get her place like next door's little girl did, and DFD would start in the nursery in September.

Today has been a rather steep learning curve. I didn't know it was so cutthroat!

report writing sucks clam. been there done that, thank god I am not doing it this year.

Am way past
is my friend.

Angeleyes I can't find the admission policy online...

Early years funding is definitely for term after 3. So if Dfd is 3 in sept then she would start sessions in Jan.
If she was 3 before sept then she would have started her pre school that sept.

Any developments?

She's not called yet, so I spoke to the admin officer who was sketchy as to why the place was withdrawn.

She "couldn't see" the information but Boss should be able to tell me...

Tiggy Thanks, I am so going to do that- I have got a list of questions to ask when she calls, and e-mail addresses is one of them.

I am going to call every half hour until she speaks to me, and if I don't get to speak to her today, I'm taking a cushion and sitting and waiting at her office until she does.

I have a funny feeling about this. I think if they thought I was lying they would have told me that by now. The bizarre explanation I received yesterday (which only gets more bizarre the more I learn about the admissions process) only makes me think the reason is their is no reason, so they are trying to find one- hence the delay in speaking to me.

I will not be fobbed off! Hmph.

Oh, Tiggy, I hope so. I am freezing cold and shaking, and have been since yesterday.

I've had no sleep- it's all I can think about and I'm not usually a panicky person! I'm calling back at 3.15.

I think they are avoiding me; even nice admin lady is "away from her desk"

Gosh this is terrible! I think they are avoiding you as they have realised they've made not one but two mistakes! First in allocating the place and now in trying to withdraw it! I hope you get this fixed up asap!

I found a generic e-mail enquiry service, so I'm going to try calling them again at 3.45 and then start sending e-mails if no joy.

I'm going to play e-mail bingo with boss lady's name as well; if not, I should be able to get it from the switchboard.

Foster siblings usually do not count under the sibling rule, just to compound the problem... Does the policy specifically state that it does?

Where your foster daughter goes would normally have no bearing on your DDs place at all.