Please help- place withdrawn!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DD has had her place withdrawn for our 1st choice school, on the basis that her foster sibling won't be starting in their nursery until January, and not September.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

Hope the buggers speak to you BEFORE 4.30 today OP! x

What a nightmare for your Stellar. Dig your heels in a go for it - you're not only legally right (from what others say - I know nothing!), but you're certainly morally right.

Good luck!

tiggy and panel- I have sent an email this morning outlining the points she made, what I disagreed on and why (complete with web links )

Mahonga- I have also requested her for those pieces of information.

I am now going to see if I can get a number for the Schools Adjudicator and if not, I'll send them a letter (special delivery) and cc it to Bosslady (hand delivered).

Phew! I am so grateful for all your help! I know I keep saying it, I just want you to know it means a lot.

thanks aj

Have pm'd you Stellar.

Hope the buggers back down today!

Looks like you have until the 30 th of june to fill out the school adjudicator form.

They mAy be trying to stall you to miss this deadline.

Btw its an online form!

You must complain, stop them doing this to someone else! Bullies :-(

Lurking

Whatever happens OP keep fighting...imagine the sense of relief when they find in your favour...imagne the feeling of victory!

I have no experience of applying for schools at all. I have however fought LA council tax office before and social services/police/council. I find sending an email to your councillors and MP, copying the the people you are dealing with VERY helpful.

I'd write the email addressed to the councillors and MP explaining the whole situation. Include the codes and all actions / conversations so far, include how late they've rung you back etc. etc.

Good Luck.

I have come up on a stalling point.

Apparently the 2012 code can be used in this situation, as the issue is an allocation error/ withdrawal of the place- the 2013 start is only for the admission arrangements part of the code; the rest came into force immediately on the 1st of feb :(

That's what the independent advisor has just told me.

I'm going to find that form for the OSA and fill that in today.

oh crap, but what does that mean, they ahve told you too late to apply elsewhere, that is THEIR FAULT!! i think you do need professional advice, hope admissions and others can help you :)

That really doesn't sound correct, they can't decide which parts of the code to apply to suit themsevles. There is a date set for the use of each admission code, keep asking them for written answers & go to appeal, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. We're all routing for you.

I think I'm going to employ a barrister to write the appeal (thanks, Wheresmy!).

I've just spoken to him and he says that the best bet is probably to go to appeal, as the LA will drag their feet over reinstatement and take me over the last appeals date.

I think I'll feel a lot more confident with that, although I am tempted to just print this thread off and just write at the bottom in big shouty letters-

WHY ARE YOU ALL LYING TO ME!?!?!?!

I've had no reply from this mornings' e-mail though.

They are lying to you because they can. They think thAt they can do whatever they like, most probably because they usually do!

My guess would be that they mistakely think that pushing you to appeal will allow them to use the new guidelines.

Report them to the schools adjudicator, they need to be moderated by the correct channels. Trust that they will uphold the law.

Personally do not think that you need a barrister, it is just so emotive being your child. Keep you cool lady you can win.

Glad he could help Stellar.

I found that having him there, doing all the technical stuff, meant that I could just focus on what was important to me, and us as a family, the impact etc. This helped when I got a leetle bit upset during the appeal! Also I found that I could really listen to what the other side were saying, which I wouldn't have done so well at if I'd been worrying about what I had to say to reply-the jargon used was astonishing.

The chair of the board did stop us on the way out and thanked us for a most professional presentation of our case. That gave me the hope to think we'd done it, though had to wait all day for the phone call! We were the first ones into the school on appeal for 3years apparently!

Fingers more than crossed,x

I am so losing my nerve at the moment

However, the lovely lady who is the Independent Advisor has just mailed me this-

"I would like to lodge an appeal against the decision to withdraw my daughter's place at x Infant School.

I submitted an on-time application to x County Council for my daughter and on 13th April, a letter was posted to me to confirm that she had been offered a place. I subsequently received information and a letter from the school to confirm her place.

On 14th June, 2 months later I received a telephone call to advise me that the Local Authority had taken the decision to remove DD's place. They confirmed that I had not made an error on the form, had not submitted a fraudulent application and that a member of their staff had misinterpreted my information and input my application as a sibling request. My place was therefore being withdrawn as Local Authority error under 2.12 of the School Admissions Code.

I feel that this decision is completely unreasonable, does not take into consideration the distress that such a decision would bring and the impact upon our family. The decision was taken 2 months after the place was offered and DD has now been told of her new school.

I wish to appeal against this decision on the basis that it is a decision that no reasonable Local Authority would have made."

She did say she would look at coming to the appeal with us as well. Considering all the jiggery pokery and general underhandedness, it seems a bit short. She did say we could add to it, but being the main reason for appeal, it seems a bit flimsy to me.

And I will probably cry and become incoherent in the hearing as well, which won't help anyone!

I am not sure that going to appeal is the right way forward. The problem is that whilst the panel is independent, they are actually going to be advised by a legal clerk who normally works for the LA. In my LA the legal team are in what is called democratic services whereas the admission team is in the children services department, so there is a level of separation.

Obviously one would expect that anybody with half a brain in the LA admission office would by now have taken legal advice over this, so it could be that the legal advice to the admission office and to the admission appeal panel will be one and the same. Not saying it will be but it could be.
I wonder whether there is any mileage in phoning up the school adjudicator, who clearly has jurisdiction in this, to say you have this problem. I would keep it ultra simple with them, so as not to complicate the issue. I have had my place withdrawn after 6 weeks, which I believe they should not have done as the LA have confirmed I have done nothing wrong, it was their mistake. As well as the legal precedents that say they should not have done this, the LA are also arguing that they can do this under the 2012 admission code. Can you confirm that for september 2012 entry the admission code that is relevant is not the 2012 code but the 2009/10 version.
There is also no last appeals date, this is another myth perpetuated by LAs. It is simply just a convenience date for the LA which says that all appeals received by that date will then be held together within the specified time scale (40 school days). If your admission appeal is received later than this date it just means that your appeal could well be after the so-called "block" appeals, but they cannot refuse the appeal and they must hold it within the specified time scale (30 school days). This is explicit in the new 2012 admission appeal code in paragraph 2.3 and 2.4.

You really need to find out (as much as you can) whether the LEA are correct in using the 2012 code. All the admissions experts on here say that they are wrong, but your independent advisor is saying they are right. What is she basing this on - can she point you to the source of this assumption? If she's only going on what is on the Dept of Ed website then I can't see how she can come to that conclusion, but perhaps she has access to info we don't?

If she is correct, then her letter is good, and it could be the panel are sympathetic and reinstate your place anyway. But if she is wrong, the main basis of your appeal needs to be that they are using the wrong code and your place should never have been withdrawn in the first place (as per the LGO case 99C01876).

Well, I've filled in the OSA enquiry form and kept it short (thanks admission) and I hope someone sees it tomorrow and thinks it's interesting enough to call me back sooner than 7 days!

Mahonga- she rationalised the 2012 code use by saying that different parts applied at different times- If that's what the LA told her, and this is the first withdrawal due to allocation error this particular year she's looking at, I would suggest she might not know any better. Not brilliant, I know, but maybe it's the confluence of circumstances that's got her saying that.

I'm sure the OSA will give me something to use.

been stalking this thread

if you want to quote the actual legislation it's here

"Revocations and amendments
(1) Subject to the savings in paragraphs (2) and (3) the following Regulations are revoked?
(a)the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2008(1);
(b)the School Admissions (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2008(2); and
(c)the School Admissions (Local Authority Reports and Admission Forums) (England) Regulations 2008(3).
(2) The Regulations in paragraph (1)(a) continue to have effect in relation to the arrangements under which pupils are admitted to schools in England for the academic years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. "

Seems clear enough to me (but I'm no lawyer) that the 2010 admissions code is the one they should be using.