Lovely, lovely admissions people - can you advise please?

[dilbertina]

I have applied online for in year places for my 2 dc (2 weeks ago). We are moving back to UK from France. Currently, according to the head, there are spaces for them at village school. I have emailed them confirmation that we have exchanged and completion date and copies of dc's British passports. We move in on Thursday and ideally I would like them to go to school from next Monday (the headteacher agrees this would be good idea).

I have heard nothing back other than automatic acknowledgments. I have tried to contact by phone but they are not taking calls. The lady on reception said they were not processing new applications until they had cleared the new primary starter backlog, but to email and they'd reply ASAP.

Whilst it isn't the end of the world if they can't start next week, I'm concerned that my youngest who is currently Reception, could end-up not getting a place (it is a mixed R,1 & 2 class) if they all get allocated to new starters for September.

Are they effectively "allowed" to ignore in year applications until they sort out what they are going to do with new primary starters?
Many thanks!

They can ignore them as long as they also ignore anyone else who turns up like you do, and then ensures they are all processed according to date.

So if they can't deal with your application until next week for example, and someone with higher priority than you applies this week, they can't give the spare place to them as you had applied when there was a space and if they had got their arses in gear that space would have been yours.

However I wouldn't think it was reasonable that they take more than a week to process your application, even at this busy time of year - keep phoning!

I think most of the new starterswill already have been allocated their places in April. I would contact admissions at council

Is the school its own admissions authority? If not, the waiting list is managed by the LEA, not the school.

If there is a vacancy and you apply for it, you should get the lace without further ado. As titchy says, they could (I suppose) hold on to all applications and then deal with them in date order, but in your shoes I would insist that they make a decision now because your children need school places and you need clarity. If they hang on to your application and any others and bungle them, so that a child with lower priority gets a place that should have been yours, you would have strong grounds for appeal.

I have to disagree with Titchy. Offers have been issued. Maybe that wasn't the case when you phoned the LA if that was some time ago, but all LAs have now issued their offers for September. They should therefore be processing any new applications. The 2010 Admissions Code is clear that applications outside the normal admissions round must be considered without delay (paragraph 3.23). And if the school is full, your place on the waiting list must be determined by the admission criteria. They cannot put you at the end of the list just because you are applying late.

Once you have given them whatever proof of address they require (they may, for example, want a solicitors letter) they must process your application. If they do not do so and a place at one of your preferred schools goes to someone else when you should have been at the head of the waiting list you have grounds for appeal. If they continue to refuse to process your application I would write to them giving them 7 days to respond or you will refer the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman.

I wonder too who it was who said that they were (in so many words) too busy to deal with in-year applications. It sounds to me as if it was the school, but unless this is a school that is its own admissions authority it should be the LEA that deals with the in-year application.

Thanks all! It is the LEA that deals with admissions for this school.

I've done a bit of digging and feel a bit more confident. It seems that in one part of the LEA area (not my bit) there was a major shortage of places. The LEA announced 5 bulge classes a couple of weeks ago and invited parents to apply for spaces. They say online that these applications will be dealt with from 26th June onwards. This I presume is the "backlog" they are processing.

Whilst it does appear that this may well delay my application, I have pretty much abandoned hope of them starting before Summer Hols now, at least it seems unlikely that hordes of children from further afield are going to be allocated "my" village school. Fingers crossed we get places there for September.

Excuse my ignorance, but just how long does it take to process applications for two children for a school which has places for both children. It seems fairly straightforward. I would try to push them for a date as it would be nice for them to make a few friends before the holidays.

I agree. I don't know how long they have had the OP's application but it sounds like they are in breach of the 2010 Admissions Code paragraph 3.23. If there are places available they should get on and offer them.

When DS was an in-year applicant back in year 1, I applied on a Monday. He was given a place on the Wednesday. The head and I agreed that he should have a few weeks at the end of the summer term to get himself used to the new school (many ASD traits, at that time just coming out of months of school-induced selective mutism), so he started the following Monday.

Best thing we could have done. He was SO much more settled in the September than he would have been with weeks and weeks oif the summer holidays to think about his new school and get anxious about it. The fact that it also gave DD the sibling priority she needed to get into Reception in the same school was a bonus!

Push for it. It seems entirely unreasonable that if two places exist, they can't be allocated straight to you and for you to start immediately.

(Also, surely, if this is an in-year application - it doesn't matter where you live at the moment - if the space exists, and you want it, and there is no waiting list, then they have to give it to you. They shouldn't need proof of address etc as there is no 'admissions priority order' to be applied to your application. Certainly when DS's place was allocated we lived 60 miles away!)

Where she lives would not matter if the OP was in the UK. Unfortunately she is in France. However, it seems she has been able to give the LA the necessary proof of address so they should get on and deal with it.

Well we've moved and admissions are still not accepting phonecalls...
I have registered children with a local GP and they have emailed admissions directly to confirm this, I don't think they can possibly be waiting for anything more. I have sent yet another email, quoting admissions code about them needing to act promptly (thankyou for this!) but do not think they are even reading emails because of their backlog.

I am however instantly very fond of the childrens new head teacher, who has said they can start tomorrow! This probably breaks countless rules but since she has the places, we now live about 200metres away and she is also unable to speak to admissions; she has decided to apply commonsense and act in what she sees as the best interests of the children.

Many thanks for all your words of wisdom!

She sounds fantastic! Good luck for tomorrow

Good for the headteacher, but I bet she gets some stick from the paper pushers some time soon for completely circumventing all the necessary systems.

Good luck for tomorrow and well done for the HT

I'm pleased the head teacher has done the sensible thing. And if she does get stick from the paper pushers I hope she points out that she only had to step in because of their blatant disregard for the Admissions Code.

Thanks everyone! Children have been successfully deposited at school today and everyone was lovely and friendly. Whilst I've still not heard anything direct from Admissions the Headmistress said that she had had confirmation through from them this morning so wasn't risking the wrath of the paper-pushers after all.

Although since it seems Admissions in this area are in the midst of a collective nervous breakdown I suspect they probably wouldn't have the energy to get to excited about it!

Thanks again for all the advice and good wishes, now back to the unpacking....

I hope they have a great day