school place for my yr 1 girl.- appeals advice

[7InTheBed]

Hi there,
I recently moved to city in devon and have applied for 3 school places for my chiuldren.
We were settled in a lovely area of devon but had to move through a refuge/ safety program because of domestic violence.
As i have 5 children there were not many places that could take me and the kids and after having my son we had to move again.
one of my DC will be sept admin for reception and has never been to school, however my DD age 7 and DD age 5 have been to 3 schools in the last year.
when we found out that we had been offered a house in the new city i applied for school places for all 3 children.
DD age7 and DDage5 - in year admissions and DS a reception admission.
DD7 and DS have both been given places at a school that is not in catchment (about a 20 mins walk) but as they are together i will happily accept this school, however DD who should be in current reception has been offered a school a further 2 miles away.
I stipulated in the admission app that i didnt care where they went to school as long as they were together due to

1. our traumatic experience over the violent incident they witnessed
2. they have been to 3 schools already and education welfare agree it is not fair for them to be offer separate places only to be offered a place together at a later date and have to move again
3. my DD is so fragile after all thats happened i dont think she will cope.

ed welfare will back me up and they have sent me a letter in writing to submit with my appeal. what can i do. DD- age 2 has this week been offered a place at the pre school attaced to the school too, now its just my baby i need to place elswhere, i cant manage lots of drop offs in the morning - especially if 2 miles appart when i dont drive and in sept i return to work!!! ( been offered a job at the local hospital which is another 3 miles away in the other direction). is there anything i can do??? I asked the lea if i could arrange to drop off DD later than the others and collect her early and they said NO. its just me, i have no family here, my parents are a 1 hour drive away so what am i supposed to do, i cant physically be in 2 places at once!?? please help. the lea have also said to apply for a yr 1 place for sept as she does not legally have to be at school till yr 1- is that correct??? thanks.

Am posting to keep it bumped up for you - you need advice from one of the experts regarding your appeal.

Regarding Y1 - children have to be educated from the term after their 5th birthday.

anyone???

Yes, children have to be receiving an education (not necessarily at school) by the term after they turn 5.

Have you been told whether the appeal for the Y1 place will be heard under Infant Class Size rules? If it will, you have to show that there has been an error or that the decision to refuse a place has been so unreasonable that it must be reversed. From what you say here, I think you have a pretty strong case (although of course we don't know what the school's position is).

The points you need to get cross to the panel aren't the ones about drop-offs and not having family nearby to help - many people are in that situation and school admissions can't be based around that - but about the relocation to escape domestic abuse and your child's needs. The letter from educational welfare will be helpful - make sure it is clear that this is a professional person's opinion, not just yours that they are repeating. Are you involved with other professionals (paediatrician, therapist etc) who could also provide supporting evidence?

If this isn't an ICS case, you're arguing on the balance of prejudice, about whether your child needs the place more than the school needs to keep its numbers down, so your odds of winning should be better.

I had an appointment with the head teacher on monday who said he will be happy to take her if the local authority agree so i need to appeal through the lea, so today i have spoken to the lea who have said they cant process an appeal as the school is a va school so i have to appeal through the school!!!
now i am very confused and dont know what to do next!
can someone pleae advise, im in a right state about this.
the drop offs are a problem but my main concern is the mental state of my daughter if she is segregated from her siblings.

First of all don't panic. It sounds like it will be ok in the end, you just need get through the admin first.

Clearly one office is confused.

Can I suggest that you either speak to the offices concerned by e-mail or follow all conversation up with e-mails summing up what was said for reference.

I would e-mail both offices saying you wish to appeal for a place at xxx school for your daughter and asking them to send you the appropriate forms.

If it is a VA school the LA is correct - the school deals with its own appeals.

... but nevertheless should have an independent panel to hear the appeals and decide on them.

seems the Head is on your side so an appeal through school sounds very positive, good luck.

As an aside might you consider driving lessons and getting a little car, might really help you to feel free and in control of your destainy after everything you've been through - being able to pop the children in the car and hop down to the a lovely devon beach could be so restorative.

i can drive but with 5 children in total- we cant afford an mpv. we are always getting the train to places though.
i think i will certainly look at home schooling till she gets a place

i have since been told that this VA schools hands all its appeals to the LA.
blooming confusing ild say!!!