Are schools allowed to not prioritise statemented children?

[PollyParanoia]

Just flicking through my Islington Primary booklet and was amazed by the fact that the highest performing school's admissions makes no mention of statemented children. It's Catholic and has the usual Catholic looked-after children, Catholic in the parish etc but nothing about statements. It gets 100% sats every year and acc to its ofsted has below average SEN etc. Surely these are connected? And surely it's unfair not to give preference to statemented children since it leads to neighbouring schools having disproportionate levels. I do know someone who moved her kid from the school because she was told her youngest (moderate to severe SN) wouldn't be welcome.
I don't know, it makes such a mockery of the league tables since it seems absurd to make comparisons between two schools with such differences in the children. I don't know what I'm trying to say, though I suppose I'm a bit frustrated that there isn't any equality and my kids' school is struggling to accommodate so many kids with needs without being given the necessary funding.

Most schools don't say anything about statemented children in their admission criteria. That is because statemented children don't go through the normal admissions process. If a child has a statement naming the school they will be admitted even if the school is already full. The school has no choice.

Oh I see, thanks for that. Though it does seem possibly obtuse since all the community schools have a shared admissions code at the beginning of the brochure which has a paragraph at the top about SEN and then the rest of the criteria. The faith schools have a separate admissions code under each school under which no mention is made of SEN. In other words, the statemented bit is very prominent if you're looking for non-faith admissions and very hidden if you were looking at individual schools' admissions.
If this particular school does discourage applications then it's clearly working since there's almost no non-faith school in the borough with below average SEN. Also I doubt it's possible to consistently get 100% in Sats if you are taking a broad range of SEN pupils (am aware that many types of SEN do not exclude high academic achievement, but there are undoubtedly some that make a L4 difficult).

I remember seeing somewhere that once you'd removed SEN pupils from the stats then the national average was in the 90s for L4. Which makes league tables even more farcical.

Our local catholic school actively discourages parents of SEN children from applying for the 'catholic' spaces at school. When children are identified with SEN, a decision is made as to whether they will skew the results and either encouraged to leave, or if that doesn't work, the school is 'unable to meet the child's needs' and will need to find an alternative.
Its a shame.
I also noticed that a local secondary that is changing to an Academy has changed its admission criteria to leave out 'social/medical' criteria.

Parents need to understand that when a school is saying that they are unable to meet the child's needs that the school is completely out of order and are really treading close to, if not reaching, the threshold for discriminating under the Equality Act legislation.
It is despicable that schools do it but they nearly always get away with it because parents are so anxious to get a "proper" education for their child in a school that does care and does want to help pupils with SEN to the best of their ability.
The two examples given are catholic schools but it happens in all kinds of schools who are intend on solely looking to achieve "outstanding" results rather than getting all pupils to the very best possible level that each and every pupil can achieve.

Whatever their admissions policy says lots of schools manage out SEN kids.

And you wouldn't want your child at one of those schools. They're nasty places with no heart - and bad pastoral care.

Totally agree with what indigo posted about some schools 'managing out' children with sen.

There is a real problem which affects all types of school. To repeat some figures I have given previously:

• roughly 4 in 10,000 children without SEN get permanently excluded
• that rises to 33 in 10,000 children with a statement of SEN
• for children with SEN but no statement it rises to 38 in 10,000

SEN children are also more likely to be subjected to fixed term exclusions (which are legal) and informal or unofficial exclusions (which are illegal even if the parents agree to them). I find it difficult to believe that these statistics are justified by the behaviour of SEN children. I think it points to schools using exclusions to get rid of SEN children.

You soon learn as a parent to a child with SEN or SN that what schools write in admissions policies isn't necessarily how they feel. At least the Catholic school in question is being honest!
Where we live there are 3 schools - Welsh Speaking, Church School and Non-Church School. We looked around the non-church school first - standard council admission policy. There comment "To be honest you need to find a more caring school for your DS than we can offer". Strangely this school has better results than the other local schools. At the time DS only had an 'anxiety' diagnosis so hardly major SEN. Turns out he actually has Aspergers but they didn't know that.

Agree with you Indigo. If a school says they don't want you, they really don't want you and are not going to do their best for your child. You could fight them all the way on discrimination - but what would be the point.
I've seen SEN children manoeuvred out, and it's nasty (state primary). All the while the child is getting a poor education/no education (exclusions etc). At least if you find somewhere that is happy to help - regardless of the school or child's academic ability - it will achieve a better outcome in the end.
But that is what these schools want - parents who leave/don't apply as it is too difficult. But then, as one of those parents, my interest is only the welfare of my child.

my children goes to a catholic and they are plenty of SEN kids especially now in reception and year 1. They don't discrimate. It such they are dealt with separate. You got to remember there are few and far catholic schools around and they is a alwful lot of catholic kids these days due to the influence of the polish and other european countries so most catholic schools are very oversubscribed

yes it's not a catholic issue at all - our local 'top performing' schools that mysteriously don't seem to have any SEN kids aren't religious.

I think it's an absolute shocker and I see it all the time - our local academy has just excluded a number of kids with autism for not following the school's code of conduct. They have ended up in various schools including my kids' one. I am glad my kids are in an inclusive school but at the same time am frustrated that it's disproportionate and that other places are shirking their responsibilities. It also pisses me off that the academy primary will crow about its SATS results and it will be a stick to beat more inclusive schools. Should SATS league tables have two sets of results? I realise that sounds controversial as I'm very aware that lots of SN/SEN children are very high achievers, but for others being able to write a few words is an achievement far higher than another child getting a L5 but they are judged as having 'failed' if they don't get a L4.
PS agree that it's not just a Catholic school issue but where schools are in charge of their own admissions then it is perhaps easier if they are so minded.

My first post was about 2 schools, a catholic primary and a state secondary (not a faith school). In our LEA, if you look at all the top performing primaries OFSTED reports, you are more than likely to see 'below average SEN for the area' .
The school that we are currently in is trying to become one of those in the 'top performing' band. It is sad that to do this they feel they have to 'cleanse' the school from its low achieving SEN pupils. IT saddens me that with a high achieving SEN child, I am offered help, listened to etc, but that a friend of mine with a DS in the same class was forced out.

I teach year 6 in a small rural school. I am amazed at the number of children who come into my class at the beginning of year 6 when parents have been told "they would be better off in a small school now". Not surprisingly the child usually has SEN.

A child with a statement would not necessarily mean sats results are affected. That is a sweeping judgement in itself.

What absolute rubbish!
My DS has a statement and at the Year 5 review of statement the school they will be going to is named on the statement, there is no need to apply, you're in.
My DS goes to an RC school with an ASD resource base they take children with autism of any faith or none from all over the city and beyond.

Yes bamboo, my DS did well in his SATS, thanks.

I think everyone has noted that SEN does not automatically mean low achieving but there are SOME schools who seem able to avoid taking/keeping those that are.

Don't see any evidence that "everyone has noted SEN does not automatically mean low achieving." Certainly not on this thread. Another sweeping judgement.

Where snowball?

auntevil Fri 17-Aug-12 17:32:12

IT saddens me that with a high achieving SEN child, I am offered help, listened to etc,* but that a friend of mine with a DS in the same class was forced out.

here SauvignonBlanche?

Sad thing is, I could see what the school were trying to do to my friend, and told her several terms before to keep a watch out.
Strange that her elder NT DS is still at the school

Like snowball we often have an influx of low achieving children in Y5 beginning of Y6...