InYear admissions - what are my options?

[AllSquaredUp]

Trying to move my son from a private school. He needs extra support and current school cant/wont cater to that. LEA school admissions say none of our preferred schools have availability. In fact none in the area, nearest one is 7 miles away. They said either keep him in the current school and he is added to waiting list of the schools we preferred.

Now what are my options? How do I take this ahead? Can I appeal? Arent they supposed to allocate him a school near to his home?

Your options are to sit on the waiting lists for all your preferred schools. You could get a place in a year or not at all depending on popularity, who is ahead of you etc. We have been on 4 lists for 18 months. You may get priority for sn (depends what they are) which puts you to the top of the list. Otherwise its done by 'looked after' children, sibling or distance priority.

You could maybe keep him where he is and pay extra for help until a place comes up or home school til a place comes up. You can appeal - look at the criteria for this which should be on the LEA website. In my area last year there were over 200 appeals and NONE were successful! Unfortunately they cannot allocate him a place which is already taken by another child. in very exceptional circumstances the lea can force the school to take your child (exceptional circumstances in that the school then has to break the law by having over 30 in a class). good luck.

How old is he ? You'd stand a better chance of he is Year 3 or older as class sizes can go over 30.

He is 5, started reception last September, I know most of schools around here are over subscribed. So it is unlikely something would turn up easily. :( We already pay additional support at his current private school ( on the top of school fees ). We are unable to support that for too long.

If he needs support is he likely to get a statement ? If so you would be able to name the school best suited otherwise you will be relying on a space coming up via waiting list and taking it potentially at short notice leaving you with a term's fees to pay in lieu of notice (unless you can reach a compromise).

It depends where you are what classifies as a reasonable distance but it is certainly worth asking them about their Fair Access Protocol. You can also appeal for any school but at your son's age appeals are likely to be difficult to win, although you may be able to persuade an appeal panel that the LA has been unreasonable in not invoking the Fair Access Protocol to find a nearer place for you.

Thanks for the replies ladies. DS doesnt have a statement. We have applied for one recently, waiting to hear back. They have asked to call back after a week as the new term has just begun. I will ask them rgding invoking Fair Access Protocol.