gah - primary allocations LA fuckup

[zoemaguire]

We just got our primary allocation, for our second choice (our catchment school) meaning ds has been given a place at a different school to his sister, aaaaarg. Only the council information sheet states that places for our first choice went to criterion 4 (out of catchment with siblings) to 1.4 miles. We only live 0.6 miles away!!! So on the face of it there has been a fuckup somewhere and we should have been allocated a place for ds at our first choice, on the basis of sibling priority. I've re-read our application online and we definitely entered all the information correctly, including the sibling priority information.

What happens?! Do we have to go to appeal, and can the LA say 'yeah sorry we got it wrong but too bad because there is no space?' (Would be infant class size appeal as pan is 90). Or do we ring up the la tomorrow and they say 'oh yes sorry quite right, have a place after all!'

I am having palpitations at the idea of two kids at different schools, the logistics don't bear thinking about. How can the la possibly have got it wrong?!

Yep, postcode all correct, and sibling priority details too, I have a copy of application. There is another road in our town with the same name except that it is an avenue instead of a street, so it could be that, but surely they'd use the postcode not the address. Mystifying.

Thanks so much panel, lets hope it doesn't come to that. DH just sent a kick-ass email to the admissions team, much better than my sorry brain could manage right now. That's 3 phone calls and 4 emails from us this morning:) I'll keep everyone posted!

Could you call the local newspaper ? I have helped a friend who the same thing happened to and the council kept trying to put her off. Until it was on the front page of the local rag and they then miraculously sorted it out in an hour. Why Councils can't just say 'sorry we messed up' I don't know. Goo luck.

Thanks. My feeling is that the press is very last resort, I don't want to needlessly antagonise the LA. But if it comes to it, I would consider it!

That's awful, I'd email you local mp and cc them in as well, more people fighting might push you up the list of things to do.

There is no need for the press or the local MP. This is currently a straightforward case which should lead to the LA admitting their mistake and offering a place. Failing that it should be a simple win at appeal. Adding the press and the local MP to the situation may result in positions becoming entrenched which would not be helpful. Yes it is worrying but there has been no indication that the LA is stalling and there is no particular reason why it has to be sorted this week or even this month.

You are doing all the right things. I hope it gets sorted quickly for you.

I agree with prh47bridge about wheeling in local media or your MP. It may be seen as confrontational and everything so far suggests the LEA may be willing to resolve the situation administratively. Hold your fire until you get a full response from the LEA.

Just bear in mind that Admissions will be getting many phone calls and e-mails today, and can't deal with every query immediately.

It is definitely better to work on the basis that you will need to go to appeal and get the appeal form completed and sent in. It does not need to be vast in what it says. It is quite straightforward, you live 0.6 miles away, there information says that pupils were admitted to 1.4 miles away in same category and you know that other parents further away have been allocated a place, therefore it is a mistake that needs rectifying.

If you put the appeal form in then it just puts a bit of extra pressure on the admission office to admit there is an error and do something about it, but as others have said in many LAs it will always go to appeal.

It is difficult to see why you would not win at appeal but not to many mistakes are made, so you need to find out from the admission office that you were considered as an on-time application - that would be a reason why you were further down the pecking order - and that you were considered in category 4. Again obviously if you were not considered as having a sibling in the school this would be a reason why no place was offered.

Please do give the admission office some leeway to get back to you, they will have bee deluged with complaints and queries today and they cannot deal with all of them immediately.

Hurrayyyy!!!! There is reason and sanity in our local LEA:) They rang late this afternoon and held their hands up - the sibling priority was apparently 'neglected due to a data error'! Emails have been sent to the relevant schools telling them of the mistake and our new offer letter for our first choice school is on its way to us. The lady on the phone was very apologetic for all the stress caused.

Thank you so much to everyone on the thread for all their help, especially PanelChair, prh47bridge, admission and tiggytape, and for talking me down from the brink! Our little boy hasn't had the easiest of starts in life and this felt like the icing on the cake, hence the particular strength of my reaction! I'm relieved beyond words that it is all sorted.

Good luck to everyone still facing the prospect of having two small children at different schools; I'm aware I'm very lucky in the grand scheme of things.

That's great news :) You must be so relieved :) Time for some now

I wonder what happens to the oers

Person who was the last allocated? I suppose they got their place because of an admin error - is it taken away now? Or will one more child be admitted? I suppose it could have a knock on effect.

I suspect there'll be enough movement in a 90 intake that it will just be absorbed - I guess one less person will get a place via the waiting list.

Great news, really glad to see you got a good outcome from them, after the farce we've had, that's sort if restored my faith a bit

Will keep my fingers crossed for your appeal RockinHippy. We're very lucky to have got it sorted so quickly I know and to have found someone so helpful at the admissions office. She sent us a separate reply to each of our anguished emails, just to make sure the message really got through - very lovely!:)

Under these circumstances the pupil will be admitted as an extra pupil because it was a mistake by the LA,it is termed an excepted pupil. However what it means is that two pupils have to turn down the offer before the person who will be top of the admission waiting list could be offered a place.

Oh I'm so happy for you. Sorry it's been so stressful.

Haven't RTFT, but try ACE (an educational advice charity that help with admissions issues)

Excellent news. I'm glad it is sorted.

I'm glad they are an excepted pupil - would have been horrible for another person otherwise.

Very glad you had multiple replies to the emails :)

Excellent. A happy (and speedy) ending!

Thank you zoe

I'm so glad that you don't have to go through this, I really am ??

I was trying to be supportive in reassuring you that is not so hard to appeal, but got to admit that I swing between feeling really confident & not fazed by the appeal, to being completely overwhelmed by the whole thing & very scared for DD as we don't have a school for her if we fail the appeal. Her allocated school is as bad as it gets & is way to far away fir a DC that suffers with chronic fatigue as a symptom of Ehkers Danlos, let alone the fact that she's often in crutches due to injury, which she is vulnerable to.

So as much as I am organised & even without the cock up we had (wrong incorrect forms assessed & medical evidence therefore ignored) & I now have some extra fantastic supporting evidence from DDs doctors, OT etc etc that she needs our first choice school - its scary, because if we don't get her in, I'm back to home schooling her, which at high school level & having realised after a term of doing that, that teaching your own, with my own health problems too, is bloody hard & not in either her best interest or mine - so its scary stuff ??

Hope you don't me hijacking, but can I please ask a question of those of you who obviously know the appeals system well.

We had to take DD out of her last primary as OTT SATs pressure, bullying & too frequent incidents, some handled very badly resulting in DD spending no longer than 6 weeks in the last 3 years without a real injury requiring either crutches of casts for upper limb injuries, (fractures, torn cartilage, ligament damage etc etc)

We did apply for another local primary that had a space, but I was called to say that there were similar issues in that class too & they thought it wouldn't be any better for her & they then offered her a place at a closer, very hard to get into full primary

They made the space for her based on her being G&T/more able & her school reports saying how easy she is to teach & that she helps others less able to grasp concepts too etc etc

So, as I'm beginning to realise, the only chance we are likely to have of getting her into our chosen - nearest school .- is not just her health issues - the appeals people have already told us we are up against nearly 60 others with similar issues & there are unlikely to be many families turn down places at this school ??

So along with all the other evidence that shows DD needs this school for health reasons, I'm thinking we also need to convince the appeals panel that DD won't be a burden as an extra pupil, therefore her her school reports & G&T status etc could help - but I was advised early on not to use this - can't remember if it was on here or by the appeals or assessment people, but as she's already been given a space at an oversubscribed primary school for this reason - it makes sense to use it

What are your opinions in this please ???

TIA

B