Lac children placement

[Twinklestars1]

Can any one advise?
I removed my children from school after a teacher assaulted my child. I am home educating while I wait for my children to be placed in to a new school.
I have applied twice to a school not far away in the last 2 yrs, my youngest was refused even though they are LAC children, I appealed and lost, I had to go to a school 2 miles away. I spoke to the head master of the school, he told me he did not want my child in his school as he has behaviour problems, there is a child already in my child's school year who is very disruptive, if my child went it would be detrimental to other children and them selves, my child would not get the help he needed. The school is an academy.

So now I have applied for a different school, smaller numbers and no disruptive children, my child is only disruptive because of lack of communication so just scowled and doesn't work.

I have just been told my children have been refused entry to the school I have asked for, I thought LAC children had priority, the LA said they would of had to make an extra place for my child, but LAC rules state this would happen.
My children have been given places for the school they have been refused twice for and the head said it would cause all children problems.

I cannot understand this decision, the school I wanted is 5 minutes away from the school I don't want, it is smaller and is more able to support my child's needs, I spoke to the deputy head prior to my application.

So how can LA refuse my chose?
To me it's because the academy can claim more finance as my children are LAC children

Under the admission code LAC children must be considered as the top part in the admission criteria of the school. That would mean that they would always be admitted at a normal point of entry to the school.
However you are not in that situation. You were offered a place, which you accepted and your child attended the school, until you withdrew them. As far as the LA are concerned they have met their legal duty to find a school place and you have elected to home educate, no matter the reasons behind it.
The finances between academy and LA schools are the same so that is not the reason for non-admission.
What I am not clear of from your post is the age of your children and whether both are LAC or just one.
There is no rule that says LAC children will always be admitted, they have the same situation as any other pupil. So if the school is full in the two year groups then the admission authority can in theory refuse you entry for your two children. However many Local Authorities do assume that LAC children will have priority and exceed the admission number so they are admitted. The reason is that when it comes to an appeal situation then the appeal panel will always be minded to admit a LAC child to the school of preference. The infant class size regulations are very specific in allowing LAC children to be admitted over the infant size limit as "excepted pupils" so that is no barrier.
If you have recently been refused admission to your preferred school then I would go for a school admission appeal for the school. The school cannot argue that they did not admit because there was already a disruptive pupil in the school, that will go down remarkably badly with the panel. There must be a good chance, providing you can explain good reasons why you want your children to attend this school, that an appeal will succeed.
As a matter of principle I would also write to the Local Authority and make the point that your children are LAC that you have had to withdraw them from the previous school and that you are home educating solely because the LA have not admitted them to another school. They need to understand that you require places for the children, not be assuming that because you are home educating that they can sit back and do little.

Thanks for the reply, you have got a little confused as I may have wrote it confusing :/
I moved home applied to the local school I was refused for 1 child and given a place for my older child, I appealed, refused and given a school 2 miles away for youngest child, so I took both children to the same school 2 miles away.
Last year there were 5 places in my younger child's year and 3 for my oldest child's year. Again I was offers for the older child and refused for the younger child. Admissions said school got numbers wrong, school said it was admissions so I spoke to the head who told me off record why there was no place and it wasn't in my child's interest. I refused the place for my oldest child and continued to keep my children in the same school 2 miles away.

For my children's safety and welfare I removed my children from school, LA are very aware and are investigating the staff at the school. The school removed my children off their school system.

I have applied for a completely different school 15 minutes walk away. This school has 8 places for my older child and have 30 children in my younger child's class.

The school I have been offers has 2 places for my older child and there are 32 children in my younger child's class, it is a much bigger school with a lot more children in the whole school

Hope this explains it a little better

The children are 8 yrs and 9yrs both were LAC children, the youngest SEN but not statement end.

The reason I said the school needed money is because the head told me they have no funds to reach my child's needs. The school can not apply for LAC funding until January, if they have no funds for extra support this bothers me

T

I am still a little confused, so please can you clarify if my interpretation is correct:
You moved to a new area and applied for school places for your children who are officially registered as Looked After Children under the defined criteria.
You were not successful in getting the school of your choice (let’s call it school A) for both children but was offered a place there for the eldest, with the youngest offered a different school (Let’s call it school B). My assumption is that the youngest was in KS1 at the time and Infant Class Sizes regulations had something to do with not getting that place? You decided to place both children at School B.
Last year you appealed for school A again as you thought there were “5 places in my younger child's year and 3 for my oldest child's year” and again there is space for your eldest but not the youngest. So you keep your children at school B.
You have concerns about school B and you decide to remove both the children.
You apply for a third school (School C) believing there are spaces for your eldest but that the youngest’s class is already at capacity with 32 in the class. This is the school you have not been able to get both the children in now and is the school you want them both at.
Is that all correct?

I think school C has 30 in the youngest's class and 8 spaces in the eldest's

I think the OP has been offered 2 places in school D, and that is thee school that has 32 in the youngest's class.

Are the children still LAC?

How old are they?

Is the virtual school involved at all?

Has direction been mentioned?

Isitfridayyet
You are almost right, so I wanted school A and was given B so placed both children in school B
I have now removed children from school B and applied for school C
I have been refused c and been given 2 places in A

School C has 8 places for the 9 yr old and has 30 children in the class for my 8 yr old, they would have to make a place for my 8yr old, my child would be 31 if he went there

School B which I have now been given places for has 2 places in the yr for my 9 yr old and has 32 children in the class for my 9 yr old, which means they are already over the 30 class limit which would be 33 if my child goes there,

My children were LAC children but it means they are still admitted as LAC children.

This decision was made in a meeting as they were previously LAC children

Your children will get priority (and are excepted children for ICS) if they are formerly LAC- but only if they have left care under a residence order, special guardianship order or have been adopted from care.

If the children were removed from, and have now returned to your care, they do not have priority in school admissions, although they are likely to meet the social/medical criteria if your LA has one.

It sounds as if something was agreed in a meeting- but this does not make it law, and a school is free to decide differently, as long as the admissions code is followed.

If the children are still looked after on a section 20, then I would ask their social worker and the virtual head to request direction (the LA/secretary of state directs the school/academy to admit the children), but this is only an option if they are still LAC.

It sounds as if your best way forward is to appeal for the school you want.

The new school will not get the Pupil Premium Plus for your children unless they are formerly LAC as I have described above, or are still LAC.

How recently were they LAC?

Surely even if school has no official funding for them yet they have a duty to provide suitable provision in the meantime. If you want to stop HE then take the places offered and work with the school to ensure they are catered for. What specific provision do you feel they need ?

"My children have been given places for the school they have been refused twice for and the head said it would cause all children problems."

The head cannot refuse admission if there are places available.

"the LA said they would of had to make an extra place for my child, but LAC rules state this would happen."

The rules about excepted children only apply to infant classes, and then again only to currently LAC and former LAC as described above.

After infant years, the procedure for LAC is to request that the school go over numbers and admit the child; if they refuse, the virtual head or SW requests a direction. It sounds like this would not apply in your case.

Difficult.
Do what are you going to do OP?

So this time round you've been offered places at the school (A) that was your preference first time round but didn't get. This time your preference school is School C - this school has 8 spaces in the class for the elder child (i.e. got 22 in the class?) so I'm surprised they haven't been offered a place. I can see maybe the younger child is trying to get into a class that is at capacity of 30 and the actual room space may be an issue with pushing a KS2 over that number. Maybe they've offered places at school A as this is the one you wanted first time round?

From LA point of view I think it comes down to two possible things:

1. the LA have already provided places which you have withdrawn the children from
2. the definitions of LAC / previously LAC

My children were lac and I have RO, no social worker involved. The children are definitely LAC and a special entry meeting for the school of my choice had taken place !
No one in education will tell me why my children have been refused entry into my choice of school.
My choice of school has a lot of spaces for my older child. They would be 1 over if my youngest child went.

The school they have given me has less places for my oldest child and my youngest child will be number 33

I have already stated my children are previous LAC children they are 9yrs and 8yrs old. Have already stated my younger child has Special Educational Needs but is not statemented.

If I have spoken to the head at my chosen school C and she has clearly told me she can cater for both children, then spoken to the head teacher at the school I have been given Aand clearly stated off record she could not accommodate as youngest would go over the class limit and would not meet his needs, it clearly does not make sense to me to put them in school A

I don't think the head is allowed to have an opinion on entry unofficial or otherwise, either there is a space or there is not. Could you submit an appeal , it might prompt the offer of places even if it took the younger one's class above 30.

If you have a residency order, then they are no longer LAC in terms of admissions, but they are formerly LAC.

However, the problem seems to be that the school you wanted has actually said they will take both children- but you have been offered places at another school. Is that correct?

Have you contacted admissions and asked why the places are not being offered at your choice of school, given that the head has agreed to go over numbers and admit them (if indeed they have)?

And, sorry if you've already stated this, but is it the school you want which is an academy, or the school you've been offered? Or both?

I have contacted admissions and they refuse to give me an explanation why they refused!

The school they have given me is an academy, the school I want isn't!

I think the only way forward is to appeal, this will take 6 weeks. Education told me to accept the academy school place while I appeal, but my concern is that the appeal panel will say I accepted their choice and children have settled

Thanks for every ones advice it's appreciated

Have they not even offered a place for your eldest at the school you want? Even though there are places available?

No they havnt
I find it strange as they are placing both in a school with less places

It doesn't matter how many places are available , just that there are places. If you have stipulated that you want both to join at the same school at the same time maybe they are trying to accommodate that.

But they can accommodate that at my choice of school. I only put one choice of school on my application. Other times I put 3 and was denied all in the past, makes no sense and why won't they give me an explanation of refusal?

If there is an available place, it should be offered. Whether there is a place available for your youngest or not is irrelevant. Your oldest should have been offered the place.

I think you need some specialist advice from prh47bridge or other posters. The children being formerly LAC is a bit of a red herring... If a school has a place available, then they must offer it.

One thing I am not clear about is whether a LA can direct a maintained school to admit a former LAC in the same way is can for current LAC. The Secretary of State can direct an academy to admit a former LAC (which is why I asked whether it was an academy), but I'm not sure whether the LA can do the same for a maintained school. In any case, it seems as if the school is prepared to offer the places, so this may not be relevant.

Can you get something in writing from your first choice school stating:

1. The number of available places they have in both year groups
2. That they are prepared to go over numbers and admit your youngest child

Armed with this, the LA might think quite differently.

Just a thought- were your children allocated the school via the Fair Access Panel?

Yes that's why I can't understand it or in their no response as to why

Ok, they were allocated via FAP?

This should not have happened. LAC and former LAC should not go via FAP.

Can you PM me the local authority we are talking about if you don't want to say on the thread?