Jumping Primary school waiting list advice please (thread in AIBU)

[Duperhero]

Hello,

Would love some opinions on this please. We were forced down the private route as no school places available. We are still waiting for a place in Year 2.

There is a little girl in my DC's class who has just been allocated a place at our nearest school. We were number one on the waiting list, but somehow the other child has been given a place. They live much further away from the school than us. There are no learning difficulties that I know of, as the little girl was in my DC's class and at a similar level. There is a sibling, but we also have a sibling at the school we are on the waiting list for.

How could this have occurred? Mutual friend has been bragging about how there are 'ways' to get both children into same school. She won't elaborate when pushed about these mysterious 'ways'!

Am I missing a trick here? I want to bring this up with the Council to find out why we were not given the place.

Our LEA criteria is Looked After Children, SEN, Siblings, then distance. Length on waiting list doesn't come into it.

Hopefully the admissions experts will be along shortly - they are amazing help to so many people who post on here. It at be useful to say which LA if you feel you can. I won't repeat what I said on other thread bug I would be phoning the LA first thing Monday

Is it a church school? VC or VA....They can have odd admissions stuff going on, and some academies can set their own criteria. But if it's a normal LEA state primary, then I can't understand it either.
Ring the council first thing.

Just a normal Primary. Not a religious school at all.

Needless to say I would also put concern in writing to LA and ask for written response. At out school, the office helped someone I know too. They didn't breach confidentiality but did assure someone about a query etc Can you get any more info via the school itself?

Are you definitely still on the waiting list? Some schools close their list at the end of each academic year and you have to request to be added on.

Either they meet higher criteria than you or they have fraudulently acquired a place.

If you suspect the latter, write to the admissions department. If you don't, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait.

Does the borough have a medical/social criterion?

'Just have to wait' sounded v.snippy- apologies OP.

Are you sure you're still on the. waiting list? When did you last check?

Yes we have remained on the waiting list throughout.

I'm not sure what the special social or medical needs criteria are. Where could I find that out? Do councils have criteria or do they just consider each individual case?

The question that needs to be asked is when do you definitely know that you were at the top of the waiting list and do you know whether this girl was on the waiting list then.
If you know that and it was in the last say 6 months then there must have been a change in the other families circumstances so that they were at the top of the waiting list. If you are correct on the admission criteria then the only criteria that have a higher priority are to have a statement of SEN naming the school - in which case they would get a place no matter whether there was a place or not or the family have discovered that they they should have been considered as a looked after child (or most likely adopted after being a looked after child.

The other possibility despite you living nearer is that there is a catchment zone in the admission criteria and they live in the catchment and you do not, hence they have priority over you.
Talking to the LA will probably not get you anywhere and you will need to appeal for a place to get to all the information on the case. Even then the LA will not wish to disclose any details of why the other person has a higher priority other than the most basic of information.
As you are talking about year 2, this could be an infant class size regs case, so the only reason for being granted a place will be a mistake having been made. The LA usually only allow one admission appeal per academic year and there would be some sense in looking to appeal in mid June for a place for year 3 in September. That would be an appeal based on your circumstances and reasons, not infant class size regs, so more winnable, but still possibly difficult. There is a decision to make on whether an appeal now based on a mistake having been made is sensible or wait till June and hope to get a place for September. It is a decision that only you can make as most LAs would deem an appeal now and an appeal in June for September start two appeals in a year. They will only allow this if there has been a significant change in your circumstances or the school's circumstances.

I think that given the sensitivity of this you might be best not revealing any more details as open posts and to use PM. Please feel free to PM me with the school and LA and I will look at the admission criteria etc and see if I can see any other explanations for the situation.

Nothing to add to the advice you have already given but I would also be happy to take a look if you want to PM me with the details.

Out of interest, do adopted children get priority automatically? Even if they are, say, adopted as babies into a family with no other "extra" criteria?

If they were adopted from LA care, then yes Hakluyt.

I believe that some LAs now give priority to all adopted children including those adopted from overseas, but they are in the minority; the admissions code states that children adopted from care should be prioritised in school admissions.

I think it's also a recognition of the impact of trauma on even very young babies too, tiggy. A significant amount of young people experience emotional difficulties later in life arising from traumatic events which they experienced as very small babies.

For example, the impact of severe neglect on a baby is enormous, and is likely to have ramifications in later life, even if the baby is adopted very quickly.

Absolutely. Even the best case scenario is likely to involve trauma for the child.

It's great to see this recognised in the school admissions process.