appeal for year 2 (out of session)

[mama36]

hi
i will really appreciate anyone's advice regarding my issue
i have recently moved to Leeds from outside UK on 30th Sep, have 2 kids 6 and 3 and have applied for admission of my 6 year old for year 2. All my nearby schools are full (except a faith school which i am not comfortable in opting for) so he has been kept on the waiting list. Council also provided me with the name of all schools in Leeds with available space in year 2 but majority of schools are more than 10 miles far. i dont drive so they are out of question
i have appealed for all three nearby schools but am not sure what to expect cos of infant class size rule. can anyone guide me how i can make my case strong
also this appeal is out of regular sessions appeal as children in year 2 had ended their 1st term. my son is out of school for so long and i am worried about it as well
thanks and have a nice day everyone

I don't know how it works in Leefs but in my LA if your nearest school with a vacancy is more than around 3 miles away (for infants) you will be eligible for free home to school transport until a place becomes available at a nearer school. You need to keep on at admissions and transport, daily if necessary, as your child has the right to a school place.

Thanks alot SuburbanRhonda. i wasnt aware of free home to school transport. whenever i call the council they say they cant help me as the schools are full.

In UK, it is your legal responsibility to ensure your DC are receiving an education.

If there is a vacancy, even in a school you dislike, and you don't take it up, it's up to you to home educate, send to private school, or find (and fund transport to) a more distant state school with a vacancy.

In identifying a school with a place, the LEA has fulfilled its obligation to you.

I'm afraid that you haven't described anything that would give you grounds to appeal successfully. Waiting list is your best bet.

thxs Meditrina for your kind advise. i dont drive and majority of the schools are 8-10 miles. the nearest is 4 miles which will take more than 100 min of walk or more than an hour of walk plus bus. it is not humanly possible thing daily with a 6 yr old and a toddler. i cant afford taxi on a daily basis
even the council agrees that " the statutory distance is 2 miles for children under 8"

Yes, that is true if that is the nearest school with a vacancy

From what you describe, that is not the case for you.

Because the local faith school has a vacancy that is the only one that you would get transport to if it's over the 2 miles

Tiggytape gives great advice. If I were you, I'd take the faith school place, go on waiting lists for everywhere else in walking distance, and appeal in Y3 when ICS isn't a factor. And in the meantime, if at all poss, I'd learn to drive. So many of these threads have intractable situations because the parent doesn't drive. I know sometimes there's a good reason for it, but in other cases it's just turned out that way and is the one factor under their control that would make a world of difference. Good luck and hope you're liking Leeds, it's a great city!

You don't say what the class sizes are in all your local schools. Tiggytape is spot on: If you can find a local school with class sizes of less than 30, you will have more chance of appeal.

thxs alot tiggytape for a much needed detailed answer. my nearest faith school is a jewish faith school does it makes any difference compared to a C of E schools.

You need to take the faith school (or home educate) and go on WL. many faith schools have a proportion of their intake not from that faith. If you choose to decline it, the LA have no obligation to you. There may be movement at year 3 as it is a common point where people more to private education in some areas.

thanks a lot Tiggytape for a much needed detailed answer. my nearest faith school is a jewish faith school, is it comparable to any C of E school or the criterion can b different
thanks pinkdelight for a backup. i really needed that

hi Lougle sorry i didn't got you. all my nearest schools have 30 seats and my child is on waiting list meaning 30 students are already there isnt it

Mama,

My understanding is that if the faith school is a state school, and has places, thenat this point it is treated EXACTLY the same as any other school.

If you had been applying for a Reception place, then the criteria for entry to that school could have been relevant - ie if the school had been over-subscribed at that point, then criteria including being of that faith could have been applied to identify those children who got plces.

However at this point the situation is much simpler:

• This school has a place.
• You need a place.
• You have therefore been offered this place.
• This ends the council's responsibility to find you a place.
• It also means that you won't get free transport to a further away school.

I agree with the others that you have very limited choices at this point, and much the most realistic option is to take this place until the end of Y2, then appeal for p[laces in Y3, when the 30 limit in each class becomes relaxed.

There isn't an option to say 'I don't want this faith school, because it is not a faith I have any links to, so I should be able to request a non-faith or other-faith school', and it doesn't help in appeal - think of the situation around the country, especially in rural areas, where many schools are nominally C of E but contain Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Catholic, etc etc children as well as children of no faith. if every family could appeal on the grounds of 'I don't want a faith school that is not of my faith', then the situation would very swiftly become unmanageable.

thxs a lot everyone. i am now keeping my options open. planning to visit the faith school and then deciding as website doesnt say much about diversity of kids there
also found mybus as school transport option as the cheapest to travel to distant schools but not sure how it works. does any1 has any experience of sending young kids alone in this service.

OP, you clearly don't understand how these threads work. You are meant to ignore all the sensible advice, state that the council will have to give you what you want and then flounce off.

You seem to have taken the advice on board and used it to make a sensible reasoned plan. That isn't what MN is about!

Year 2 is an Infant Class so if there are schools with more that 30 pupils in the class then the assumption is that an additional child would breach the infant class size legislation (no more than 30 pupils per qualified teacher).

The local authority has a duty to offer you a place at a school. If there is one a reasonable distance away (which would be about 3 miles for that age) with a place available that they offer you, then they have discharged that duty. If that is the religious school, then they have discharged their duty. The duty is not to provide you with a school you want (you have a right to indicate a preference not a choice)

If there is no school a reasonable distance from you, then your child may come under the "excepted pupil" exemption. In your case that would apply if you moved into the area outside of the ordinary admissions round (which you did) AND there is no place available at a school a reasonable distance away (Which is where you might fall down). There are other "excepted pupil" exemptions which you might want to look up to see if they apply. Google "School admissions Code"

You won't get transport if you choose to send your child to a school that is further than c3 miles, but you will if that is what is offered to you.

hope that helps.

We are in a very similar situation - in the process of moving to Leeds, DDs are both in Year 2. We have contacted the council and every school within several miles of our intended area and there are simply no places.

oh sad to hear that TheElementsSong. i can provide u with the latest list of schools having place in yr 2 as given to me by council last week

also TheElementsSong can u plz let me know if u get any progress in this regard. i am really worried as my child is out of school since summer vacations.

Have you been to look at the Jewish school yet ? Not much doubt which school it is as there is only 1! Not all of the pupils are Jewish at either the primary or the secondary. The other schools in that cluster are also predominantly faith schools, CE, 2 x RC and 1 soon to be in cluster Sikh ethos (Khalsa currently in Harehills but moving to the old fir tree site) so hard to avoid faith!

Go and have a look at Brodetsky. It is a high performing school with great facilities.

TheElementsong- There is a fair churn of places in the schools at the moment. Central admissions may not know the current situation- so do try the schools directly. Which part of Leeds are you moving to?

If the house purchase goes OK we will be in Far Headingley. As recently as a few weeks ago, none of the schools we contacted could offer places - we stopped asking after that - and I believe we are just supposed to go on waiting lists for as long as it takes? Or accept a place anywhere it comes up?

OP, I'm so sorry to hear that your DC have had no school places for such a long time. It makes a complete mockery of the claim that even 37 minutes (major exaggeration emoticon) of missed school (see term time holiday threads passim) will destroy a child's education blah blah.