Inadequate school place offered

[Bicyclethief]

Hi

I would be very grateful for some advice. We recently moved to a new area and had to apply for a reception place for my ds who is due to start reception this September. I asked my previous local authority to transfer our application to the new (we had applied within the timescales and had a place for him in that borough). We have now received an offer for a school which was not on our list and is according to ofstead, inadequate.

Has anyone got any experience with appealing under these circumstances? I really want to appeal but I'm unclear as to what grounds I can do so. Am I really required to accept a inadequate school for my child?

I'm in a bit of a panic at the moment(just literally got the news) and can't figure out what to do!

Many thanks in advance!

You have to have VERY good reasons in reception and KS1 because at that stage it's usually an infant class size appeal.

What do you mean by "minimising change"? It'll be a new school whatever. Frankly I'd be staggered if you could mount a successful appeal unless your DS has some form of special need or vulnerability.

Misslemonadebrain, both my DH and I work full time. We try our best like all working parents to spend time with DS. We have all those interests and can support him. He is very bright, he is currently in school nursery and his teacher has been giving him reception level education for a year as he has been getting bored. I know children can prosper but given that he is already bored I worry that this school will hold him back and that he will miss his potential.

I don't think any of the things you say affect an appeal. They are not educational but social and nice to have. You need to find excellent reasons why you want a school and the education it offers. Convenience for you and relatives nearby do not fall into that category.

Think about the style of education, outside space, curriculum, how the school will meet the needs of your child in school. Being local can add convenience into friendships but you need to think why a school is perfect for your DS. Is it Music, pastoral care, ethos, library etc? Do not complain about what you have been offered. Think positively about what you want.

Thank you. Really value all your opinions and advice. I feel a bit calmer now. I think my strategy will be to accept, put his name on all nearby school waiting lists and make my point to the LEA in writing.

The school in question is not near my home and wasn't on my list of preferences.My first and second choice are literally a two minute walk from my home.

I assume (they actually sent me a letter chasing our acceptance/decline before they sent me an offer letter so I don't actually know the reasons for not getting any of our preferences) they have offered this school because every other school is full.

Put him on the waiting lists, find out where he will be on them - if you are so very close you could be nearer the top. Ask the school what their turnover of pupils is usually like in reception.

Only other question, do I need to put him on waiting lists myself or will the local authority do this?

Poor boy, been through so many changes. I was hoping once he got a place that would be it until he was 11.

Why was the school found to be lacking???

Can understand tou must be feeling pretty rubbish about it.

I live in Waltham Forest (and have been applying for a primary school place this year) and I think there are some pretty decent schools that aren't full (or at least weren't a few months ago - I presume there's been some movement). If you live in the Walthamstow bit, feel free to PM me roughly where you live and what school you've got into/didn't get placed in from your list - I spent more time than I should have done researching schools so may have some info.

Thank you bethereonthedouble. I would PM you but I am pretty new at this posting thing so not sure how to. We live in Chingford, the schools nearest to us are outstanding so I half expected for this to be a challenge. I did also apply for other good schools but these were outside the catchment area. It seems that if you can't get into the either of the outstanding options then the next school is the inadequate one

Apologies for the ad hoc posting, I'm literally thinking this through on the hoof now. I think any other school which is "good" is preferable to this one. Would there be any way I could get him into a school which is further away from my home but still within the local authority and if so, how could I do this (ring to see if they have places?)?

Just doing bedtime and I'll post some links etc

Yes, you can apply to any schools which have places, even if they're further away than your current one. Do you have any religious standing?

Yes, but I might not be religious the required level.

Ofsted ratings mean next to nothing. Go and visit the school yourself.

If it's an LA maintained school it will now have to join an academy trust and may be turned round very quickly. Don't despair!

Phone admissions and they will give you a list of schools with places available in reception or you could just phone individual schools and ask if they have a space. This school will be the closest to you with a space I imagine. You just need to get your sons name down on all of the waiting lists of the schools you are interested in.

Again, thanks all!

Afraid I don't know anything about schools in Chingford.

So my understanding is you can apply anywhere in the borough (up to you how big a trek you're happy with). I also think you need to tell the Council you want to go on the waiting list rather than have them do it for you, so the first thing to do is make sure you're on the waiting list of all local schools you'd be happy with.

This document - www.walthamforest.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Reception%202016%20How%20places%20were%20offered.pdf - shows how many spaces were available after places were first allocated. Things would have changed since April, but a good indication of which schools to look into (the ones that are full will be less likely to have places, the ones with places available may well still not be full). Of the Walthamstow based schools I know about, some of the schools with vacancies back in April have a really good reputation (I was quite surprised by some of them). The Council probably have an up to date list too if asked.

I'd also suggest you join the Walthamstow Parents page on facebook (lots of people in the north of the borough there) if you haven't already - it would be a good place to ask questions about specific schools.

Sorry not to be of more help, I feel like I know more about central Walthamstow schools than is healthy (well, as much as you can know from obsessively reading and asking people!)

Thank you bethereonthedouble. I'll look to see if there's an equivalent for the area we live in!

Yes, but I might not be religious the required level

If the school has places available and no waiting list this is irrelevant. If you apply they have to offer you a place.

Note that it is quite likely that all local schools rated "good" or "outstanding" are already full so you will be relying on getting in via the waiting list. As has already been said by others, an appeal is unlikely to succeed unless the school is running classes with fewer than 30 pupils in Reception, Y1 and Y2.

You can apply to schools in neighbouring boroughs (or, indeed, anywhere else). You don't have to restrict yourself to schools where you live. However, you won't get free transport if the school is a long way away.

I would agree with others that you should take a good look at the school you have been offered before giving up on it. Schools that are rated inadequate usually get a lot of attention and can turn round very quickly. You may find that in a year or two this school is rated good or outstanding whilst the outstanding school may fall to a lower rating at its next inspection.

It is unimaginably hard to turn a school from Inadequate or even RI to Outstanding in a year or two. Virtually impossible because you cannot provide the evidence of sustained progress over such a short period of time. Nothing has had time to bed in and there is often staff turmoil for at least 6 months. However, good progress towards achieving a higher standard of education is a reasonable expectation and a SLT that knows what they are doing is a big plus. You can guage all of this by visiting, speaking to the Head and asking some searching questions.

I really feel the need to echo other posters about visiting the school, and (if possible) the other schools you would be waiting for. My (v bright, etc etc) dd went to a primary school which had a poor Ofsted report. The report bore no resemblance to the school we experienced.

Ironically it subsequently gained a 'good' rating (after we had moved from the area), which it still retains now. HOWEVER, they've had real trouble with a new Head and it's all going downhill rapidly. It's still 'Good' on paper until Ofsted turn up again, though...

There are two points here (a) Ofsted reports are looking at specific criteria, and may not reflect all aspects of the school, or the experiences of all the children at the school, and (b) schools can and do change, and Ofsted reports do not reflect these changes in real-time. Relying overly on a 'good' report without visiting the school is as pointless as actively avoiding a 'bad' school without anything else to judge it by.

Good luck with everything. I do understand how stressful these things are.