Priority admission for adopted child

[Iamthestorm]

My lo is adopted and as I understand it will have priority admission when we apply for a place next year.

Where we live there is a school that is heavily oversubscribed and people move house paying 10s of thousands over the odds to get in and still don't always get a place.

I had thought of putting this school down as our first choice despite living out of catchment but now I'm not so sure as we've already hadn't a few snidey comments and suggestions that it's unfair. To be clear I haven't raised this, just when I've been asked which school we are going to choose, the comments have come. As an adopted child, dc might have identity/belonging issues going forward anyway without any school resentment thrown in.

Do people generally care once school starts or is it likely the resentment will continue? It would be quite obvious that we are outside catchment as the catchment is small. I also worry about taking a place from another child who lives closer although there are a number of other schools nearby. I'd be really grateful for any thoughts.

Thanks

You need to very carefully check with the LA whether or not you are covered. There is a bit of a disconnect in law between what is deemed previously looked after in "social service world" and " admission world."You need to also for child to have gone directly from looked after to adopted. Adopted by relatives is frequently not covered. This is a very specialised area and you absolutely need to get proper expert advice.Admission appeal panels where there is an issue like this are always given expert advice from the legal team at the LA, it is that complicated.
As other poster said you need to talk to the virtual head for looked after children which will be somebody in the LA. They can advise if you are in the correct category but also as important your child will be on their radar and ensure that you are considered under that category when it comes to the admission order criteria list.

Thank you again for all of your advice and support, I really do appreciate it. After the comments, I felt a bit like I was taking something unfairly but the kindness of strangers on here have reassured me that I wouldn't be. Thanks especially to vicques for your advice, I'll get onto that straight away and will contact possible schools after Easter rather than waiting till the open evenings in the autumn

I don't really understand why adopted children need priority. Those still in care might need it for logistical reasons or to maintain some continuity in their lives esp if transitioning between primary and secondary school for example. But adopted kids have a permanent family - what does priority placement offer them?
Genuinely asking here, not meaning to offend, just curious

As others have said, outcomes for adopted children (as a class) are far behind non adopted children/LAC. One way of attempting to redress this balance is giving parents flexibility I which school their child goes to. Ironically, most adoptive parents I know don’t choose the ‘popular’ schools that are graded OFSTED outstanding, because that’s not what our children need. They need a level of understanding of attachment issues, and managing behaviour with a model that is likely to be very different to children that have not gone through the trauma that being adopted invariably brings (and that’s before you take into account the experiences of that child before they were removed which are often horrific).

OP, I suggest you post on the adoption topic. You’ll get a wealth of advice on choosing the right school and support with things like questions to ask and things to look out for when touring schools.

It may be the one you think is ideal isn’t at all (speaking from bitter experience...)

So many errors in that post, sorry.

I didn’t address your question, OP.

This is one of those many times when you need to not care what other people think about how you are raising your child and the fact that there are differences between them and you. The kids that your child attends school with won’t care how your child got into that school.

My DC spent almost 4 years languishing in a school that wasn’t right for them. 10 months after moving to another school (that other parents didn’t rate), they are finally getting the support they need.

Screw everyone else and let them concentrate on their own kids.

Sorry, and one further point. Absolutely make arrangements to visit schools outside open events.

You will need to ask a lot of questions that other people simply don’t need to hear.

Post on the adoption boards and you’ll get a wealth of advice.

I know when I became a School Governor I found it interesting that adopted children get priority for admissions and get extra funding. I am adopted and certainly didn't get any different treatment at school and I am sure my parents would have thought it strange if I had. However, I was adopted as a baby in the 60s so didn't see me being different from any of my friends. But I suppose nowadays most adopted children come from troubled backgrounds and are adopted at an older age, so that must make a huge difference.

Absolutely, ineed

Again, as a class, children in the 60s who were adopted were often sadly relinquished.

Now, overwhelmingly, adopted children have suffered long periods of abuse and neglect. This has huge implications on brain development and does indeed cause a form of brain damage.

And that’s before going through the fostering/adoption system where there might be multiple fostering placements before being placed with complete strangers who, overnight, are your new family.

Giving these (comparatively low proportion of) children a leg up in terms of which school they go to really is the least we can do...

Again, as a class, children in the 60s who were adopted were often sadly relinquished.

Sorry, that’s probably insensitive language I’ve used there given a lots of mothers in that era were forced to relinquish.

I hope you understood my meaning.

OP ignore the bigots and pick the right school for your child

The word "bigot" is in danger of becoming entirely devalued if it keeps being used in that sense of "dissenter" (and I do actually support the LAC priority rule).

Regardless of the rights and wrongs I think it may be a little naive to think that some people won't be passed off about this.

I know of a school where looked after twins out of catchment entering a reception class led to 2 catchment children not being able to go to their village school. In an area where there's little public transport it was a real issue for the parents involved and understandably they and other parents found it very hard to accept that children from the village weren't able to attend their “own” school.

@SmellsLikeAdultSpirit

There is an enormous difference between a child taken into care at birth and placed directly with adopters via foster to adopt, and those who face neglect and abuse in birth families before being fostered and later adopted.

People need to stop referring to adopted children as though they are all one homogeneous group. Brain scans show differences between those who have experienced chronic neglect and those who haven’t. Early childhood experiences can affect brain development but this isn’t the case for all adopted children.

I’ll end this here as I’m worried that this is derailing the OP’s thread.

I agree with the majority on here, pick the school that’s the best fit for your dc, her needs trump the needs of overly competitive adults anyway. Make sure you consider the community aspect as well though, do you attend church or will your dc go to rainbows/ brownies etc? We picked our closest school and it’s nice that they see their friends around and about in the parks etc, in church and at clubs. Gives a real sense of community even though we are in the middle of a city

People need to stop referring to adopted children as though they are all one homogeneous group

Admissions legislation can’t... and shouldn’t... though.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs I think it may be a little naive to think that some people won't be pissed off about this.

Swap them the challenges my adopted DC face for a longer school run any da6 if the week and twice on Sundays.

day of

OP, I’m a bit confused - you say you’ve deliberately kept your DD’s story private, for obvious reasons. So where are the snidey comments about it being “unfair” coming from that you mention in your OP?

Believe me even the adopted kids of the 60's had a lot to cope with, but. nothing like what we see these days at all, admittedly.

OP my advice fwiw, find a school with good pastoral care, essential for adopted children, good SEN because you never know what's there. E.g my adopted Dad was a brilliant Mathematician, I have a low IQ and left school with nothing. There was little support then.
Look for happy children and acts of kindness when you visit.

I know we are all different but I believe some things are common to all adopted children. If you think I can help in any way I'm more than happy for a pm. it's a very personal thing and we need to support these children more than anything

As many other posters have said, it doesn't matter if other parents fuss about why your child has a place at a popular school when you live further away, the only person that matters is your child. In my experience of children gaining reception places because of social/medical reasons or because of LAC status, the children aren't interested and inquisitive adults can be fairly quickly shut down with non-committal responses along the lines of 'We're very pleased s/he got a place here' or 'I'm not really up for discussing that...'

You may find it useful to look at the allocations for the past couple of years for schools you're considering. Within that data you should be able to see how many LAC are admitted under that category each year. Schools that never admit LAC in reception may be less attuned to the particular needs of children with disrupted attachments. That said, you may find schools with a high proportion of children with SEN are very good at being imaginative and flexible when it comes to meeting children's very individual needs e.g. offering nurture units, forest school opportunities for older children, sensory circuits, check-ins with a key member of staff etc.

Thank you again for all of the advice and kind words. I'm going to read everything again over the next few days and before choosing a school.

FamilyofAliens, people generally know that my daughter is adopted as its quite hard to hide when you suddenly have an older baby despite not having been pregnant. What I meant when I said they don't know her story is that they don't know her personal story, the reasons why she is adopted and her history as I've wanted to protect her privacy as far as possible so that she can tell as much or little of her own story as she wants as she gets older. I hope that makes sense. But again it's another reason I'm not sure about going for the popular school as another whole group of people might question how she got a place who might not even need to know she's adopted. It's a balancing act between protecting her privacy and not hiding her adoption so she feels like it's something to be ashamed of.

Sadly, it is currently only post LAC children and not all adopted children, ie, children adopted from abroad do not have the same rights. I think all children who have been adopted by a family who is resident in this country, should get the same level of support

LAs have a responsibility to the children that are in, or have been in, their care to provide them with the best possible outcome and one way they can do that is by prioritising them in school allocations. If somebody chooses to go to another country and adopt a child, and bring them to this country, that child is not the responsibility of the care system here, so has no priority.

Other people's resentment isn't your problem. It is theirs. Your daughter deserves the best you can get for her-go for it.

I would go for the school with the best pastoral care/senco. although of course these things can change, good luck and no need to consider anyone's questions

"The school I was planning on is very academic so I think I might think again and look again at pastoral care and nurturing."

You've been given great steering already but I just wanted to pick up on this point. Do be open to the idea that a school that's got good results can also be nurturing. Sometimes that is how they achieve the good results - many children will achieve best in a school where they feel secure, happy and confident.

I sincerely hope you get the best school for your DD and she is really happy there.

Apologies if you know this already - but do check with your LA re how the admissions system will work for you, and the timescale you will have. I know nothing about LAC, but I do have a DS with an EHCP. In most LAs (quite possibly all of them) LAC and those with EHCPs are placed before the main admissions round. E.g. when the admissions round came for DS to go to Junior School, there were only 29 places available to other applicants because DS already had his place confirmed.

Also, with pupils with EHCPs, it is a complete myth that they can attend any school of the parents' choice. The choice of school has to be agreed with the LA and named in the child's official paperwork, again before the general admissions process takes place. If the LA considers that the school is too far away and of no greater suitability than more local ones, they may not allow the child to be placed there. I have no idea if this is the same for LAC, but wanted to mention it in case it could be relevant to you.

Best of luck and ignore any insensitive comments - it sounds like you are doing the very best you can for your DD. x

"If the LA considers that the school is too far away and of no greater suitability than more local ones, they may not allow the child to be placed there."

That isn't true. There are only 3 reasons for going against parental choice of school for a child with an ehcp and that isn't one of them. A LA only has a duty to arrange transport to the nearest suitable school but if parents sort out their own transport, there being closer schools doesn't matter.