School place

[Cheadlehulme]

School admissions nightmare. Please forgive the lengthy explanation but it's complex! I don't feel that Admissions have taken into account the criteria and child/family needs and welfare. We have a son who will be going into Year 4 in September. We moved area last year and were refused a place due to the PAN in his year group; two schools merged and were replaced with one. Three classes in year group, currently 32, 31,31 pupils. KS2 class numbers are not limited to 30 as in KS1, but we've been told it's ' local authority policy'. We applied for a September start and have just received another refusal. Been offered a school which is impossible to get to for me as a non driver, with a baby. The cut through is regularly flooded and in a wooded area which is unsafe. Only alternative is a good half hour walk there and then back ie 2 hours daily which will be impossible when I'm back in work in November as I work in the opposite direction and am reliant on buses. Husband starts work at 7am. Baby's future childminder delivers children to local school we want. My son has no siblings of school age, but his cousin one year younger lives around the corner is as close as a sibling, He goes to the school which is a couple of hundred yards down the road from us all. I'll be reliant on the child minder for childcare when I'm back at work for delivery and collection and sister in law to cover any illness. Grandparents live in different areas of the country. Child has had to stay at his old school, relying on a lift there and back from a family friend who is now returning to work after home working (covid). It will be logistically impossible to get child to and from his present school on the other side of town in September or to the offered school. Child lost his grandfather earlier this year, all his local friends and football club friends go to the school we want. He has had some bullying issues in his current school and we're all desperate for him to go to the school up the road. Current Head and teacher understand and are sympathetic but not allowed to write any letters of support as it compromises their position! I need to show that his well being is more important than any possible issues that having one extra in a class may affect the other 30 children. He has been on the waiting list in first place since last year, but we were told that won't guarantee a place if a child leaves as LAC and SEN children take precedence. Any advice on where we go from here please as it's causing us all a lot of stress?

Is there a reason you don’t drive? If not, then learning would seem an obvious solution. I can’t imagine not being able to drive with two young children. It gets even harder with clubs, activities etc as they get older too

There's good news and bad news. The good news is that the PAN is not binding. If you appeal and the appeal panel is convinced of your case, then you get the place even though it's over PAN. The other good news is that this is a prejudice appeal, so you don't have to prove a mistake, you just have to convince the panel that your child needs the place so much that any inconvenience to the school is outweighed.

The bad news is that your travel arrangements, inconvenience and childcare arrangements are irrelevant for the appeals panel. There's no point even mentioning it, and I'd go as far as to say that mentioning it will undermine your case at appeal.

You need to concentrate on the things that will benefit your DS. So you can highlight the football club peers, bullying at current school (evidence would help), any clubs that would benefit him, etc.

Could you cycle? That would cut the journey time.

If the safest walking route is more than 2 miles I think the LA has to help with transport costs, though 30mins walk sounds within that.
Related to that, is the wooded area generally considered unsafe and unusable, or is it you being ultra cautious? How long would the journey take if you used the wood?

Could you drop your DS at a different childminder earlier, then childminder gets your DS to school and you get to work on time?

(I know you want the other school, I'm just trying to think of ways to ease logistics if you don't win your appeal.)

I would have to agree with Lougle. As you explain it you would not win an appeal case. You have to concentrate on what benefits your son would miss out if not given a place at the school. It is interesting that the three classes have 32, 31 and 31 in them. If you believe that the LA is only admitting to the PAN of 90, then the extra places have probably all been due to successful appeals, which is another positive. The negative is that in reality five pupils need to leave the school before whoever is at the top of the waiting list will be given a place at the school.
If you do not have a strong case at the appeal then you will not get a place and it would seem you are going to have a long wait for a place off the waiting list

30 mins walk (1.5 miles) is within the guidelines for an 8 year old so I can't see them deviating from the pan. Yes it's inconvenient but that's not their problem. Mine were allocated two different schools when we moved and that wasn't sufficient to alter the pan (I didn't drive either), I went on the wait list and homeschooled until a place was available

Could you find a childminder that does collect and drop off from the school you have a place at?

Can you go to work straight from school rather than go home first? And you will be able to go the shorter way when it isn't flooded. I have dc in my class who come and go from,school in wellies as they walk through woods and fields. It's not even that rural here either! It's just easier taking advantage of the various rights of way than it is to get parked.

I agree that your appeal case as you explain it does not sound strong.

You want the closer school, but you will have to prove that your DS needs to go there and he (not you) will be significantly disadvantaged if he does not.

thank you all for your messages. I don't drive because of eyesight issues, but I appreciate the point that I need to concentrate on presenting why my son would be negatively affected. I have emails to and from school about the bullying and his anxiety about this and not being with his supportive friendship groups is relevant.

Focus on that. Although you need to structure the appeal for the school you want rather than against the school you have a place at.

My appeal was also for a year four place. I found it a difficult and emotional process. You need evidence for absolutely everything.

Don't mention childcare and cousins.

Although you need to structure the appeal for the school you want rather than against the school you have a place at

Whilst that is generally true, there are some circumstances where raising problems with the current school is absolutely the right thing to do. One example is where a child is being bullied and the current school has failed to deal with it.

I’m afraid none of your transport/childcare/cousin/friends from football arguments will make a jot of difference. Don’t mention them at all.

Appeal on grounds of bullying/safeguarding/mental health and wellbeing. Good luck!

"I’m afraid none of your transport/childcare/cousin/friends from football arguments will make a jot of difference. Don’t mention them at all."

I disagree that cousin and friends from football won't make a jot of differenve, if one of the arguments put forward is that the child is currently/has experienced bullying. It shows that there is a positive network of support that might make a difference at the appeal school.

Yehh, they don’t care about your childcare or lack of driving or your baby unfortunately. You’ve moved into an area with a full school. Unlucky. Do not mention any of this at appeal.

Some very good advice above! I’d also be querying why they allow 32 in one class but only 31 in the others. Clearly, they can cope with 32 per class. And clearly children have got in on appeal.

They may be LACs or EHCPs

If the school they're offering isn't the nearest ask about a taxi or find someone who drives there and offer them some petrol money to help you out perhaps.

This happend round here tho a woman moved to our village, 4 kids of primary age and the schools are full to the brim they're offstead outstanding and over subscribed and If you don't live here at the time the child goes into the school nursery at 3 forget a place there up to age 11 as nobody ever leaves.

She was kicking off and got the parish council and basically anyone who'd listen involved

She still drives them all to their old school 2 years later!! It's 45 minutes there and back and she "assumed" she'd get her kids in the school as her sisters children are in there.

Top and bottom of it is tho, without sounding harsh you should have (like the woman here) considered all this before moving - you cannot assume they'll make space for your children unfortunately and you should have worked out the logistics

Would it be feasible to reconsider where you are living and move nearer the school?

@KibeththeWalker

They may be LACs or EHCPs

The reason they are there doesn't matter. The fact the school is running classes of 31 and 32 suggests they can cope with an additional pupil.

Also try and found out how the school has admitted over PAN. our LA has a fair access policy, and extra children are admitted that way. Reasons for this is if there are spaces for siblings on one class and not another etc.

Every LA has a fair access protocol. They have to. But it still stands that if they are over PAN they are nominally full. That means that no further child can be admitted using the normal admissions process until the year group falls under PAN (at the moment - there is a change to the Code from September). Having said that, the fact that they have over their PAN in classes shows that they can cope with extra children. They have classes with 32, 31 and 31 children. The OP can argue that the other classes could cope with her child being no. 32. But the school may be able to demonstrate a reason why those classes may not be able to fit another child in. For instance, an L-shape classroom has less whole-class space than a rectangular classroom. Some classrooms are small, or have less usable space because of the placement of units and windows. They could say that they have children with challenging needs in that class, or a couple of children with 1:1 support, so the number of people in the classroom is higher than it appears on paper, etc. Because it's a prejudice appeal, it's important that the OP makes their case as strong as possible, so that they outweigh the argument of the school/LA.

Thank you!