Ex changed preferences for school choice

[PrimarilyParented]

I have name changed for this so it can’t be linked to my other posts.

my DP and ex agreed on the school choice order for his youngest child. After the cutoff date his ex changed this order and the child has now been awarded a place at a school dp was happy to be second choice but is definitely not the better school and it means the child is at a different school to his siblings and there are now 3 different school drop offs to be made each day.

we know this was changed after the cutoff date as the ex told him she’d done it when she changed her mind and he contacted the LA to say he didn’t consent. They replied saying nothing would be changed unless there were exceptional circumstances as it was after the cut off and so he wasn’t worried. The LA’s guidance is clear that they won’t change the order of preference without good reason after January 15th and will require proof of this reason. There was no good reason (ex just stated she had changed her mind and they accepted this sometime in February).

Does anyone know if my DP has a case for an appeal based on the fact that the LA did not follow their own rules and changed the order of preference with no valid reason or proof required?

@Takeachance18 thanks for the advice. He spoke to the school today and they told him they wouldn’t process any application to change schools unless it had both parents signatures now that they know he doesn’t consent. I think different schools/LA may act differently.

Just to update. The LA have confirmed no reason was given beyond change of preference and no proof was requested. They have conceded they have not followed their own policy. They are now speaking to their legal team and we’re keeping our fingers crossed they overturn their decision without making it go to an appeal, but if it does go to appeal we feel it’s pretty clear cut since they didn’t follow their policy and have admitted this.

That's great news.

What should happen now is that they should look at what would have happened if they had administered the process correctly. If a place at the original first choice would have been offered, it should now be offered even if it results in a class with more than 30 pupils. However, they may force you to appeal. If they do, their admission that they have not followed their own admission arrangements means you have an excellent case. Unless there are others who have been affected by mistakes, I would expect you to win.

@prh47bridge they also said the sibling link would definitely have meant a place would have been given, so we are keeping everything crossed it doesn’t need to go to appeal as they can see it would win at one.

Fingers crossed. Unfortunately, many councils still insist on an appeal even when there has been an obvious error so that they can blame the appeal panel when parents complain about the class having too many children.

@prh47bridge the council have now responded admitting the request to change preferences was beyond even the normal extended deadline. However they have said my partner is not permitted to lodge an appeal because his ex doesn’t agree. Is this right? How can he not be permitted to exercise his parental rights?

At one level they are right in that, as with all decisions on education, everyone with PR is entitled to a say. However, it isn't really their job to enforce that. If the mother wants to stop any appeal, she should have to apply for a Prohibited Steps Order. The approach being taken here means your partner will have to apply for a Specific Issue Order.

However, there is a bigger problem. They have admitted that they have broken their own admission arrangements. There should therefore be no need for an appeal. They should withdraw the current offer as it was made in error and offer the place at the correct school. The problem is that the offer will go to your partner's ex as she is the one who applied. She could, in theory, appeal against the withdrawal of the original offer on the grounds that it is too late for it to be withdrawn. An appeal panel that is not aware of the full circumstances may decide to restore the offer.

I would tell the LGO that unless they either withdraw the current offer and fix their mistake, or provide an appeal, you will refer the matter to the LGO. If that fails, I would refer the matter to the LGO, but I would also apply to the courts for an SIO allowing your partner to appeal.

Thank you ever so much. What is the LGO?

P.s. if my partner applies for a SIO it will take a while I presume and then be beyond the deadline for appeals, does this mean the council could refuse to allow him to lodge an appeal because it took too long to get a SIO?

LGO = Local Government Ombudsman

The deadline for appeals is purely for administrative convenience. An appeal must be heard even if it is submitted after the deadline.

@prh47bridge Thankyou again, so much, you’re a fount of knowledge.

Just noticed a typo! "I would tell the LGO" should be "I would tell the council". Give them a chance to fix it before going to the LGO.

So they've responded exactly as I suggested posts back!

Great. Common sense!

Let's hope this prevails over all. What a waste of resources.

Whether or not the child would have received a place is irrelevant when the places have now allocated and they'd be over pan. With the implications for the school this would bring.

Go to court. Fight it out there if you really want to stamp your feet. But they're equal parents and she's not obligated to stick by what he wants and expected her to follow.

No, they haven't. They have admitted breaking their own rules. You insisted they had behaved correctly. Nowhere have you suggested they would admit getting it wrong but then refuse to correct it. Instead you have repeatedly, and wrongly, argued that the mother's wishes should prevail.

You clearly don't know the first thing about admissions. The fact that the places are allocated and they would be over PAN if they admitted the child is entirely irrelevant. The LA has admitted making a mistake. They are therefore required to admit the child to the correct school as an excepted child. Even if it means the school in question has to run a class with over 30 pupils, they must admit the child.

Yes, they are equal parents. She was therefore obligated to stick to what they had agreed. If she wanted to change it, she should have gone to court. You keep saying "what he wants and expected her to follow". Again, that is you projecting. The OP told us that the preferences were agreed and then, some time later, the mother changed her mind. But, because they are equal parents, whilst she was not obligated to follow his wishes, she was not allowed to impose her own wishes. You are, yet again, arguing that "equal parents" means that mother's wishes win. The courts disagree. In their view, "equal parents" means exactly that. The parents agree or, if they can't, they ask the courts to decide. They take a very dim view of parents behaving the way the mother has in this case.

@prh47bridge you’re spot on, as usual. They have even admitted this mistake in writing now (not just verbally) and so I cannot see how they can justify not offering the place at the first choice school, as always should have been the case.

No, as I said this was the exs application, so of course they're not going to permit an appeal against her application.

So the ex forces the mother to go to appeal and then the mother says she disagrees with this admission. Where do we think this goes? When she informs the school she does not give her consent to this school?

And the op thinks this is in the child's best interests?

I'm afraid op, that you need to be careful that he's domineering and that you too will end up being controlled if you're not already.

crikey the reaching you're doing is something to behold choice 😂😂

@ChoiceMummy it was the child’s application not the mother’s and she is clearly the controlling one in this situation.

You really don’t know the situation at all and I find it pretty funny to be honest because my partner is anything but domineering and I am the last person anyone could ever manage to control. he genuinely just loves his children and wants what’s right for them. But you keep on assuming all men are the devil incarnate, I hope that the belief helps you sleep at night.

@myrtleWilson you’re spot on 😂

The only reason they are not permitting an appeal is the ex objecting to an appeal. If she did not object, an appeal would go ahead. But in the circumstances there should be no need for an appeal. They should withdraw the offer that was made and award the place that should have been offered initially. Whether the mother objects to that is entirely irrelevant. That is what she applied for. The LA has admitted that she should not have been allowed to change her application.

Where it goes if an appeal is allowed is that the child is allocated to the correct school as per the original application. She can tell the school all she likes that she does not give her consent. It won't get her anywhere.

You have no evidence whatsoever that the OP's partner is domineering. Like much else you have posted on this thread, that exists entirely in your own mind.

Yet again you are projecting and showing your total failure to understand either PR or school admissions.

Just to update. This went all the way to court.

firstly, the council admitted they were wrong and offered a place at the first choice school and said they would hold the place until parents were in agreement. This didn’t help much as it meant they were still giving the change of preference credence (even though it was made in error).

anyway, at court the magistrates were understanding of all my dps reasons (3 school runs, separation from brother, better funding and provision at first choice school), but as the child currently attends the preschool for the second choice school (which he only started at after the ex hand changed preferences, but not informed my partner of yet, due to other childcare falling through) and is fine there, there is not considered to be a legal need to move him from this setting and so he’s staying there.

The ex has already been complaining about 3 school runs, but it’s her choice and now everyone has to live with it and the extra £10 a day of wraparound care needed to facilitate having children in different primaries.

It’s a sad state of affairs and a cautionary tale that courts won’t always overturn unilateral actions and that the errors of the council in changing preference against their own policy are really to blame for it.

A disappointing outcome OP I’m sorry

Was it court ordered that ex would have to pay for the wrap around? I’d be weary of her trying to make it your DPs problem to pay for

That's so rubbish

How long before ex puts their DC name on the waiting list for the other school because she can't hack the 3 school runs 🤷🏽‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

@user1471504747 my dp isn’t even going to go down that route and will have to pay for it.

@RandomMess it won’t fix the issue as there is no way a place will come up again at the oversubscribed outstanding primary that his sibling attends, so any move would still require 3 school runs. It’s just a really rubbish outcome for the family as a whole.

That's really disappointing.

That's beyond disappointing. It's no wonder people do as they please because so often they get their wsy.

it baffles me that the legal system can be so blind

@PrimarilyParented best wishes going forward that the youngest settles in & does ok at the second choice school. Can you put in for a request to transfer schools as you would if you moved to the area or whatever? Maybe the Ex will agree as she's getting fed up of the multi drops?!?!

@prh47bridge patient & helpful as always, it's also baffling that people that have no idea still keep ploughing on! 🙄🙄.