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?

@prh47bridge it was very disappointing. The magistrates said they weren’t even going to discuss the unilateral action issue and solely focus on if there was a need for the child to attend one school or another.

@WinterMusings there is currently a reserved space at the original first choice but once this is lost we are under no illusion that it will be nigh on impossible to secure another place as it’s the most oversubscribed school in the area. I also think it’s extremely unlikely the ex will see sense or back down as this whole debacle was really just about her proving she could get her way.