In-year school transfer application rejected by Trafford Council

[WiseKat]

Hi all - some advice is urgently needed.

We just relocated from Asia to Greater Manchester (Sale) with 7-year old DD. Sale is known to be a place with great schools apparently .
There are five or so schools around here - all are good . Two of them are non-faith and three are faith schools.

I applied for an in-year school transfer for DD through Trafford Council and got a refusal .

Out of five schools Trafford Council looked at two non-faith schools and said they are currently oversubscribed and we need to go on a waiting list . They advised that I need to contact faith schools in the area directly . One of the faith schools I contacted allocated my DD 8th place on a waiting list.

I am still to contact other 2 or 3 faith schools and kind of loosing faith myself and waiting for a similar kind of answer now …

So my question is : for how long can a child stay without education like this legally ?

And what should be my steps in such circumstances - i.e. if we get a refusal absolutely everywhere and need to go on a waiting list for every school in the area ? I don’t really know for how long …Should I be looking at schools further afield which is not at all ideal of course as we don’t have a car yet …

Many thanks for any thoughts

LA is local authority, usually a borough or county council.

Yes I am talking to Trafford Council . They are the ones who are telling me that all 16 schools in my area (Sale) are oversubscribed and we need to go to another area (Altrincham).

I’ve named changed for this. I thought you might be allocated this school as it has expanded recently. My 2 children have gone to this school. One has only just left and the other is in year 4. It’s an amazing school. Very approachable and open about all issues. The 281 bus goes from Broad Road (outside B and M) and stops directly outside the school. There is also the 19, 245 and 263 that stop on Manchester Road. You just need to walk down Sinderland Road. Given it’s my 8th year with a child at the school I’ve got to know lots of the teachers/TA’s. The headteacher and deputy stand outside every morning to greet parents and children. I honestly cannot recommend it enough. The traffic from Sale to Altrincham is bad on all routes but if you leave around 8am you should get there on time. The 281 is your best bet though, but only runs every hour. Definitely ask about a free bus pass for your child. If you have any other queries please ask and if I can’t answer I can ask the school for you.

Yes, LEA means that. THere is Manchester, Stockport, East Cheshire in the south. These are the ones I called. I found Stockport and East Cheshire the quickest to get back to me with clear answers.
It could well be that you have to go through Trafford, but I would give them a ring just to keep my options open. Maybe they can find you a good school, even if far away.
I find a bus plus walking 10min for a 7-year old alone a big deal, even if she has a free travel card, but this may be normal over there?

Yes, that is considered a reasonable offer. At this age, up to 45 minutes journey each way is considered reasonable.

Actually , it is not the first time that I cone across here that 45 minutes each way is considered a reasonable offer .
I am not sure how this is arrived at or where it is documented as reasonable. But it sounds fairly shocking , given that an adult has to take 2 hours out of a working day to accompany a 7-year old to school at a cost of 10 pounds per day on a bus . It really doesn't seem reasonable to me to be honest ...

LEA means Local Education Authority. Its used to distinguish a local authority(council) which has an education function.

Academies are outside of LEA control and are run by Trusts.

Aren’t buses capped? It should be £5 a day max for you and obviously free for your child if she gets a travel pass. Are you planning to get a car?

The 45 minutes for primary comes from the Government's Statutory Guidance to local authorities on home to school transport.

if the walking distance is over 2 miles, your DD will be eligible for free transport, which is likely to be a bus pass, and would only be for her. A bus travelcard would make it much cheaper than £10 for you I think?

you can also request to keep her on waiting lists for a closer school, or appeal - which year is she in? Yr2 if 30 in a class will be very hard to win, but at Year 3 it gets easier.

Yes, looks like will need to get a car now as a priority for school runs. We just relocated from Asia this month and settling in a new house.

Was hoping to put getting a car on hold for a while , but clearly this needs to move up on the priorities list now due to unavailability of local schooling .

And yes will investigate bus travel card to accompany my daughter daily on a bus as an alternative ....

I already put my DD on the waiting lists in 5 local schools , need to get her perhaps on 5 more ... Slowly working my way through as some require application forms .

Trafford Council are also saying that they are looking at all Sale local schools for us in parallel , but I cannot be sure if they are or they are not ...

Yes my DD is in year 2 now and Trafford Council is also telling me it is particularly hard in year 2, but I am not entirely sure why it would be easier in year 3. But there must be some reasons ...

Thank you very much for all your advice , it is really helpful . I have not foreseen this struggle .

In year 2, schools are not permitted to go over 30 in a class so it is very hard to win an appeal, in year 3 there isn't a legal limit so it is comparatively easier to get a place on appeal.

I wouldn’t bother with a car, you will end up in the same traffic and the bus will be cheaper. Coming home will be quicker if you jog down to Manchester Road and catch a bus there. There is also before/after school care that you can utilise. I don’t have a car/drive. I’ve been to sale, Altrincham, Timperley, back to Sale and home within 3 hours today using public transport. Travel is capped at £5 per day for adults and £3 for kids. A lot of parents do this every day, and for much further distances/schools. Sale to Broadheath isn’t that bad.

Okay thank you very much for explaining ! It now kind of makes sense , just didn't realise that year 2 and year 3 differ so much !

Okay thank you for your advice . Let's see what happens ...

My 4 children are at school in Altrincham and there is often movement in Y3 as some parents move to private schools for the juniors. You might get lucky.
Broadheath is a good school..... it was rebuilt a few years ago so is pretty much a brand new school.