Primary School Admissions Criteria

[Acmmm]

What are some examples of ‘exceptional medical or psychological reasons’ for the school admissions criteria?
also, can it include the parent or does it ONLY the child.

Only the child. And by exceptional they need to be circumstances unlikely to be encountered by many pupils. And there has to be a reason why that exact school can meet the needs rather than another school in the area.

The threshold is high. I know someone whose partner died from a heart attack in front of their 3 year old child, who was naturally very traumatised. They were able to argue for a place at a particular school that offered therapeutic support and a high level of pastoral care. That's the only successful application under this criteria that I know of.

It is only relevant to the child unless you are a family that has been moved for police protection. An example may be that a child uses a wheelchair and the only alternative schools are 2 storeys high, that a school has a well known reputation for coping with a condition that no other school locally has, that the school has a unit or specialist teachers for deaf children.

It really is exceptional to qualify for it. You usually need a professional to state why it is the only school a child can attend. Most doctors will state that it is their opinion that a children would do best by going to a particular school but rarely provide a good reason why it's the only school they can attend.

Things like if the child is a full time wheelchair user and this is the only school with ramps or a lift. Or if the child is adopted and this is the only school where no members of their birth family attend. It's very rare to have a child meet this criteria. Being a gifted swimmer and the school having a swimming pool probably wouldn't qualify.

The only child I have heard of who qualified under this criteria had an extremely traumatic experience in school in the last year of primary. She was allocated a secondary school out of the area.

Not all schools have this as an oversubscription criterion. Where it is used, it will be worded to indicate whether it applies only to the child or also to a parent. The school or LEA will usually ask for evidence from (say) a health care professional or social worker, confirming that in their professional opinion the child needs a place in this school and will be disadvantaged if they don’t get one.

So my daughters 'dad' was extremely mentally (sometimes physically) abusive to me for 8 years, I reported the violence on the few occasions it happened, and have crime numbers and he was out in a DVPO for a short duration of time, but anyway it continued. When I had my daughter I built up the courage to leave, also had letters from my GP and psychologist to requested me moving house urgently, due to the danger and further impact on my mental health. We moved... 9 month later he found us, and caused criminal damage, then I filed a report for harassment because he was contacting neighbours and people I know to get in touch with me. I think I started looking at a Non-Mol.. 2 weeks later back again causing damage, called police who went through an emergency Non-mol naming me and my daughter. Communicated with all support services, said I refuse to be bullied out of another home by him., who agreed I should not be the one to move, and id done everything possible CCTV, police etc. .. After the damage, the message/threats I received and lies that we're getting spread almost pushed me to far, I didn't see a way out.
We have been left alone now since beginning of Jan 22 thank god.
My daughter was to young at the time to know, and she wasn't in the house both times the damage was done. I struggled to remain strong around her, and don't know if I could do it again.
So the problem is
Him and his current girlfriend have children at one school, and him and his ex have children at the other school. That only leaves one for me @ my daughter to be safe in mentally and emotionally
Could this be an exceptional circumstance?
I have contacted the School admissions and also the Safeguarding Lead, I am just waiting to hear back. I want to find out so I can get an up to day medical report.
Domestic Abuse Charities I am in contact with agree that it could have a detrimental affect on me again, as well as impacting my daughter who I have protected from this all so far.

UPDATE EXPLAINING:

So my daughters 'dad' was extremely mentally (sometimes physically) abusive to me for 8 years, I reported the violence on the few occasions it happened, and have crime numbers and he was out in a DVPO for a short duration of time, but anyway it continued. When I had my daughter I built up the courage to leave, also had letters from my GP and psychologist to requested me moving house urgently, due to the danger and further impact on my mental health. We moved... 9 month later he found us, and caused criminal damage, then I filed a report for harassment because he was contacting neighbours and people I know to get in touch with me. I think I started looking at a Non-Mol.. 2 weeks later back again causing damage, called police who went through an emergency Non-mol naming me and my daughter. Communicated with all support services, said I refuse to be bullied out of another home by him., who agreed I should not be the one to move, and id done everything possible CCTV, police etc. .. After the damage, the message/threats I received and lies that we're getting spread almost pushed me to far, I didn't see a way out.
We have been left alone now since beginning of Jan 22 thank god.
My daughter was to young at the time to know, and she wasn't in the house both times the damage was done. I struggled to remain strong around her, and don't know if I could do it again.
So the problem is
Him and his current girlfriend have children at one school, and him and his ex have children at the other school. That only leaves one for me @ my daughter to be safe in mentally and emotionally
Could this be an exceptional circumstance?
I have contacted the School admissions and also the Safeguarding Lead, I am just waiting to hear back. I want to find out so I can get an up to day medical report.
Domestic Abuse Charities I am in contact with agree that it could have a detrimental affect on me again, as well as impacting my daughter who I have protected from this all so far.

I am chair of governors at a primary and if you worded it that it's the only way to keep your child safe and have a report from a social worker or any other professional involved that agrees, I think we would accept this as an exceptional social need.

Thank you for taking the time to comment I really appreciate it.
To be honest, there is no other way of wording it.
He is a very dangerous man and police are aware and he's on their 'radar'.
I have all police reports/crime numbers , I've got wrote down in order every incident & communication with him that's I've been able to remember since 2019, supported by endless amounts of screenshots which police have.
Would I need to specify I am arguing a social need?
If she doesn't get accepted, then I will have to homeschool, which I really would like to avoid, but unfortunately I have no other option, I refuse to put me or her in danger anywhere near that man.

You will need a professional like a doctor or social worker to write a report saying why this specific school is the one the child needs to go to and why all other local schools are not suitable.

also, what evidence would I need to provide to support that? I was going to just upload everything I have relevant or not.
however if it's a social need, would I still be required to get a medical report? I have no issues doing that, my concern is that it's roughly 6 weeks till admissions, and my GP takes roughly 6 weeks to complete adhoc work like detailed reports for things like this. I'm just trying ti be proactive and do everything I can!

Also, if they declined to accept it as a social need, is that her out do the application altogether? Or will she just fall in the category of 'all other children'

I appreciate your time thank you I've been stressing about this for days on end I've rang endless people trying to get answers/help

A social worker would be able to give the specifics and confirmation that your child’s half siblings attend the other schools making them unsuitable due to domestic violence. The admissions authority will need evidence not just of the domestic violence but evidence of why this specific school is suitable and not all of the other options in the local area.

If the admissions authority don’t accept the circumstances as exceptional then yes your daughter would still be considered under the normal admissions criteria

Have you read the school admissions policy? Not all schools have this as a criteria and if they do it should say what they will accept as evidence.

You need to write a formal letter, and it needs to focus on the safety of your daughter not you. So pick out some examples from your list that most impacted her. Only upload evidence that supports those examples but you could add a line at the end that says there have been other instances and you can provide further information if needed.

If you want to dm me a link to the school website I'd be happy to read the policy for you but it will probably be in the morning!

It’s also possible that if your child’s circumstances are not accepted under the exceptional category and your child is not offered a place under the other criteria, then you could appeal. An appeal panel may be more sympathetic to your situation than the very high bar for exceptional social and medical needs as part of the admissions process.

Can a doctor do all of this? I don't have a social worker actively involved. When the incidents happened, we spoke on the phone several times and they said I've done everything they'd expect with regards to safety, and just to call them if I need anything or if they can give any support.
My Health Visitor I'm in contact with often, would she be able to give a report? Then this will be supported by my doctors report, as well as all police communications?

Thank you, yeah I can DM you some more information. How do I do that on here? Sorry I've only just joined tonight to get some advice I have no idea how to work it🙈

Yes the health visitor will be a good place to start. Good luck.

As others have said, you will need to check the admissions policy of the school you want DD to attend. If there is a social/medical need clause, ask professionals involved with your family to write a formal letter explaining why in their opinion X school is the only one that is able to meet your DD's needs. The letter will need to be very clear about the potential risk should your DD attend the same school as her father's other children and explain how attending X school will reduce this risk. A health visitor, your psychologist, GP and whoever your Police liaison is could all be asked to write letters. In the case of the Police, it may only be possible for them to confirm that DD's father has had a DVPO and non-mol preventing contact with either of you. Even though you don't currently have a social worker involved, the social worker who was supporting you at the time could be asked to write a letter too.

I know of families where parental health diagnoses have resulted in the child being given a primary school place on social/medical needs grounds e.g. a particular school was the only one in the area that had wheelchair accessible EYFS classrooms (parent was a wheelchair user). The family had letters from their health visitor and from the parent's consultant and occupational therapist.

Yes, that should qualify and I'm so sorry this happened to you. I would talk to your health visitor and gather as much evidence as you can. Best of luck, you and your daughter deserve to feel safe at her school.

It could be an exceptional circumstance if the school you want has that as one of their admission criteria, but no-one on here can guarantee that. It is up to the school. If they say no and you don't get a place, you can appeal. It will then be up to the appeal panel to decide.

You can't provide evidence the ex's kids attend the other schools, which is the point of the request, as it's not your data.

GPs can't confirm it and just write 'mum feels' which can be answered 'yes, we know. But that's not evidence'.

Evidence of the DV non mol would help, as would police or SW confirming specifically that she cannot attend the other schools due to the non mol.

It'll be considered, if unsuccessful it'll be dealt with in the same category as it would have been without a mention of DV. And it's always possible to appeal once a decision has been made.

This is a conversation you need to have with the admissions authority (whether that’s the local education authority or the school).

First (as has been said already) you need to confirm that this is an oversubscription criterion for the school you want. Then, check what evidence they will expect to see.

Generally, applications for places on medical/social grounds are referred to a panel, which expects to see clear evidence that the child has needs which only this school can meet. In the LEA where I work, applications based on domestic violence don’t go the panel; as long as there is evidence (such as police reports), the LEA will place the child in the school.

I would say yours are exceptional and if you have police / social care or other professional information to back this up then it's a safeguarding risk.