Place in reception reverted after 6 weeks

[sj2010]

Hi All,

My son was offered a place in the reception starting Sept 2010.After 6 weeks I got a call, followed by a letter from the Admission Services that the place was wrongly allocated to my son due to technical error in the sytem and his place is withdrawn.They have given us the option to opt for some other school or we can appeal.

As this was the 1st choice of school we have applied for ,I am shocked to know that such errors happens and because of the mistake committed by Admission Services ,why should I and my child suffer???Its really upsetting and distressing for us to go through this.I am in the process of appeal.
Could anyone kindly advise as to how to proceed on this matter.

Hi, That is shocking. How on earth can they be allowed to do that?? I'm not v clued up on the admissions process but I would say appeal immediately as well as get on the waiting list if possible. Surely they cannot mess around with children's futures like this. I wish you the best and hope your appeal is successful.

I would appeal.

I am shocked for you.

The LA are completely out of order to do this assuming that there is no underlying reason other than a mistake.

Could I suggest that you go back to the Admission Manager of the LA in writing and tell them under section 1.50 of the Admission Code there are very limited circumstances for withdrawal of a school place and the LA having made a mistake is not one of them. You could also point out that there is case law for the withdrawal of places that would strongly support your arguement that 6 weeks is far too long to withdraw a place. State that you expect the place to be re-instated within 7 working days or you will be reporting this to the Local Government Ombudsman. See what happens but do not let them get away with telephone calls to you, get them to put any replies in writing. You need the evidence for the future arguement!

You should also separately ask to go on the waiting list for not only this school but also any others that you are happy for your child to go to plus appealing for a place at them.

Agree with Admission.

I really get fed up with LAs that try this. It is clear in the Admissions Code that there are only very limited grounds for withdrawing an offer once it has been made. About the only grounds they can use after 6 weeks is that your application was fraudulent, e.g. you lied about your address. They cannot say, "sorry, we've made a mistake" and take your place away.

Your child should not suffer. Follow Admission's advice. Be strong with them and don't let them get away with anything. We'll be here to advise if you need any help.

Thanks a lot to all for your advice.I have sent the letter to Admission Manager as advised above.I really appreciate your help.