Going to Appeal over Councils mistake!!!!!

[mrscrow]

Morning,

I've been reading this website since we found out that my daughter did not get into our local school and found some really useful information, but I'm now starting to get very worried.

Our problem is that the Application for my daughter to start Reception Class was posted to the Council, a little while later we received the acknowledgement letter. Unfortunately this letter was thrown out roughly about March, didn't keep it with my other two!!!!!!!

When I checked with the council about not receiving a confirmation letter for her place, various emails later they advised me that they could not find her on the system and I needed to send in another application asap. I stupidly thought that when I sent in the next application it would tally up with something on their system and they would find the original.

At no point was I told I would then be classed as a late application.

Once the second application was sent in I was advised that there are no places in my chosen and she will have to go to my next nearest school. At this point I freaked out as I had sent in the application and didn't understand what could be going on.

The school we were allocated is 2.9 miles away, not far I know but I do not have a car and walk the children to school everyday only driving if my husband is going in late, I have two other children at the school which is only 5-10mins walk away, no bus services runs via the allocated school. The schools finish the day only 5mins apart.

We have put in a complaint at the Council, who say they have checked the system and can find no record of the application. It has now gone to a higher level complaint and the department is being checked.

We do not yet have a date for appeal and the waiting is causing alot of stress. It's the induction days for the new intake today and I'm so fed up.

My bad mood seems to be rubbing off on the whole family I'm normally a very happy person who looks on the positive side of everything but this has just got me down. I'm not sleeping properly, neither is my husband, I'm making big mistakes at work and I've even driven back from the shops with my purse on top of the car and another time a box of crips. There is such a feeling of guilt every time I look at her.

My older two in Class 3 and Reception class have no idea what is going on as they are very sensitive and I don't want them to worry (which my eldest will).

Just read that back and it sounds very rambled sorry.

I would also enquire about school transport, as it is more than 2 miles under 8s should be entitled to free school transport. (This can be a Taxi or a mini-bus service.) As this is the closest school with a place, I think you would be entitled.

Good luck!

As Mummytime says you are entitled to school transport as the allocated school is over 2 miles away.

The biggest problem you are going to have is proving you sent the application on time. If you still had the acknowledgement letter that would be easy.

Is there anything else you might be able to produce as evidence that you submitted your application on time? Proof of posting, a copy of an email or whatever? You need to find something if at all possible. If it comes down to your word against the LA's I'm afraid the panel is likely to believe the LA. It is, of course, possible that the LA has lost a number of applications in which case the panel will be more inclined to believe you but there is still no guarantee.

The transport thing seems to depend on your local authority.
DD didn't get a place at her designated (and nearest school) which she would have been entitled to transport for. She is not entitled to transport to the school they allocated us as it's not her designated school.
(tell me about it )

If it came to it, have you any idea what the waiting list is like for the school you want?

Transport is a national policy. There is a legal obligation for thr LEA to provide free transport if the school your child is allocated is more than 2 miles (primary) or 3 miles (secondary) away. If however there are spaces at a school less than those distances away and you choose a school further away free transport will not be provided.

titchy, it seems that if we were in Hants, DD would get transport as they say: "your child will qualify for free transport if your catchment school was your first preference and it was over-subscribed. In this case, we will provide transport to the next closest school,"
But where we are in E Sussex, they say "To receive help, the child/children must be attending the
designated* school" (nearest suitable school).

Paisleyleaf - Your LA is talking rubbish. If they placed your DD at a school which is more than 2 miles from your home they have to provide transport. As Titchy says, it would be another matter if you had chosen to send your child to a school over 2 miles away when there were places at closer schools. However, if the LA has chosen the school they have to provide the transport. That is the law and they have no choice. If they refuse to provide transport you can refuse to send your child to school. Their failure to provide transport in the circumstances you have outlined gives you a complete defence under section 444(4) of the Education Act 1996 if the LA try to prosecute you for not sending your DD to school.

Titchy - The distance actually goes up to 3 miles at age 8 rather than when the child goes to secondary school. However, for families on low incomes the distance remains 2 miles until the child goes to secondary school.

Zapostrophe - The government has not changed the law relating to school transport and I think it is unlikely they will do so. I would strongly recommend that you go ahead with your appeal. I think Gloucestershire are on very dodgy grounds in refusing free transport in your case. If I understand you correctly you are saying that there is no school within a 2 mile walking distance from your home. Your preferred school is nearest by straight line distance but another school is nearer by shortest walking route. But, even if you had got a place at this other school, Gloucestershire would have had to provide transport. Is that correct? If so, I don't think Gloucestershire have a case. Would you have got into the "nearer" school if you had applied? If not I don't see any way Gloucestershire can argue their way out of providing free transport.

Paisleyleaf - I've checked the East Sussex website and it says, "the designated school is the one nearest to your child's home that is suitable and has a place available". Your nearest school did not have a place available and is therefore not the designated school. The designated school is the one where they have given you a place unless there is another school nearer your home with a place available (unlikely unless their admissions team have messed up). You are therefore entitled to free school transport. In any case, whatever East Sussex say, you are entitled to free school transport by law under the Education Act 1996. They can't get out of that.

prh47bridge, thankyou. I'll be more assertive with them when I next deal with them then. I've left it for now as DD only in reception - but as she gets bigger I'd rather use the transport.
The school is 6 miles away. We live rural, and whichever school we applied for we were going to be the ones living furthest away and so not likely to get a place.
But yes, we applied to the nearest (about 2.5 - 3 miles away) and didn't get a place.

(Sorry mrscrow)

Thanks for your responses, even if they offer transport how will I manage to collect all at the same time, plus different after school clubs etc.

Unfortunately I have no proof what so ever at the moment it is my word against theirs.

My fingers are crossed that they find something on the internal enquiry thingy the council are doing.

Transport is in both directions so you won't need to collect them all at the same time. You will be able to pick up your oldest two and walk home while the Council (probably a taxi) pick up your youngest.

I'll join you in crossing fingers that they find something to show you applied on time.

Good luck.

What leave a 4 year old in taxi on her own, is that what you mean!!!!

They probably won't be alone as there is usually more than one child requiring transport and the taxis are school transport taxis whith CRB cleared staff and ( at least in our authority) a supervisor too. We have 10 children delivered to our school by taxi, the youngest is 4

Primarymum is right. In any case, the free transport is for your child, not for you. They are required to collect your child from school and bring her home. They are not required to take you to the school to collect your child. Even if you make your own way to the school they are not required to take you home with your child. I know it seems a bit much for a 4 year old but there are 4 year olds all over the country in this situation and it has been like this for many years. I agree it isn't ideal but sometimes there is no choice.

Mrs crow,
This issue all revolves around the confirmation letter which you threw away.

Without it you have no chance of getting a positive result out of any appeal. I have done loads of appeals where it is alleged that the form was not received etc and the honest truth is that the onus has to be on the parents to prove the LA have got it wrong. On some occaisions that is the case, no organisation is perfect but there has to be evidence to prove it. Regretably the vast majority of these situations do not produce any evidence, including where we have adjourned the hearing to allow the appealants to produce the evidence.

You need to recheck that you have not got that letter somewhere as it is so important. Also can you be precise about when you submitted the form. If you can then you can ask the LA to check their records of letters sent out around that time. They should have a record of the confirmation letters sent out, as it will be on a computer system somewhere.

The LA have been completely correct by classing you as a late entry as as far as the LA is concerned,the only application is your second application.

You need to confirm with the LA that you are on the waiting list for the school as with two siblings one would expect that you would be near the top of the waiting list.