Advice about school placements

[collyettey]

Hey guys
So over the summer hols we moved 70miles away from where we had been based, due to us having a brainiac first born who was offered a place at a university from yr10! (Me and his dad have no idea where his brains manifested from)
So we let both children (son who was ending yr9 and daughter ending yr8) finish the year at their current school and we moved over the summer hols.
We went to the county council about 3 weeks prior to the end of the summer term to enquiry about how we got our daughter transferred to a school in the county as a 140 mile round trip seemed excessive.
They refused to even register her as a resident of the county until we had a council tax bill despite us having a tenancy agreement!
So by the time the council tax bill arrived we were on week 3 Of the summer hols, but we put in an application for her to start one of the 4 schools within 5 miles of our new home.
1 said no within hours, others slowly refused over the first week of term and the council was appealing on our behalf, however I’ve been phoning them and emailing and getting nowhere, just the same scripted response of ‘we’re waiting to hear’.
We are now on week 3 if a new school year and I have a 13yr old with no school place.
She’s a bright girl and is getting bored with the stuff we can find for her as it’s too easy.
We approached all 4 school directly and were told they didn’t have room for 1 more student in yr9 and even if they did we had to apply through the county council!
Is there someone I could complain too about this or some other way of getting her into school?
Can I complain to someone higher at the council??

Help and advice would be greatly received!!

You should have received a letter refusing admission to your preferred schools and setting out your right to appeal. If that hasn't happened remind the council (or the schools if you applied directly to them) that they must send you this letter. You can then appeal against their refusal to admit your daughter. That doesn't guarantee you will get a place but it will push the council into sorting out a place for you. They won't want to go into an appeal with no place on offer for your daughter.

We had refusals and then the school
Admissions case worker called us to let us know they were appealing but that was 3 weeks ago!
All we get now is ‘we’re waiting to hear’ or ‘we’ll chase them up’
Nothing seems to be happening!

I am assuming you are in England.

You need to appeal yourself, not wait for the council. Insist on a letter refusing admission and setting out your right to appeal.

Have you been offered a place anywhere?

hey EduCated no none at all.

We applied for what they considered a Mid Year transfer back at the start of July when we first knew we were moving and had out tenancy.
They refused to act on the application until we provided a council tax bill which didnt arrive until 3 days before the schools broke up for the summer.

We got our first refusal the day after and the rest during the first week back in September. We haven't received it in writing by letter just by email due to the way this county council works - after the 4 refusals they appeal on our behalf but when I call to get an update I feel like i'm hitting a brick wall.
The schools themselves just refer us back to the county council - going round in circles!!

Maybe you could try contacting your local MP? I hope you get it all sorted out.

I woukd second your MP.

Prh47bridge is an expert on this subject. Read their posts again and act on them. Good luck!

We haven't received it in writing by letter just by email due to the way this county council works - after the 4 refusals they appeal on our behalf but when I call to get an update I feel like i'm hitting a brick wall

Assuming you are in England that doesn't sound right. The Admission Authority (the school itself if it is an academy or a VA school, the council if it is a community school or VC school) must tell you why they refused admission and tell you how to go about appealing. The county council does not appeal on your behalf. They may attempt to persuade schools to admit your child (and it sounds like that is what they are talking about if they do that after you've been refused entry to four schools) but that is a different matter. You have the right to appeal. You need to do so. If the admission authority for the school has not told you how to appeal you need to chase them and demand that they give you the information as required by the Admission Appeals Code paragraph 2.5.