Hostile initial contact with a Catholic secondary school

[jennylamb1]

We are looking at prospective secondary schools for our DS. He has additional needs and our local catchment secondaries are very poor (bullying, challenging behaviour etc), and we are pretty determined not to place our child there, given that he is emotionally vulnerable, and we feel that they would not provide supportive environments. We are Christians and are interested in a Catholic school, which is very popular, and which based on last year's oversubscription data we would have gained a place at given that we are Christian. I called them to arrange a visit, and the receptionist was extraordinarily hostile. She asked if we were Catholic and if our son had been baptised, and seemed virtually to be putting us through a school admission process before she would allow us a visit. The school is partly funded by the local council, into which I pay my council tax, so surely I am entitled to visit a school which our son may go to in the area? The school lauds itself as 'inclusive' on it's website, but is seemed highly exclusive and even discriminatory to non-Catholics on the phone. Is this even allowed? This is not withstanding the fact that my child is on the SEND register and according to the SEND code of practice 2014, schools should be working with parents and other professionals in order to best support those with disabilities in education. Have others found Catholic schools unwelcoming in this way?

You say you are a Christian but not if you are Catholic. If their admission criteria is that you have to be Catholic, unless your son has an EHCP or he is adopted / LAC then you won’t get in anyway, so having a visit round the school is pointless (plus disruptive for the school). She might have sounded abrupt or been unpleasant in her tone, but her questions in that setting are fair.

really
But she is seeking a 1-1 tour of the school for a school that has open evenings in October 2019. That means her child is in year 5 and it's almost a year until they are due to start secondary applications.

It's absolutely fair for reception staff to find out more before deciding to allocate SLT for a school tour. It's more than reasonable to have tours for in year transfers. It's not reasonable to expect a senior member to staff to book out time away from this year's jobs to give a tour for a parent who might want their child to start year 7 in September 2020?
It's entirely reasonable to suggest the family attend the open evening for their correct year group.

Absolutely maisy

Had a similar experience with a faith school - basically we were told we'd only be able to discuss specific needs if DS was offered a place. It was off-putting but after doing the rounds of local schools, we still went for the faith school, got a place and they have actually responded very well since he started there.To be fair, if it's a very popular school, I can understand that they might get dozens of these requests which necessarily take teaching staff away from teaching.

Has OP read the current admissions policy? This is all the receptionist has to go on for admissions in 2019.

Of course you the admissions policy might change for 2020 admissions.

Is the school Voluntary Aided or Voluntary Controlled? That can make a difference.

Was the receptionist actually being “rude” or “offhand” to the OP in asking those questions? They sound pretty pertinent and civil enquiries from what OP has said.

What has OP really taken exception to? It’s a bit odd to say “we are Christian” without naming a denomination, and indicating how the family participates fully in its worship.

Thanks for the replies and the lively debate! I work in education so totally get how busy schools are nowadays. However I think my main issue was ultimately, as others have said, that a school receptionist is not in a position to decide within 20 seconds of conversation, which children are admitted and which are not. I will attend open evenings etc. however I am also aware that schools can present themselves in an attractive light at a well-organised event, but may be very different on a day-to-day basis. They may get other requests for day visits, however only about 15-20% of children are on school sen registers, so there will not be a huge amount of requests from parents with such children. Ultimately making sure a school is the right fit for a more vulnerable child with social and emotional difficulties can surely only be a responsible thing to do, for child, family and school.

I made the decision about where to move Ds to when I saw how a class teacher handled a child having a “moment” (who clearly had similar issues to my Ds) when we were touring on a normal working day.

With SEN it’s so much more complicated.

You are desperately trying to gain entry into a school using
A) Your Christianity
B) Your child’s special needs.

If the Catholic school had a poor reputation would you be as determined your son gets in? Every other parent whose alternative school is the bullying one. will be looking at alternatives. Catholics will naturally be ahead of you.
‘Christianity’ is too vague to hold any weight when it comes to a highly sought after school’s admissions policy.
Unfortunately neither appear to meet their eligibility process. You can kick up a fuss and argue your case. You just might get in. But I would recommend you start looking at alternstive schools too.

You could of course always have your son baptised. Many have done it before you for the same reason.