Twins got places in different secondary schools

[Jojokay]

Hi, wonder if anyone has any advice/experience of this? We've been offered places at two different schools for our twins. One is a preferred school and the other one is our third choice. While both of the schools have a sibling admissions policy, they don't have a multiple births one. So they understand its easier if your kids go to the same secondary school, but only if they're not the same age?

Wondering if anyone had any experience of successfully appealing on these grounds? or would it be a case of hoping for the best with the waiting list?

Would be grateful for any advice!

Lougle actually sibling policies often say exactly that in roll in September to stop sibling rule for siblings who will leave in July.

And definitely phone Tamba

They can give free legal advice.

Also don’t forget - as soon as twin 1 does start att he school them sibling policy will kick in. So twin two will get the very next place after Sept 1st in any case. You might want to remind the school of this fact, it may mean they give you a place before appeals process kicks in

@MyDcAreMarvel "Lougle actually sibling policies often say exactly that in roll in September to stop sibling rule for siblings who will leave in July."

It depends on the exact wording. For example, (an exact quote): "who at the time of
application have a sibling (see (iv) in Definitions) on the roll of the College who will still be on roll at the time of admission."

This clause will preclude a twin sibling being used to justify sibling admission during the same admission round.

Adding to my post above, is that of course, as@Girlwhowearsglasses says, once the twin is on roll at the school, they then fit the above clause, and the other twin will move into sibling category.

How on earth did they decide which one got in and which one didn't?

Sometimes it is the older twin, sometimes they draw lots. It depends what it says in the admission criteria.

Clearly schools need a multiple births policy. It is completely illogical for there to be a sibling policy that does not apply to same-age siblings. Including where children may not be twins but in the same school year - e.g a quick conception after the birth of the older child, possibly coupled with a pre-due date birth, for example. Or an adopted sibling).

If a school operates a 'fair banding' system (and they end up in different bands with different last-distances) or offers specific scholarship places or admits on a lottery system one twin can or same-year sibling get in and the other not.

It really is up to each school at KS3 to decide how they treat siblings. A school local to me makes very clear that "‘Sibling’ refers to brother or sister, half brother or half sister, adoptive brother or adoptive sister, foster brother or foster sister, step brother or step sister living as one family unit at the same address. It will also be applied to situations where a full, half or adoptive brother or sister are living at separate addresses....[and includes]....children who at the time of application have a sibling for whom the offer of a place at the preferred school has been accepted, even if the sibling is not yet attending."

So that school covers all bases and every eventuality, making it clear that 'families', however they are arranged, will be kept together if that is desired by the applying parents, and sibling priority applies from the moment of acceptance of a place.

Other schools may choose to say 'Every child for themselves, we treat them all exactly the same with no consideration of family connection. They are old enough to develop independence by that age.'

Neither has got it 'wrong' in the eyes of the Admissions Code, but they must be clear, soon that parents can choose their preferences carefully. And appeals panels don't get held to admissions criteria when deciding if children have a compelling reason to attend a school. So they can decide that family connections are vital for a particular child (and may equally decide that they are not vital enough for another child).

Because of the way that the admission criteria system works, one twin must have been allocated the last available place and one must be the next on the agreed list. The only other possibility is a mistake in the admission criteria order.
Unfortunately if you ask to go on the waiting list then when the school opens the waiting list in a couple of weeks, there is no guarantee that they will be at the top of the waiting list because there could easily be pupils who live nearer the school or were late applications.
Your best route is to contact the school and say you wish to appeal and point out to them that this will be an appeal based on one sibling being allocated a place and one not, in the hope that somebody at the school recognises the potential for bad publicity over this and admits anyway before it goes to appeal.

I would go at the appeal all from the angle of the detrimental effect on one of the twin’a education. Eg all family holidays will be taken in line wirh one school’s Holidays which means that the other child may have to be taken out of school and miss out on their education. If you’re going to drop off/pick up, then one of them will always be late. Etc etc. Also from the point of view Of detrimental effect on the twins’ emotional well-being.

Howver this is quite a common situation for siblings who aren’t twins, to have to deal with the inconvenience of 2 different schools . Especially boy/girl siblings in single sex schools or one at grammar/one not. So people DO have to put up with it in those situations. It must be very hard though.

Is it a school who admit children in stanines having sat an assessment? I could understand then why one twin would be admitted when another wasn’t.

Has the third choice school have space or has offered to take the other twin too. Just wondering if that would be an option or whether the LA might offer that at appeal as a solution.

Admission "Because of the way that the admission criteria system works, one twin must have been allocated the last available place and one must be the next on the agreed list. The only other possibility is a mistake in the admission criteria order."

What if the school operates 'fair banding' and one twin was in a band with a really big distance and the other into a band with a very small reach? The second twin could be quit a way down that band in terms of distance.

At a school near me some bands are more than twice the distance as others, in some years.

Have they said why the respective twin did not get a place in each school?
What was the reason for Twin 2 not getting your first preference?

Appeal!

Blimey. Sounds ridiculous. Seem most likely that it is a mistake?

Not all schools allocate on distance. The twins at different schools happened to someone I know. Twin 2 was allocated a school across town and had to start there before the sibling kicked in when twin 1 started in September and then it still took a few weeks to sort out. It's a ridiculous system.

Appeal. If twin 1 is allowed to claim sibling status with the older sibling, then surely twin 2 has the same relationship to the older sibling and can therefore also claim sibling status based on that relationship.

Equally, in the county in which I work, sibling status is afforded if a child has a sibling who holds and has accepted an offer of a place at that school. So therefore, in my county, twin 2 would have double sibling status - i.e., sibling to the older child, and sibling to twin 1 (not 'double sibling' status is a thing!).

Surely once on the waiting list the twin goes to the top because they have a sibling at the school (offer has been accepted) and sibling priority trumps distance...

Eigercounter there is no older sibling.

Just saw this story in the news so if this isn't you then you're not alone:

https://inews.co.uk/news/education/school-offers-twins-split-up-first-choice-worthing/

Pretty crappy situation, can't believe there is no policy for this!

Sibling only trumps distance if the admissions criteria says it does, and if it doesn't, then any late applicants in catchment or closer than the OP's twin 2 will be ahead of them in the queue. Without knowing what order the admissions criteria is in, it's impossible to say.

Also, as stated earlier, any sibling criteria will depend on whether it is sibling (sibling on roll) in which case that won't apply until September 1st, or sibling (sibling accepted place) in which case that could apply immediately.