Unallocated school places, wait lists, appeals and increased PANS

[HomeForever]

Due to 'an unprecedented demand for school places' read: a massive balls up around 100 children in the local authority are without a school place. I know of a few that have been offered places at either a school out of area or in the private sector (again out of area as no private schools within LA). The council have managed (apparently) to increase the PAN in some/all of the schools (though no further details given)

Some of the advice received is that the LA won't consider the allocation of places until all appeals have been heard, so again leaving a lot of children with no certainty of a school place at all, let alone where.

I have read the admissions code but, I am guessing as it is quite an unusual situation, there is no real mention of what to do in these circumstances. However, having just read the local admissions booklet it says:

If appeals are pending, places will still be allocated before appeals are heard from the waiting list.

Would this apply in these circumstances? Do they really have to wait and go through multiple appeals in an attempt to get any school place?

Thank you. (Can I just add that this is not in regards to me, we have a place at our 1st preference, but I am concerned for those that have no school place at all)

As you have posted in secondary, the LA and those responsible for planning school places must have known what the primary school population was. There is no defence for this lack of planning and leadership.

Some schools just won’t expand but if they are all at capacity, a new school is needed. With 100 children missing out, they need around 3 additional classes. If they forecast even more children next year, and growth of population is expected, they have to broker a new school with support from an academy chain as they cannot do it themselves I believe. It’s mismanagement of planning duties but it also shows school planning is now ludicrously complex in that LAs are not in control of schools or school buildings. Other people are. If the academies won’t expand and they cannot broker a free school, life is difficult!

There are plans for a new school - which were in place before this, but may or may not be the answer right now. They are appeals at government level to get this pushed through as quickly as possible, but even if it can be for this year there is no actual building of any description.

The reasons given are: An increase in places required by immigrants (including placed asylum seekers), an increase in children being admitted from outside authority, a decrease in children going to schools outside of the borough (one has a shared admission zone, another has a few children from the area go to)

But overall, yes it was a massive oversight, it was a bulge year for primary admissions in 2012 and then they 'allowed' a school to drop its PAN by 60 this year.

If places become available at any schools they must be allocated immediately to those at the head of the waiting list. They cannot hold places back for appeal.

The LA is required to find a place for everyone who applies so everyone will have a place eventually. No-one should be left without. But clearly it will be a while before everyone knows where their child is getting a place.

Thank you. I will pass on this info.

I am not sure what the current status of the new school is. It is being delivered by an existing academy chain, so I presume it would be more a building issue than a staffing issue.

HomeForever, which LA are you? Richmond have 112 without a place at the moment but rumours are they also over-offered at some of the less popular schools because they know people will turn them down and go private, so the real number without an offer-day place is higher. Second round of offers hasn't gone out yet, so nobody knows if there'll be enough places in the end.

Jeep that sounds a nightmare too. I'm not far up the road in Middlesbrough.

HomeForever, I meant Richmond in Greater London, so you're a little further up the road.

I guess the numbers going private in Middlesborough might be a bit lower than round here - we're used to there being a shakedown every year, with some not getting offers on Offer Day, but the numbers are higher this year.

OP your situation is to be regretted but as PRH says there is a legal requirement on the LA to make an offer of a school place. The problem for you is that this can be anytime up until the 1st September and you will need to be patient.
The LA will currently be assessing the situation in terms of the number of offers made on the 1st March that have been rejected and therefore how many places the LA have to find. If there is a need for extra places being offered then they will consider where the need for places is most severe (in terms of geography not the school you have indicated are preferences) and talk to / cajole schools into taking the extra pupils. This will need to be agreed by the school and then the governing board of the school which is why I say you will need to be patient.
In the interim you need to ensure you are on all the waiting lists for the schools you want and that you have appealed for each of the school you want.
The issue about why the LA seems to have not had sufficient places when they will have known since 31st October the number of applications is a separate matter from you getting a suitable offer of a place and actually will not be relevant at appeals.

Jeep as soon as I posted I wondered if it was Richmond London. I guess there is a lot more private movement there than here.

Thank you admission I will pass the info on. I am worried that quite a number of people will walk into the appeal room, say 'Bobby has no school place' fold their arms and sit back. I have tried telling one parent that they need to appeal as to why that school but it fell on deaf ears.

We were fortunate that we moved next to the school and have a sibling link so got our place, others not so lucky. Whilst obviously a lot got no place and some had made realistic preferences, I do know a number didn't put a 'banker' presuming they would just get the school they wanted, or if not they would just be offered their catchment school.