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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

LA is bulling me to put daughter in lower year

114 replies

NinaKKjones · 30/07/2019 11:27

I really am desperate for advice,
After a relocation due to a forced move i applied to the local school for a place for my daughter for year 10 it was now March 2019 (year 10 start date was Sept 18).
The school did-not see us untill early May and then REFUSED her a place, did not offer an appeal .
I contacted the LA for help they advised there was no other schools in the area they would ask school to reconsider.
We have now reached July no one has any concern as to school missed and im freaking out .
The LA send me an email to say that The school will offer her a place but in year 9, and i HAVE TO ACCEPT IT NO APPEAL ALLOWED.
And if i dont force my daughter to face this public humiliation i will be prosecuted.

Does any one know where i stand have made a complaint but the LA seem to think despite it proven to be damaging to a child this is acceptable.
No where to turn and still no school place

I have tried out of school areas colleges even looked at how i could fund paying

OP posts:
TheFirstOHN · 30/07/2019 12:22

If you mean starting Y9 in September, that is a two year delay and would be frustrating since (if I've read your OP correctly) she had already completed Y9 and started Y10 before her move.

Also, a two-year delay might in the future potentially affect funding for A-levels (or Level 3 BTEC), as I think the funding only goes up to age 19.

If they are suggesting a two year delay, I would ask if they can find a space somewhere for her to start Y10 in September (but not Y11 with her original chronological group, for the reasons I mentioned above).

Todaythiscouldbe · 30/07/2019 12:22

All GCSE courses start in year 9 here, some exams are taken in year 10.

Comefromaway · 30/07/2019 12:26

At my daughter's school there were two students who started in the January of Year 10. it worked very well, they just did 8 GCSE's instead of the usual 9 and spent the extra time catching up on the science syllabus they had missed.

At least half a dozen others started there at the start of Year 10.

If I was the OP I would want my child to stay in their age year group if at all possible, however I would not have a child start a new school at the beginning of Year 11, so would put them back to start at the beginning of Year 10. I see no reason for them to go back to Year 9 unless there are significant SEN involved.

Hoppinggreen · 30/07/2019 12:29

If I am remembering correctly ( entirely possible I’m wrong) this child hasn’t done a lot of Y9 due to several moves so even starting Y10 might be tricky, never mind Y11

Naldorian · 30/07/2019 12:38

Why do they want her to repeat Year 9 when what she has missed in the Year 10 content? Surely she should be going into Year 10, being 1 year behind her peers, rather than redoing Year 9 and putting her back 2 years. Strange!

Naldorian · 30/07/2019 12:39

Hoppinggreen Ah, I see

ThePhoenixRises · 30/07/2019 12:42

If they have not done year 9, then they have not had the opportunity to select which options they wish to take for GCSEs.

Oliversmumsarmy · 30/07/2019 12:44

So if she doesn’t do a science it is s 2 year course.

Dd and ds has only 2 year courses, or 18 months given the last term was study leave and exams

twosoups1972 · 30/07/2019 12:46

OP, back when I was at school, I moved schools several times in Years 9 and 10. Ended up missing a lot of work, GCSE coursework etc. I repeated Year 10 at a new school. Turned out great.

An extra year really doesn't matter in the scheme of things. And look at it this way - your dd is getting an extra year of education for free!

AlunWynsKnee · 30/07/2019 12:48

Looks like the dd was supposed to start y10 in September 2018 so she should be about to start y11 but school have offered y9 so she's going to be 2 school years behind.
It presumably means she'd have a reasonable chance at passing GCSEs rather than struggling to do it all in a year. If it's an academy and do their own admissions have the LA made a different offer such as tutoring or another school?

Sarahandco · 30/07/2019 13:11

As term has now ended, did they contact you before term ended and therefore she would start year 10 in September? if so then I would accept so that she can start her GSCE course from scratch with full options over what courses she will take. If they are asking her to start year 9 in September then that is different and surely there would be another school she could join into year 10

QueenofallIsee · 30/07/2019 13:16

If you are the lad who moved to Wales then please take the place! Your daughters mental health has been impacted by the school situation and she needs her education! It’s not a humiliation, it’s the best of a bad lot!

titchy · 30/07/2019 13:28

Snap their hand off. Your child's education has already been screwed - don't make it any worse. And it's not public humiliation, don't be so bloody ridiculous. It's the best chance she has right now of some sort of decent qualifications.

Teachermaths · 30/07/2019 13:35

OP you've definitely left out lots of important information here.

There's a lot of good reasons for this choice. Your dd will have chance to study full gcse courses and won't have to catch up.

Oliversmumsarmy · 30/07/2019 14:52

If you are the poster who moved to Wales then back again I think you are being very passive with your dds education.

You are expecting things that are not going to happen.
You either take the year 9 place (I tried to get ds to repeat a year but was told categorically No they don't move people into different years)

Or find a school which will take her miles away (if she us going into year 11 in September then I doubt you will find any school to take her. It is only 2 terms till they take gcse's and she has missed slither curriculum so far)

Or you scrap looking for a school.and HE
She will probably have to spend 2 years doing her gcse's (could concentrate on doing 4 gcse's this year and 4 next or tackling 7 or 8 and doing it all in a year and if she fails any doing the retakes in November or the following June).

She could be 1 year adrift from her normal age range but you are both going to have to pull your finger out and have a different change of attitude.

Waiting around for a LA to provide everything has got you in this situation in the first place

Oliversmumsarmy · 30/07/2019 15:04

With home ed you are free to choose what gcse's you want to do.

Do maths and English language/literature but then you are free to choose anything else. Whatever interests your dd and looks easy.

Look at Btecs level 1 or 2

The idea being she is so far behind it would be a quick way to catch up.

JoJoSM2 · 31/07/2019 10:31

I take it the LA want to put her back a year and not two?

It’s the best option if you want her to get good GCSEs. She’d be absolutely screwed going into Y11 having missed most of year 10.

If you feel it’s all about avoiding perceived ‘public humiliation’, then you could home ed or as someone mentioned, see if you might be able to get a place is a FE College.

IsobelRae23 · 31/07/2019 14:20

Surely you want her to have the best chance to the best grades? That’s not about public humiliation- that’s about your perception.

Would you HONESTLY want her put into the year you want, sitting her GCSE’s and coming out with E, F, G and U’s- because she’s missed over half of the content? You would be setting her up to fail.

Ds has just finished year 9, and already has numerous essays, exams under his belt towards his final GCSE’s- as they start them in year 9 because the content is so long.

3dogs2cats · 31/07/2019 20:32

I have a child in this position, it’s worked really well for her, looks like she will get good GCSEs now, probably would have otherwise failed. It’s also been good for her confidence.

Oliversmumsarmy · 31/07/2019 21:57

I think the issue is the school on offer to go onto year 9 is the school where her peers will be 1 or 2 years ahead of her and I feel there could be some awkwardness to the extent that their is a danger in her not learning anything anyway and it being a huge waste of time.

NinaKKjones · 01/08/2019 11:19

Many tks for all your replies.

No i havent posted here before this is the first time .

I would like to say firstly all my daughter wants here is to return to ANY school in September in year 11 she is well aware shes going to have to catch up on the last term and is prepared for that.

All i want is for her to transition into her new school on the same level playing field as every other child,
In the school year appropriate to her educational social emotional needs and welfare, nothing that will make her stand out more than being the new girl were not asking for extra tuition classes treatment anything she just wants to blend in .

The argument of whether its a positive or a neg to retain a child a year is a separate issue as we will all have very different opinions The really big issue is

Leagally can a La and a school make such important decisions effecting a childs education and welfare without parents permission or even discussions.

If as a parent i wanted to request this for my child to be in a year up or below her age group for whatever reasons tI would have to follow this process

School Admissions Code 2014, 2.17
Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for
example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill
health…
…Admission authorities must make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each
case and in the best interests of the child concerned. This will include taking account of
the parent’s views; information about the child’s academic, social and emotional
development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical
professional; whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age
group; and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not
for being born prematurely.’
School Admissions Code 2014, 2.17

But yet other people can make this decision about my child without full-filling any of the criteria i would have to

This is actually a very complicated game of tactics and politics between the LA and School and we just happen to be stuck between the 2.

The LA just wants her on any school register otherwise its their responsibility to arrange alternative school education place etc and that will cost them.

Understandably the school does not want to admit her in her peer age group as it may cost them if they had to help support her on any catching up ,
So the LA and school came up with this great plan as to give them both a favourable result

The real issue i need advice on is

Where do i stand i here Can we refuse the offer of a year 9 place which we did not apply for .(entering year 10 as opposed to 11 in sept)

The LA state as i have the year 9 offer we are bound to accept it .
Regardless

This is the only school in the area the school originally refused our 10 application which i would of been able to take to appeal and then all options could of been jointly discussed.

My daughter has completed 3 terms in year 10 all-ready she is quite capable of catching up on any work.

She will be 16 in October put in with 14 year olds now it may not seem much to me and you but i can still remember the kids names in my school who were put back and that was 30 years ago thats how much of a stigma being the kid put back a year was .

It would propbably work in that ideal perfect world but thats not the case our children live in the world of social media all the kids know each other without knowing each other so yes the kids in the new school would be aware shes been put back .

OP posts:
NinaKKjones · 01/08/2019 11:22

I am not connected to any other post

OP posts:
NinaKKjones · 01/08/2019 11:25

please stop making presumptions i have never lived in wales i am not whoever you have convinced yourself i am

OP posts:
NinaKKjones · 01/08/2019 11:25

no im not

OP posts:
NinaKKjones · 01/08/2019 11:27

PLEASE i am not the user from WALES who ever this is

please stop giving me advice based on someone else's story

I

OP posts: