LA is bulling me to put daughter in lower year

[NinaKKjones]

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

My daughter has completed 3 terms in year 10 all-ready she is quite capable of catching up on any work.
It's not that she has a term of catching up to do.
The exam boards, topics and set texts differ school to school. She will most likely have 7-9 entirely new GCSE courses to learn in 2 terms. If you're lucky 2 or 3 might overlap (like maths/science).
Even if the new school does the most popular English board, there's over 20 set texts the schools can choose from. She might find that she's studied one drama text in y10, but her new y11 are studying a different drama text (which isn't the end of the world), but they've already taught their 19th century novel last year and she's had no teaching on it meaning she has had zero teaching in 50% of one exam.

I don't think you realise the sheer amount of work starting in y11 is. Some exams begin before the Easter holidays. She has less than 2 terms to learn, most likely, brand new course and won't get teaching input for most of the content.

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
They don't have to pay to catch her up if she goes into y11. You have to sort that out.

You're focusing a lot on cost and the LA wanting to get out of paying e.g. when you've said they'd try to get out of paying for alternative education, but from what you've said she doesn't sound like a child who would be going into alternative provision.

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)
So to double check as this has been the confusion for lots of us.
The LA is proposing that instead of studying 9/10 GCSEs in 2 terms in year 11 that your child starts her GCSE courses in year 10 and has the correct amount of time on them?

Why mention y9 places then? That suggests your daughter is being kept back 2 years rather than what seems a reasonable 'child who has only done 2 terms of y10 completes a full set of courses instead of fresh courses in less than 2 terms'.

On what basis do they want her to retake the year, it is very unusual. Is it curriculum based or due to gaps in learning or space at the school? You are overdramatising it by calling it a public humiliation. Not uncommon in independent schools for overseas educated students to be placed out of cohort.

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
If she hadn't been in year 10 since March then she hasn't completed 3 terms on year 10.
She's completed 2 terms of year 10.

OP
I would be grabbing it with both hands, honestly. Why?

Because she will be at an advantage when it comes to GCSEs
Because she can still access sixth form education at 17-19
Because I am currently in Germany where this is the norm (DD went back a year voluntarily in year 8)
Because unless she is the tallest in her class like middle one no-one is going to notice or least of all care, age is a number
Because any gaps in knowledge will be compensated for
Because most LAs refuse to do this (I have asked for mine) and so I'd be fucking delighted quite frankly
Because it gives your child breathing space for 9 months
Because I, as a teacher and a parent, no longer see a disadvantage

I know you won't believe me but I am - I have the opposite problem in that mine will have to go in the correct group for her age when she is a year behind

RageAgainstTheVendingMachine
So much common sense there.

I can see, given the OP seems to think the school and LA have to spend money to catch her child up, they'll be the first back on MN wanting to know how to complain about the school when their child doesn't get what they want in their mocks, their child is stressed trying to learn 9 new courses in under 2 terms, why isn't the school making their child a priority for intervention and so on.

We've had children out of year and in 6th form it's really common.

I've never seen any humiliation. People just get on with it.

Ah, sorry OP - just seen she is already 16. That changes things for me but only on one criterion - namely that you tell the LA they would have to confirm in writing that she would get post 16 funding for A-levels from 18-20 as opposed to 17-19 otherwise you would be screwed for paying for upper sixth and exam entry and it's expensive.
The 16 among 14 year olds would not bother me - my eldest is 17 and some in her class are 18, some are 15, all of them seem to get on very well actually.

RageAgainstTheVendingMachine
She's 16 in October so is one of the older ones in the 2019/20 year 11 cohort.

She'll still get level 3 funding from 17-19.

Lola
It's a different mind set, I do get that. I might even have been like that once before seeing the German system in action. My sister was firmly against the idea of resitting or going back a year when I told her DD was choosing to do it here.
But they all end up where they need to be eventually.
As they get older and some take years out or do apprenticeship years etc it all comes out in the wash. The only thing I would check is whether doing exams a little later means different points allocation for uni applications in the UK where it is seen as a conferred advantage?

Also though. Your child is being offered an education. Might not be the one YOU want. But we are lucky to have what we have in this country. You need to take what’s offered or HE. Or pay private. Most places it’s £1-4000 per month for private. Plus the extra (6-10,000) per year for trips etc

Ah lola I have misunderstood then, the year 9 place is now so year 10 September (repeats two terms but new coursework etc)
2019/20 - year 10 - 16
2020/21 - year 11 - 17
2021/22 - lower 6th -18
2022/23 - upper 6th -19
OP It's a no-brainer. Why on earth would you turn this down?

If that was the case yea i would encourage anything if thought my daughter needed extra help but she as capable as any other year 11 child
Butr my problem is that these choices are being made not with my daughters welfare in mind but to tick boxes their own procedures are not even being followed

sorry we applied for a year 10 place in March 2019 they refused

In july 19 they offered her a year 9 place

ive gone on the presumption this would mean her starting year her 10 again in sept as apposed completing year 11 but due to the fact this decision was made without me im unsure of details

no she will be 16 in october 4 weeks after the start of year 11

well no its not as i keep telling you

But if she has not been in school studying the same gcse curriculum since Feb/March she has missed at least a term of term of teaching and mocks. The best chance for decent gcse results is to resit year 10.

I can understand your concerns with her being one of the eldest rather than Summer born but I still don't see it as a humiliation, sorry. I can only see the advantages - a greater chance of getting 9s across the board in Summer 2021.

Missing any time from year 10 is hugely significant. And as has been stated it is quite likely that the new school do different exam boards and different options within the boards. They're not saying this to be mean. They're not doing this (just) to make themselves look better but to enable your daughter to achieve the best grades she can. Why would you not want to do that?

I doubt any school will give your dd a place in year 11.

Yes she might have done 3/4 of the year 10 work but given the different exam boards and curriculum it will mean nothing.

Girl in dds school (English) but had spent a lot of her childhood abroad so when her parents moved back she had to start in year 10 not in year 11 because that is when the curriculum starts for the schools GCSEs.
(Private school which didn’t take any new entries in year 11)
It is just how it is when you get to years 10 and 11

Not trying to upset you Nina
Unless you can afford private or can home ed with an added cost of 250 pounds per exam entered, then I'm not sure what other options there are.
Was her coursework outstanding - are the exam boards the same - can her coursework marks be carried across?
Above all, how is your daughter feeling? What does she want given you have been told an appeal will fail - can you lawyer up?

Also I doubt any school will give you a place midway through year 10 either.

I agree with you op
I would not be happy
I would be refusing.

I actually think I could end up in your situation in September,but for a younger child.thats why I clicked on this thread.
Are there no colleges near you could try

Very few schools will move pupils during year 10 or 11 unless in exceptional circumstances, and even fewer are willing to take a new year 10 or 11 pupil. She simply won't have studied everything she needs to to do her gcses if she doesn't take the year again. Accept the place.

Apologies for thinking you were the poster who moved to wales for then came back. With similar results.

The only thing I can suggest is for her to continue her studies from home and you put her in privately for her GCSEs to keep her within her year group.

Schools have set year 10 and 11 work, curriculum and exam boards and whilst you might be able to move in year in any other age group when it comes to year 10 and 11 schools like to have the children for the 2 years and won’t have incomes coming mid way through or towards the end of the course.

Those saying to go private. I don’t even think a private school would offer any different to what is on offer through the LA either

Opps I’ve not read it properly
So it’s a different exam board? ..is why they won’t give here a place?
I had this bizarrely,with my adult son with asd .he got signed of sick for months ,and has moved to a new college ,which are using a different exam board ...both colleges in same town as well. He’s having to start his Alevels again this September,instead of going in to the second year.
Not ideal ..but we didn’t get a choice.
My other dc is starting a special school in September,primary ,and noises have made about going in a year below.nothing concrete,so I’m hoping it dosnt come to anything