Can I refuse to accept an offer to state school?

[Woonang]

My family is planning to move to the High Barnet. We've located a house for letting but which is very close to a "requires improvement" school. If my DS is offered to study in that school, do I have the right to decline the offer? Thx for yr advice first.

You can decline the offer, but you won't necessarily be offered an alternative. The council will have "done its bit" in offering you a school.

Are there any other schools close by which he has a reasonable chance of getting in to? If you put them first, he will be offered a place above the school you don't like, if he's high enough on the admissions criteria.

Yes, you can decline - you are not obligated to send your child to the school allocated. But do keep in mind that you will not be offered an alternative by the council. All you’ll be able to do it put your name on waiting lists and hope for the best - which may mean no school place at all.

You can decline the offer but you won’t necessarily be offered anything else unless a space becomes available and you’re at the top of the waiting list unfortunately.

Have you been to see the school? Don't write it off purely on the basis of its Ofsted rating.

Assuming this is an in-year move (i.e. your DC is already at secondary school), you can choose to send your child to any school that currently has spaces. If you want them to go to a school that doesn't have spaces, you will have to have a good argument to win an appeal.

Yes, it's an in year application. Actually, my family is moving to the UK from aboard. I'm not sure if there are places in other schools. I can make 3 choices of school at the time of application. Of course I will not put the inadequate school on list. However, in case when there are no place on the 3 school that i choose, places will be allocated to the school near by.

A "requires improvement" school means it's satisfactory.
Inadequate is the lowest category.
OFSTED requirements do change so it's possible that a "requires improvement" school that was inspected 2 years ago could be better now than an "outstanding" one that was inspected 10 years ago!
You can't win an appeal based on one school having a better OFSTED rating than another school.

As it's in an year application. Contact the admissions officer for every school in the area that would be possible to travel to sensibly. They will be able to tell you if they have any spaces in the year group you need. And also if they have a waiting list.

Then you'll have a better idea of which schools to put on the form. There's not much point in using all 3 of your choices on schools with no spaces and a long waiting list for the specific year group you need

If you contact them now, and they have a space, there's no guarantee that someone else won't take that space between now and your actual move but it's better to have a good idea of how the land lies

You should also consider that 'Requires Improvement' schools often get money spent on them to bring them up to scratch. DSs school was RI when we looked at it but we liked it and it is now Good and still improving.

Have you read why it requires improvement? The areas it has issues with may not be of concern to you.

Yes, you can decline the offer, but then it would be up to you to home educate or find a private school place so your child is educated.

When it was us making an international move, the council told us which schools had spaces, so we could make a choice from what was available.

I would take an RI school over one that's hanging on to an outstanding grade that was awarded 5+ years ago, tbh.

May I ask if I declined the offer and wait for another school which I'm on the waiting list, is there any requirement on the max period that I can put on waiting. It is because children are obligated to attend school. Thx.

If you decline the place, the council has done its bit and its up to you to make alternative provision (home education, private school or finding another school with space).

@Woonang

May I ask if I declined the offer and wait for another school which I'm on the waiting list, is there any requirement on the max period that I can put on waiting. It is because children are obligated to attend school. Thx.

Children are not obligated to attend school tho. They need to be educated, but that can also be at home with a parent, or remotely using tutors, for example.

If you want them to go to school, then as others suggest, find out first which schools have spaces and go from there.

I would try to visit the schools before making a judgement. RI schools can be good in my experience. It may be on an upward journey with a lot of effort being put into improvement. And to be honest Ofsted is certainly not the overriding factor in choosing a school.

No, there’s no maximum time on the waiting list. The council has a duty to offer your child a school place - if you decline it, that duty is discharged, and it’s then up to you to sort out how the child is educated - home education, a private school, etc.

There isn’t really even an average time to be on a waiting list.

You can put your child's name down on the waiting list for any school but there is no guarantee you would get a place within a specific time period or at all. If other children are put on the list after yours who live nearer the school, they would take precedence. The most sensible thing to do is accept the offered place, and if you really don't like the school, keep his name on the list of a school you do like and hope a place becomes available.

Thanks for all your advise.

You as the parent are legally required to provide your child with an education. This can be by sending them to school but doesn't have to be.

The local council is required to offer you a school place. If the place offered isn't to your taste they have still discharged that duty and aren't required to do more. You most certainly can reject the place but you remain responsible for providing your child with an education, and how you do that will be totally your own problem. I wouldn't recommend that.

It would probably take the authorities a little while to work out that you weren't really providing an adequate education, if you try to wait for a place in a preferred school. In the meantime you could be permanently damaging your child's life chances, unless you happen to be very very lucky. There are some kids, and some parents, who could thrive with being unexpectedly thrown into home education - it would be a big gamble.

Children are not required to be in school. They are required to be receiving an education.

As others have said, you are free to refuse the place offered, but the local education authority will not make a second offer. They will assume that you will find another way to provide education - by home educating or independent school - until such time that you get a place via the waiting list. That could take months or years.

Ofsted gradings mean very little. Use whatever other criteria you have to guide your choice but try not to be too influenced by Ofsted. I say this as someone who completed Ofsted training.

I didn't think there was a secondary school near High Barnet with that ofsted rating, very curious to know which one that would be as for instance Totteridge which historically had a bad rep is now quite sought after and people are very happy with it.

"Needs improvement" means the school will be working very hard to up its game. I wouldn't necessarily discount that school.
Do you know what areas need improvement? What does the report say? It may be areas that don't affect the children all that much, particularly if your child is a solid, middle of the road achiever.

I agree with many of the above posters that just because it is NI on paper does not mean it is a bad school. The school we chose was also NI but it had recently had a change of leadership and I had a wonderful feel about it when we went around. The subsequent rating was Good with Outstanding features. It is now a highly sought after school. It may not be the right school for your child but definitely don't dismiss it on the basis of a NI rating. Also bear in mind many schools with outstanding ratings may not have been inspected for over a decade, so you might as well ignore those reports too.

Apply for the schools you want on the first few choices and the nearest school last.

That way if they can’t allocate you higher you will have a place.

Then , unless you are willing to home educate or privately educate you accept that place and immediately go on the wait lists for every other school and you will likely get something else before sept .

BUT schools in special measures etc have money spent on them and chances are your school will pick up fast anyway.

If you don’t put your nearest school as last choice , if they can’t allocate you any of your choices due to distance etc you will get a place at the nearest available school - which maybe just as needing improvement but far away !