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Secondary education

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

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Original poster

Withdrawal of high school place after 11 weeks

138 replies

Mel198 · 22/05/2023 01:09

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can give me some advice at all please.

My daughter is due to start year 7 in September, she was offered her first choice place on the national offer day. Roll on 11 weeks and I recieve an email stating that her place has been withdrawn due to a change in circumstances.
At the time of the application and the offer, her sibling was attending the school. We have only recently transfered him to another local school which fits better for his needs.
We are also in the process of buying a property within a 5 minute walk to the school, I haven't sent all the proof from the estate agents and solicitors letters, but all the local authorities keep saying to me is that this isn't sufficient enough evidence and I need to be permanently residing in the property and have a council tax bill with our names on to even reasses my daughters position kn the waiting list.(she's 88 on the waiting list)
We are absolutely distraught, my daughter is extremely shy and suffers with anxiety. She is really struggling coming to terms with the decision.
I've spoken to the local authority and they aren't being helpful at all. I've explained that I've read the School admissions code and under their grounds of withdrawing a school place, none of them apply to my daughter's situation.
All of my daughters friends are going to said school and we have bought uniform. I just can't believe this.
As a gesture of goodwill(or so they say) they have agreed to hold my daughters place for 4 weeks to give us time to move into our new house. This is ridiculous as 4 weeks is never going to happen as we are in the early stages!
I have put a complaint in with the ombudsman'slast I'm not able to appeal yet.

Can anyone help me with some advice please
Thanks so much.

OP posts:

LuluBlakey1 · 22/05/2023 01:19

You do not meet admissions criteria, currently, for a place based on address.

I've never come across what happens if the sibling, who is the link to the school, leaves.

What are their criteria for withdrawal of a place?

LuluBlakey1 · 22/05/2023 01:31

Did they offer the place based on them thinking you were living at your new address when the application was made?

If they did, then they consider your application fraudulent and are entitled to withdraw the place. You must have known that- it is made very clear in admissions criteria what evidence is required of address and that every address will be checked.

Suspect you could find yourself having to look for another school unless you can supply the required evidence.

ebbednflo · 22/05/2023 06:35

@Mel198 you were presumably offered the place under a sibling criterion, which no longer applies. Did you not consider this before moving your son?

Now that there is no sibling at the school, your application is being considered on distance. Until you move, they will not be able to use your new address.

Your only hope is to:

Appeal, and perhaps the independent panel will sympathise and grant you a place, or ...
Wait till you move, and get a place through the waiting list, or ...
Move your son back (if possible), so the sibling status is reinstated.

I'm not sure which "ombudsman" you have complained to, but if it is the Admissions Adjudicator they will not be able to assist. Their job is to make sure school admissions policies are fair and reasonable, not intervene when parents (rightly or wrongly) think they have been unfairly applied. Only the Appeal system can deal with that.

It would appear that, in this case, the policy has been correctly applied, and that the offer has been correctly withdrawn. If you appeal, you would need to do a good job of convincing the panel of your daughter's need for a place.

QuintanaRoo · 22/05/2023 06:42

How recent did you withdraw your son, more or less than 11 weeks?

as things stand you currently don’t meet the admissions criteria so I suppose it’s right they withdraw it and give it to someone who does. They will have a lot of people trying to cheat the system regarding addresses so until you can prove you live at your new house they can’t make an exception for you.

Dodgeitornot · 22/05/2023 07:06

It depends on the admissions criteria. Is the sibling place based on enrollment date or application date?
If it's enrollment than you haven't a leg to stand on. You should've waited until your daughter started, to move the other child.

Original poster

Mel198 · 22/05/2023 07:08

They gave the place to me based on sibling being at the school.
I applied using my current address, I've told them that we are buying the property close to school and provided documents proving the sale process with hopes that this would help.
I didn't think they could withdraw a place so long after offering?

OP posts:

ebbednflo · 22/05/2023 07:15

I didn't think they could withdraw a place so long after offering?

@Mel198 of course they can, if you no longer meet the criteria of the offer You should have checked that before moving your son.

Local authorities never offer places on the basis of pending house moves because they have a tendency to fall through.

ebbednflo · 22/05/2023 07:18

... read your local authority's Secondary Admissions Brochure for the fine print. It will be on their website (google it).

In my area (a London borough) the LA will only accept a change of address after contracts have been exchanged.

Original poster

Mel198 · 22/05/2023 07:21

I withdrew my son and he was officially taken off roll at the school the start of May.
I didn't think for one minute this would affect my daughters place as when we made the application and when we was offered the place sibling was still on roll at the school.
Looks like I'm in the wrong then and as some have said not a leg to stand on.
There are 3 grounds on the school admissions code with they can withdraw a place, I don't see how this situation falls under those.
1 being Made in error
2 fraudulent claim
3 not responding with enough time.

The local authority say that it falls under offer being made in error

OP posts:

Growlybear83 · 22/05/2023 07:22

Yes of course they can withdraw the place. Your daughter was offered a place because she had a sibling at the school, which is a higher priority than distance. She now doesn't have a sibling there so no longer meets that criterion and as the school is clearly very oversubscribed they have withdrawn your daughter's place and will offer it to a child who does meet the admissions criteria. I think they've been quite reasonable in holding the place for a month to give you time to try to sort out a move to nearer the school. I'm afraid you've shot yourself in the foot by removing your son from the school when you did.

Dodgeitornot · 22/05/2023 07:23

OP what is the admissions criteria? Not withdrawal of place.

Dodgeitornot · 22/05/2023 07:24

Try to contact someone on here that knows about admissions, as I'm pretty sure there is a max amount of time they have to withdraw a place. I don't think the criteria they're giving you is correct, but it really depends on the wording used in the admissions criteria.

BendingSpoons · 22/05/2023 07:25

This is really tricky. They can't withdraw a place for an error after 11 weeks. However here things have changed. The admissions criteria usually says you need a sibling at the school when you apply and when you start, which you no longer have. So they have withdrawn the place. Presumably you didn't know when you applied that you would move your son, but they could argue you provided info that he would be there I Sept and now he won't be. Hopefully one of the experts can advise.

What have they done about places currently? I guess you still hold the current place for now, so haven't been offered anything else.

IhearyouClemFandango · 22/05/2023 07:25

Could your daughter attend the same school as your son, under same sibling criterion?

IhearyouClemFandango · 22/05/2023 07:26

This tends to be why having a sibling in yr 11 doesn't count, because by the time the younger child starts the older will no longer be on roll. So it is at time of starting I think, bit application.

sparklelikeadiamond · 22/05/2023 07:27

It’s usually to have a sibling on roll when the younger one is due to start. When did you start applying for the older one to move?

LolaSmiles · 22/05/2023 07:29

If her sibling isn't on roll when she starts then she probably doesn't meet the sibling criteria anymore.

Takeachance18 · 22/05/2023 07:36

We had a potential reverse of this situation, where one child had an EHCP, the other didn't and the admissions criteria for sibling, was on roll at the time of admission, so the sibling couldn't meet the sibling criteria even though had an EHCP naming the school, until the other started (then they would rapidly move up the waiting list).

PanelChair · 22/05/2023 07:41

As so often, there’s a lot of poor advice here.

The school admissions code (para 2.13) says that a school place cannot be withdrawn unless it was offered in error, the parent has not responded or the place was obtained on the basis of fraudulent or misleading information. In the last instance, the application has to be reconsidered, with a right of appeal if it’s refused.

Has the school confirmed why (in the terms of the admissions code) the place was withdrawn? It’s possible that they regard your application as misleading, if you did not disclose that your son would be leaving the school. If so, you should be offered an appeal.

Original poster

Mel198 · 22/05/2023 08:01

The reason from the withdrawing the place is a change in circumstances as her sibling is no longer on roll there.
I queried a change in circumstances wasn't an eligible ground to withdraw school place on thr school admission code, but they have said it falls under category 'made in error'

OP posts:

lavenderlou · 22/05/2023 08:07

It does seem to be unusual. I can't see how it fraudulent if you didn't have any intention of moving your son at the time of application and you applied from your current address. Have they given you the reasons in writing?

Dodgeitornot · 22/05/2023 08:07

Mel198 · 22/05/2023 08:01

Than too long has passed for them to withdraw a place. What they've done is not legal.

Original poster

Mel198 · 22/05/2023 08:13

The person u have been speaking to in admissions I find is quite rude and has an answer for everything. I have sent him snippets of screen shots from the school admissions code and also asked about thr length of time we have known about the place. All he keeps saying back to me is that they believe they have acted according and along with the school admissions code.
How can this be when the place certainly wasn't made in error. As my son was on roll then, I wouldn't have changed his school should I known this would have happened. Now I am so upset this has affected my daughters place.

OP posts:

PanelChair · 22/05/2023 08:15

The case law relating to how long the school or LEA has to withdraw a place offered in error dates from the time of the previous admissions code, but at that time it was generally held to be three days, certainly not 11 weeks.

I suggest you take this to appeal and let the panel decide whether this was an “error” in admissions code terms and whether the school acted reasonably in withdrawing the place.

Original poster

Mel198 · 22/05/2023 08:15

Dodgeitornot · 22/05/2023 08:07

Than too long has passed for them to withdraw a place. What they've done is not legal.

Show quote history

Where can I find this information as I'd like to send a screen shot via email.
Thanks

OP posts:

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