DD has no school place and I don’t know what to do

[Stokefolk]

Exactly that.

Dd is 12 and we have recently moved to a new area. due to go into year 8. Applied for schools in the area as a transfer, back in June.

none of the schools we wanted had space. We have been assigned a school 3 miles but 45minutes in public transport away. This school was assigned to us at the beginning of July.

we have accepted this space. We have also lodged an appeal for the school we would prefer and that is being heard mid-October. We are on the waiting list for another school but are number 35

schools here are heavily over subscribed.

The school we have been assigned won’t take us! They keep making us wait as they haven’t put dd in the system. Admissions can’t help, and say it is up to the school if we attend or not.

what can we do please?

By law, the local council has to offer your child a place. You need to contact them urgently.

The school you’ve been offered a place at are refusing to admit her? How? How long has she been waiting to start at this school? This seems very odd unless they too are oversubscribed.

Can the MP help perhaps?

Contact child law advice:
childlawadvice.org.uk/clas/contact-child-law-advice/

I know that they have a duty to provide a place. The problem is that the council they they’ve provided a place (central admissions) and the school say ‘we are getting to it’

but nothing is being done.

i will contact childlawadvice thank you

she was offered the place by the admissions team on July 3rd. The school didn’t open until September 2nd but we were told to wait. They don’t answer calls or emails, and even when I go there they schedule meetings for a week in advance and then cancel them. If I call asking about my child they say ‘she’s not on our system’ and tell me to leave a message for someone who can help. But noone returns my calls.

This is bizarre from the school.
have you tried going and asking to see the head and not leaving until you do?
are the part of a trust? You could go through them as well perhaps

Wow I would definitely be contacting MP about this to get this escalated!

You need to be back to the local council and be very assertive.

Child has been given a place at school X.
School X still hasn’t taken child despite being 2 weeks into the term.
Child is been denied schooling.

You have to be much more vocal than you have been.

And YY about the MP too!

My point stands. You need to contact the council, tell the school has refused admission and it is still their legal duty to provide a place. Do not give up until they have sorted it out between them.

Admissions can’t help, and say it is up to the school if we attend or not.

This is incorrect. If the school has vacancies (and I assume they do, since the local authority placed your daughter there) they are required to offer a place to any applicant. The school are non- compliant with the School Admissions Code, and the local authority are expected to follow up on this.

Here is a link to the code: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60ebfeb08fa8f50c76838685/School_admissions_code_2021.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiwr--srsCIAxWzU0EAHfJGIxEQFnoECAcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw35ffkC9zFqhUS6YxTIWzrL

And here is the relevant extract from the in-year admissions section:

2.28 With the exception of designated grammar schools, all maintained schools,
and academies, including schools designated with a religious character, that have places available must offer a place to every child who has applied for one, without condition or the use of any oversubscription criteria, unless admitting the child would prejudice the efficient provision of education or use of resources. For example, admission authorities must not refuse to admit a child solely because:
a) they have applied later than other applicants;
b) they are not of the faith of the school in the case of a school designated with a religious character;
c) they have followed a different curriculum at their previous school; or
d) information has not been received from their previous school.

I would contact the LA and insist until someone takes this up for you. A complaint, or contact on your behalf from your MP or Councillor, may help you move things along.

Good luck, OP. I can imagine the anxiety of having a year 8 child without a school.

I would turn up at the school on Monday morning with my letter/email confirming the place and ask to speak to the Head - and sit in the reception until someone came to speak to me!

Yes, this.
What a ridiculous situation.

@Stokefolk you said they offered the place July 3rd. When did you accept it?

I'd go back to the council. Include a timeline listing the date the place was offered, when you accepted, and each attempt to contact the school (date, method of contact, who responded and how).

Madness.

Statutory duty rests with your home local authority: if the offered school are messing around, back to the LA with your evidence.

tell them you need a place your child can attend from next week otherwise you will follow their complaints procedure and then complain to the LGO. Remind them they have a power to either direct a school to admit your child, or in the case of an academy, ask the Secretary of State to do so. Ask them when they will trigger the fair access protocol. Do NOT under any circumstances indicate you are willing to electively home educate.

Thank you all

i have been to the school. Phone calls and emails are never returned. I therefore visit regularly and this is when I am told to come back another date. I am not a pushover. I am firm and unyielding, but ultimately I cannot force them to take my child into their classes, and DD would be mortified if I made her be the forceful one.

The admissions team tell me that they sent the details of my dd to the school on July 3rd. However I did not get a letter rejecting my first three choices of school, and allocating this one until the end of July, when it was too late to do anything about it. I accepted the place on 2nd September when they opened.

i am so grateful for the law. I’ve been quoting the education act to the admissions team but they won’t help, and not will they tell me how to escalate. It’s all so frustrating.

i have now written a letter to the school, copying in the lead governor as I cannot find an email for the head herself, I have also copied this email to my MP.

from the bottom of mine and dd’s hearts, thank you. I’ve not been knowing who to turn to.

I am so sorry I wrote this on Friday thinking it was posted, but obviously I didn’t. I have been very persistent today. Dd starts school this week! Thanks so much for all of your help, having the correct information really helped me be forceful.

That’s great, op.

That's brilliant - well done for your persistence, and I hope your DD is very happy there.

Hurray!

That's great your dd can finally start school.
But makes. Complete mockery of the latest attendance rules.

Well done!

Yay I was hoping for a positive result. Well done and hope DD enjoys her first day!