School place withdrawn

[LittleHens]

@prh47bridge @schooladmission and other admissions experts I would be grateful for advice. My daughter received an offer at our 1st preference school on National
School Offer Day (3rd March) which we accepted later that day. Yesterday (20th March) we received an email from the LA to say that her place had been withdrawn as ‘unfortunately, the system did not pick up the out-of-borough address and calculated the school offer based on your old address we had on our system’.
Needless to say my 11 daughter is heartbroken.

We realise she would not have got a place based on the admissions criteria (we are now out-of-catchment) but for the LA to withdraw the offer after 17 days when it is their error (and not a fraudent application) is unacceptable in my mind. Can anyone offer any advice on the appeal process?
Thanks!

how can it not be fraudulent when did you move? Applications closed only a few months ago so you would have already been in the process of moving…

Did you apply with the old address and then change it or was the new address on the system all the way through the application? Have they offered an alternative?

I assume someone reported that she got in and clearly didn't meet the criteria. Were there people you know who live closer and didn't get in? If so, alarm bells must have been ringing.

@justanothercrapbedtime @NerrSnerr you didn't read the OP properly. They applied using their correct address. The LA ignored it and used their own outdated record of the family's address to make the offer. Then they realised their mistake and retracted the offer.

Precedents (a case that went to judicial review and an LGO decision in case 99C01876) suggest that they can only withdraw a place offered in error if they do so within 3 days of the offer being made. 17 days is far too long. Point this out to them. If they persist, appeal on the basis that the LA has taken too long to withdraw the offer. Provided you get a well-trained appeal panel it should be an easy win.

The very fact that the email states that the system didn't pick up the new address, shows that they were informed of the move.

This is on the LA. They didn't notice in time, so they have to honour the offer. Withdrawing the place now puts @LittleHens and her daughter at a huge disadvantage because all places have been allocated.

@LittleHens use @prh47bridge 's advice and in the first instance, write an assertive email stating the fact that they are out of time, as supported by the LGO decision. Hopefully that will head this off and you won't have to go to appeal. If it doesn't, you'll appeal on the same grounds, but you can also add an 'if the panel does not agree that the withdrawal was out of time, here are the reasons why DD needs to attend this school' section.

Thank you for the advice. Is anyone able to point me to the actual LGO decision? @prh47bridge I’m searching on the LGO search function and can’t find it. Have tried:
99C01876
99/C01876
99/C/01876
99/C/1876
Thanks

You won't find it on the LGO website any more as it is quite an old case. Don't worry about searching for it. Simply reference it.

@prh47bridge do you know if the case was after the school admission code was changed to removed the 3 day timeframe? Or was it when the 3 day timeframe was supposed to be adhered to?
thanks

If anyone does want to find it, the National Archives website might help. They have archived copies of government websites. I have found old schools adjudicator determinations there in the past.

The audacity, you fraudulently applied for a school place that you knew you should not get at you are putting the blame on others!!

Read the thread. OP applied with the correct address, LA made a mistake.

No she didn't. She put it as a preference on her form, as she is perfectly entitled to do. She used her correct address. The LA made a mistake.

The 3 day timeframe has never been in the Admissions Code. It has only ever been case law based on a judicial review and an LGO decision.

The wording of the withdrawal in the OP is clear that the LA was aware of the correct address but used an old address. They do not say that OP's application was fraudulent or deliberately misleading. OP is putting the blame where it belongs - with the LA.

@prh47bridge that is good to know - thanks for the clarification

Are these what you're looking for?

<a class="break-all" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120604221234/www.lgo.org.uk/complaint-outcomes/education/education-selected-older-cases/york-city-council-99c01876/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120604221234/www.lgo.org.uk/complaint-outcomes/education/education-selected-older-cases/york-city-council-99c01876/

<a class="break-all" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120604234104/www.lgo.org.uk/GetAsset.aspx?id=fAAxADEAOAAyAHwAfABUAHIAdQBlAHwAfAAwAHwA0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120604234104/www.lgo.org.uk/GetAsset.aspx?id=fAAxADEAOAAyAHwAfABUAHIAdQBlAHwAfAAwAHwA0

Edit: Mumsnet seems to have a problem with the format of these links. Copy from "https" to the end and paste them into your browser.

Out of interest, on what date did you submit your application, on what date did you know you were moving (exchanged contracts or signed a lease), on what date did you move and on what date did you inform the LA of the change of address?

@LadyLapsang it is all very straightforward. We moved two years ago… applied on time via our new London Borough with our current out of catchment address. However, due to the system / an administrative error the LA linked my daughter’s details to our old address with was in the school’s catchment area. Very stressful. We would have been disappointed with getting our second choice on the 3rd March but we clearly would have accepted it based on the admissions criteria and remained on the waiting list for our first choice. However, the issue I am
appealing against is the 17
days it took for the LA to realise / rectify a mistake which in my mind is unacceptable especially for an 11 year old who was looking forward to starting secondary school with her sister and friends.

I think you have an even better case if your house move was two years ago and completely unconnected to your application, other than the LA's error.

Would she not have got a place on sibling priority even though you are now out of catchment? Or are you in one of the London boroughs/is it a school where there is no sibling priority eg. A Catholic or C of E school?

So you lived in London Borough A and your younger child attended an in-LA primary, and your older child gained a place at the preferred in-LA secondary. Once both children were in school you moved house to London Borough B but kept both children in their existing schools at the original London Borough A? Did you change your home address with the both schools and in any dealings with children’s services to your new address in London Borough B (I.e. London Borough A would not have a reason to believe you still lived at your old address). You then applied for secondary school for your younger child via London Borough B for the preferred secondary where your older child is still a pupil back in your previous home LA, London Borough A?

Does this secondary not put siblings above distance?

What's the difference time wise though? It's still months before any induction days/ school.start date.

Why is any of this relevant? She submitted an application with an address, the LA used her old address. Surely that's all that matters?

So long as they put their current address on their application, none of that matters.