Schools refusing end of year 10 entry

[RayOfRainbow]

Has anyone experienced this?

Firstly, it’s obviously not an ideal situation but it is where we unexpectedly are due to external factors that can’t change.

DS is finishing year 10 and needs to find a school. I presumed we’d just apply but it’s been weeks of no answers/ outright no/ systems blocks

He has a history and reports of good behaviour. Mocks are ok, grade 5 and 6s. No social issues, everything ever says basically he’s a nice kid. We’re teachers and I’m not so worried about the academics as we planned to intensively support the swap over end of June/ July august but now I’m more worried about not have a syllabus over the summer to work to.

Schools all have some spaces. I applied to the nearest 9 across 4 LAs. Two schools on the phone said they simply don’t admit at this stage (academies). One LA hasn’t answers any emails or applications for their schools despite chasing. One LA keeps delaying with extra forms or questions which hold it up another 15 days, they haven’t processed the appointment still. Not stuff I’ve missed, but extra-eg this form for the ballast school, a letter saying no behaviour etc…. Two schools (with spaces) said outright they have none (published PAN is about 20 more than in the year group).

I’ quite stressed so please don’t just say ‘we’ll moved are difficult at this stage- I know. The whole situation was unexpected and stressful. It’s where we are.

I managed to get an LA response from the attendance team saying a school must admit a child if they have spaces- but after saying all schools I phoned saying they don’t admit they have not replied further. It’s been weeks. I get no one wants an end of year 10 child, but ds is academically solid and a pleasant child. They just won’t even consider it and it seems very reactive

Surely there are some kids that have to move sometimes in the system?!

From my appeals work this is a common situation. They will be hoping that he goes to another school and, as you have found, use a variety of things to avoid offering a place. It may be worth lodging an appeal for your most favoured school(s) which does focus the LA/school/academy minds though can take a long time to arrange.

Schools do not like admitting into year 11. Reasons they give are differences in exam boards/syllabuses/option choices and availability of spaces in particular option subjects or in a particular set. This means significant extra work for the schools who are already stretched and focused on the students at the school. The student can impact on the outcomes for Year 11 when the school has not had the opportunity to teach them for the whole of KS4 or longer.

Funding is also lagged and there is no funding received until April (if a maintained school) or the following September (academy).

From my own experience of changing schools in year 10/11 it was an absolute bloody nightmare. If you're willing to be assigned any school at this point (advisable) can you phone the LA instead of emailing them? You really have to be a dog with a bone to sort this out; everyone makes it someone else's problem IME and emails can be ignored.

Yeah, I’m aware of factors of difficulty as a teacher but I must admit I’m shocked at the blocking.
I did speak to one academy and sent his 100% attendance/ punctuality report, his mocks, reports (top attitude marks) and outright addressed every concern I could think of. I even listed the exam boards that lined up, the syllabus differences and how we’d match up learning by September! A by email and a phone call.
The problem with appeals for the closest 4 is one LA is blanking me and one LA is refusing to process with new barriers coming up. The ones who have replied are faith schools and handle their own admissions or academies that handle their own. The faith schools say he can go on the waiting list if I do their SIP. The LA those two are in do not handle admissions past yr 7. I’m on it, but it’s such a nightmare and already a month wasted

Any school. Applied across 4 LAs with this mindset! Phones schools but you can’t phone the LA, I have though identified us to the CME team!

Is private an option?

My household income is probably the same as the fees

Have you looked at the Fair Access protocol? You probs have; but don’t they have to offer a place regardless? Thats how we got a Y8 place for my son when we moved after the local schools were full. FX you figure it out x

Are you formally applying for places - as in, completing the relevant schools' in-year application forms and submitting them (most if not all are online here, linked to from the school's website), or just enquiring about them?

You need to make a formal application and receive a formal rejection - this then triggers your right of appeal. You can appeal for as many schools as you have rejections from, simultaneously. However, this close to the end of term, it is possible that you will not receive a formal refusal by the end of term, and even if you submit your appeal straightaway, realistically, it will not be heard until into the autumn term.

Admission authorities (it sounds like all your secondaries are academies, in which case, applications are made to the individual school, rather than via a common application form?) must inform their local authority that an application has been made, and what the outcome was. So if you are applying for schools within your home LA, the admissions team will (okay, should - I have known one primary academy tell an appeal panel that they got so many applications, 'it would be far too time-consuming if we did that') be aware of these refusals and should now be helping to find a school place for you.

I was reading this for my home LA. Ours is 3 weeks out of school and we’re just tipping into it. They have not replied to my application at all so I was going to re-do it as one that meets fair access requirements.

None of our local schools are full in any year group apart from one in year 7. Our nearest has 85 vacancies across the school which are weighted towards the older year groups

I don’t think anyone wants a pupil joining in yr11. Firstly, are they studying the same syllabus in their subjects and, secondly, not everyone teaches the syllabus in the same order. I think you’d have more success if you were applying for a year 10 place but then your DS would have to redo the year.

Absolutely everything through the correct formal process. LA when relevant, their own forms when relevant. Portals etc when available show nothing but receipt

This is outrageous!

Also to note- I applied 3.5 weeks ago, not in the last few weeks of term. All state I will receive a reply in 15 days.

Also, of the 9 schools:
3 academies
2 faith
2 in home LA schools
2 in neighbouring LA maintained schools

applied to all within about 45 min of home. They certainly aren’t all one’s parents fight over, no picky choices- one LA school is a third empty in year 7! Falling rolls here

If schools make it this hard for kids with teacher parents to join in y11, what chance do those with less clued-up parents have?! It shouldn’t be this hard! Can you go to your MP?

He’s August born and actually I’d be fine with re-doing year 10. There’s no option though for that in a state school

What a nightmare, OP. What's the school situation at the moment, is he in a different school or at home?

Hopefully the CME team can help, even if it comes to them issuing an SAO - it will name a school and a start date, I believe.

This is what we were saying. We can home educate (rather not) but how many vulnerable kids are impacted? With send, made homeless or evicted, have non-English speaking parents. It’s such a different world to year R or year 7 applications, no standards forms or deadlines. Not even the same portal to use.

We had to move at the same point in our daughter’s education, again uncontrollable external factors.
We found a place for her in a local, independent school. Can you manage that for the year?

If they are a state school and have places, I didn't think they had the choice?

I guess if there’s more than one local school, they each want to make it easier for the kid to go to a ‘competitor’. Immoral.

Are you sure? I had a Y11 pupil join my Y10 this year, so effectively redoing Y10 in a state school.

I guess I could try on academy forms. The LA portals expressly block this. It’s so LA dependent how it all works. In my last LA I had a child forced to go year 5 to year 7 being put back in the ‘correct’ year group

My understanding is that it is possible, though unusual. Have you talked to your local council about that?

Just to say that you seem really clued up on this OP and I really hope that you get sorted.

If somebody like yourself is finding it so difficult, I dread to think how others would get on, what a terrible system.