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?!

@RayOfRainbow I am not au fait with the english system. what year do they usually go up to a, what is it, sixth form college??

End of yr11.

@RayOfRainbow - Where the LAs aren't coming back to you, check you have followed the Fair Access Protocol and if you have and they still haven't replied, look up the name and email address of the director for education and DCS (Director of children services).

Forward your previous emails with the Subject line marked Urgent to the admissions team, CME team and the director for education, copy in the DCS. Attach all relevant documentation again relating to your son (attendance and behaviour records, mocks etc)

Outline what you have done, as per their FAP and that they are now breaking their own protocol - say that you are giving them three working days to respond otherwise you will raise a formal complaint.

If you don't get a response by Friday morning, look up the complaints procedure for the LA and forward the email trail to the complaints team. Also look up who the Lead Member is for education in the LA and copy them in.

If none of that works then raise a complaint with the LGO https://www.lgo.org.uk/

Similar process for the academies - check you've followed their admissions procedures, forward email as Urgent and copy in the Head Teacher and CEO of the academy trust quoting the relevant bits of their admissions policy (including PAN numbers for any saying they are oversubscribed) and attach documents.

Again, if you don't get a suitable reply within three working days, escalate as per the schools complaints procedure and copy in the chair of governors. If the school does not follow its own complaints procedure, or does not allow it to be completed, you can escalate to the DfE

Are you sure no option to repeat year 11? I do know of state school kids who have repeated

That’s awful. In Wales (no academies) we have to take anyone who applies as long as there’s space (there always is). Good luck.

Some local authorities won't be processing September admissions until the school holidays or the last couple of weeks of this school term. Look at each academies website admissions process - some will manage their own admissions some will give you a link to the LA's admissions portal.

Email your mp assuming you are in the uk, they are good at sorting out things like this, they got my dd a place within 48 hours if my email despite being told no no no!

Is your child currently in school or home educated? If your child is not in school, I thought schools with space had to offer a place.

Would you be able to tell us the area you're looking in? One of us may be able to help.

That is awful, LEA should be directing to admit. Should be catchment if they have places. It’s not easy but I’m a secondary teacher and we just have to make the best of it, potentially taking 8 rather than 9 GCSEs to allow time to catch up on different syllabus or subjects. I’ve heard of schools actively blocking, but never worked anywhere that did, really poor.

Sad all round. Looking at social history, parents campaigned for the right to send their children to schools of their choice and eventually won that right.

The problem years down the line is too many applicants for one school, not enough for another, and sometimes meant a school closed.

Secondary schools were often merged together because they could then employ subject teachers and give a wider choice of subjects.

It is now a mess, with parents unable to get places for their children in the nearest school, and spending a lot of money on travel to schools further away.

Children can suffer if the other children in their neighbourhood go to different schools, and at weekends and holidays can have less friends.

No one wants a year 11 child so I think have to use the FAP and speak to someone at the LA. I think I would appeal at each school that isnt full. I would also be looking at what exam board esp for
subject like English and history (maths and science very similar across all boards).

Go to appeal. Call your County's admissions team tomorrow and lodge an appeal for your nearest school.

Obviously he should have a school place as he needs one, but as you say, schools would rather not make him their 'problem', as it were, and encourage you to try elsewhere.

The thing is, you say he's a good kid and doing well with decent grades, but it will be a headache for him and his teachers to fill in gaps, find something to do when what he knows is being covered and generally make it all match up with limited time to do this. I'm saying this as a teacher, and would do what I could to help him (while wishing it didn't take more of its fair share of top of pupils I've taught in year 10), but I still think his results would be affected?

Is there any chance he can stay where he is until July? I did this going in to year 11 (my sisters going into 9 and 7 moved with parents and I stayed with a family friend near my old school) and though it was odd, it was easier than travelling significantly from the new house to a new school that still only would allow me to complete 6 of the GCSEs I'd started!

This. It’s absolutely disgusting they would stonewall you like this.

There is an option in exceptional circumstances, such as where a child has missed more than half of a school year due to circumstances beyond their control.

That's a list of massive breaches of the Admissions Code 2021 - which Academies are also bound by.

Get in touch with the local authority director in charge of admissions/Fair Access Panel and provide evidence of each illegal request and response.

It's how some of our more robust MATs were encouraged to stop breaking the Law and demanding information about SEND, family income, parental behaviour, academic ability, personal references, ethnicity and first language and everything else they did to avoid having those pesky children in need of a school place taking one of theirs.

Could I check a few things? Is your child attending school now, or did you remove him last month? Have you moved home so his current / previous school is beyond reasonable travelling distance? @MarchingFrogs provides good advice. If your child is out of school and you submitted formal applications 3.5 weeks ago, then you should be contacting your new home LA with details of all the schools to which you have applied.

Contact your local councillor, or local MP. Your education authority has an obligation to find you a place, and are failing in their responsibility. You could always contact the ombudsman: https://www.lgo.org.uk/make-a-complaint/fact-sheets/education

There is - you have the right to request it, but they don't have to agree.

And apart from my earlier stuff about the LA, I'd suggest contacting the Chair of Governors (as you'll always find a contact for them on the website by Law) to advise them that the school/s are breaching the Admissions Code.

Only kids who have been at the school in y10 and y11 are counted in headlines figures, which for the next couple of years won't exist anyway as no y6 sats.

@RayOfRainbow they absolutely can retake Y10. My DC did and just finished GCSEs.

My friend's dd repeated y11. The school really pushed for her to do her gcses at the end of year 11 (state school) but she'd had a lot of time off school in hospital and had a kidney transplant in year 10.

Have you appealed to the school governing body? Do you know who the school governors are?

Some are elected to serve the voters, whether you voted for them or not. Others are appointed by the Education Authority, also composed of people elected to serve the people.

They do have clout.