Help From Any Enfield Residents

[aarmic]

Hi,

Wanted to know if there are any parents who live in the Borough of Enfield who currently have or who have had in the past a child placed in a school that is approx 50-55 mins away from home and the LA have agreed to fund transportation to and from school.

I have a tribunal hearing soon and one of my concerns is that the LA may want to argue about the distance and the cost of transporting my child to and from school.

Having an idea of what might happen on the day would be very useful, and any information or advice given would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Do you mean that you want to place your DC in a school 55 mins away or the LA want to place DC there?

Either case, you probably need to do a FOI request to the LA with some very pointed questions.

Hi rosielou678,
Thanks for your reply. I am the one seeking the placement for my DC. As time is very limited I doubt I will get a response back from the LA on time.
Thanks

Just ring all the units / special schools that are 50-55 min away, and ask if they have (or had) any dc from your area. Simples.

Or (slightly desperate)... look in their car parks at drop-off time, you might get lucky and spot a minibus from your council's transport service

If you don't find out in time you possibably could ask them in tribunal however I have alway been advised not to ask questions you don't know the answer to. So I am not entirely sure you should take my advice. In my tribunal a panel member asked a similar question but about provisions provided to other children.

Thanks MareeeyaDoloure, your second message really made me laugh. Thanks also to cheese Toasty for your advice, will keep what you said in mind.

Transport is often a deal breaker so yes, find out whether other children are already placed there by the LA. And, brilliant idea by Mareeeya :-) :-)

You can check with your choice of school if they have children from your borough already attending.

Thanks nostoppingme. I will check with the school and hopefully they will be able to give me the information I need.

My dd is going to attend a ss in Waltham Forest and I'm sure they have children from Enfield going there

you could also call all your local taxi firms and as for a quote from you home to the school. You could then casually ask them if they won the contract from Enfield to your preferred school. You might get lucky and get a answer that confirms such a contract exists.

Most LAs have a school transport section/bod, so you could do some fishing around with them. Phone them and ask them very very innocently who won the contract from Enfield to your preferred school - again you might get an answer implying the journey already exists.

I thought there was a "rule" or protocol that a journey that is one hour or less is acceptable. I'm not sure how enforceable it is but I believe it is generally followed and accepted. Maybe the NAS would have something about it on their website. I know someone living in SW London whose child was at school in N10 and she did the journey herself in rush hour to prove that it was an hour or less (no other stop offs as she would have been travelling alone my taxi).

Actually, if it is the same school in N10 then I know there are or have been kids there from Enfield. I may be barking up the wrong tree though

All your advise and information is greatly appreciated and it has no doubt given me various avenues to explore.
Thanks

All your advice and information is greatly appreciated and it has no doubt given me various avenues to explore.
Thanks.