1st choice of state when no statement

[happyfrogger]

We are starting to research both state and independent schools for DD
(21m) and DS (4m) in Surrey.

DD has a moderate hearing loss in both ears since birth. We have
fantastic NHS & LEA support with a speech therapist and teacher of the
deaf. She tracks well as per her hearing peers and at this point there
is no evident delay to her speech & language. She wears hearing aids.

She may or may not get a Statement. Furthermore, statements are in
flux and may be structured differently in a couple of years.

My question is whether anyone with a school aged child who has a
similar sensory loss and hasn't got a statement because they are
considered to be 'coping well enough' can tell me there experience
with getting into preferred state schools. Does it make any difference
at all? (she gets DLA). We would want to make a case for a school
with all the usual proven results (ie the hugely popular ones) but
also in her case smaller class sizes, low ceilings, well soundproofed
rooms all make a dramatic difference. Are we further up the priority
list if we are not in catchment?

Our teacher of the deaf can't give me any information so in just
trying to get a feel for anecdotal experiences at this point. This
influences out choice of state vs independent and consequently where
we move to!

TIA.

Hi Happyfrogger, I know quite a lot about admissions from an appeals point of view (I sit on the panels), so hopefully between that and the SEN point of view, you'll get a useful answer, because it's quite complicated.

Ok. So, your DD, if she gets a statement (EHCP by then), will be taken out of the admissions process, in that she is guaranteed a place at the school named by the LA in her statement. So far so good.

If she doesn't have a statement (EHCP) by then, she will be subject to the normal admissions process. Each school at a minimum, must give highest priority for Looked after Children/Previously looked after Children.

Other than that, no school (LA) has to have a particular set of criteria. That means that they are free to take into consideration Social/medical issues, but equally free not to.

If they do take them into account, then the Admissions Code says:

"Social and medical need
1.16 If admission authorities decide to use social and medical need as an oversubscription criterion, they must set out in their arrangements how they will define this need and give clear details about what supporting evidence will be required (e.g. a letter from a doctor or social worker) and then make consistent decisions based on the evidence provided."

The bar is set very high for most LAs who use social/medical criteria. The letter accepted normally has to say that this particular school is the only school that is suitable for MiniHappyfrogger because of x, y, z. The alternative is to have a letter which says 'MiniHappyfrogger must attend a school within 3 minutes walking distance, which has x, y, z facility', where the only school that has that facility in that distance is the one you want.

Anything vague or wishy washy, such as 'Happyfrogger tells me that her DD would be best placed at x school and would be much more reassured if she was there' or 'Happyfrogger feels.....' will be thrown out. It has to be the opinion of the professional that is stated, not a report of your opinion.

Also, in general, a GP letter won't carry much weight - they get hundreds. It would need to be a Consultant, named social worker, etc.

Thanks, Lougle! Will schools (or LAs) publish their admissions criteria? It would be great to know in advance if they prioritise in such a way. I'm confident if we could identify a school that had great acoustics that our TODS, speech therapist and consultant could help us document a strong and specific case as you suggest here - they have been fantastic in this regard with out nursery.

I guess our next task is to understand facilities (in terms of acoustics mainly) in these schools. I'm hoping they will be supportive of visits at this early stage as it does influence where we move to - quite a big deal for us!

Yes. If the admissions authority doesn't want to change the admissions criteria, then the current criteria stand - so those are the ones that are available right now.

If the admissions authority wants to vary their criteria, they must consult on the changes for at least 8 weeks and the consultation must be finished by 1st March in the year prior to the year they want the changes to take place. In other words, if they want to make changes of the admissions criteria for September 2015, they must have started consulting by 4th January 2014. So if the changes have not already been consulted on and they aren't currently being consulted on, then you can be confident that there wouldn't be changes before September 2016, which is when you're DD will be starting school.

With regard to acoustics, be aware that many, many primary schools use a 'free flow' arrangement for reception. So, for instance, DD3's reception class is 26 children, but they free flow with the other reception class, so practically, throughout the day, they are a group of 50 children.

Surrey currently have a social/medical criterion which is second priority for community school admissions- here.

Looking at the website, they seem to be consulting on proposed changes for Sept 2015 admissions, but none of the proposed changes will affect the social/medical criterion as far as I can tell.

If you can produce evidence from (a) professional(s) stating, in their opinion, why your child needs a particular school (not stating what is wrong with other schools IYSWIM), then it seems as if you would have a good chance of your DD's application being considered under this criterion. Unless thirty Looked After or previously Looked After Children apply for one class, this means that, if you satisfy the requirements, your DD should get a place at your chosen school.

It is worth contacting Surrey to clarify that the social/medical criterion will continue to operate in the same way for September 2015 admissions.

Sorry to repeat any of your points, lougle.

Never worry about repeating useful information, tethersend!