Fighting A School Placement Request Refusal in W.L.

toomanykids

Sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong place, please feel free to move it. I am fighting to get my daughter into the same school as her brother and wonder if anyone knows how the system works. We are part way through the appeals system, at the point where an Appeals Committee meeting has been arranged which my hubby has stated he will attend. They sent over the paperwork today with regard to their reason for refusing, including maps of our area and figures regarding the local children etc.

Does anyone have any experience of this or any and I mean any advice? It would be gratefully appreciated. I have tried the local CAB but they just emailed a copy of the steps taken right at the start of a placement request and we are a wee bit down the road from that stage, but they couldn't help any more.

TIA

ailuro2

At our school it seems if Mum works at a local nursery the kid will get a place, if granny or grandad live in the school area, the kid will get a place, if you lived in the area 5 years ago, then the kid will get a place, which means that even though we live two doors away from the school DD goes to, there are no kids from her school in our streets, or in 'playing' distance.:rolleyes:

My pet hate - sorry I can't be of more help. Why can't people just go to the local school, and when they move house their kids can go to the new school?

Good Luck with your appeal - I bet if there were more regular checks on whether or not kids qualified for a place instead of just for primary oner, there'd be a lot less pressure on the local school you want to go to.;)

I think different councils have different rules, which makes it harder too - have a good read of the council's website, and use their search function - our council posts minutes of most of their meetings, you can glean a lot of info that way.

bubblegumcola

I'm sorry I don't have experience of this but agree its very unfair. I hear of parents who put down grandparents addresses to get them into school and I don't know how they get away with it when you are suppose to supply proof of residency, etc. Also kids whose parents move away should admit to the school they have moved out of the catchment area, I know this happened where we live, and the kids stayed at the school when they should have gone to another one elsewhere. There should be more checks made. You hear of parents even renting a property in the catchment area so they have the utility bills to prove residence so they get into the school. If your child already has a sibling at the school I'm sure our local authority gives you priority. The process should be clearly shown on the website of your local council as ours is. You should also have information regarding the placing request procedure from the school when you registered in the first place. If its a popular school that may be your problem, just simply not enough space to squeeze all the kids in.
Good luck, don't give up.

toomanykids

Thank you both for your advice and support, it really is much appreciated :T:T

ailuro2

bubblegumcola wrote: »

If your child already has a sibling at the school I'm sure our local authority gives you priority.

iirc that has been stopped in our school, of course I'd give priority to kids whose brothers and sisters are already at school, but if the children are living outwith the catchment area and the child has not been moved, then sorry, but bite the bullet and move schools.

If the older child hasn't been moved, for example if it's their last year, then there's no reason for the youngest child to go to the same school apart from hand-me-down uniforms, but round here the uniforms have changed in the past few years, so that doesn't really come into play either.

If everyone would play fair there would be enough room in schools to allow siblings to attend the same school and not make the school run the nightmare it will be for the O.P.

bubblegumcola

ailuro2, I agree with your point. My council, as far as I know, still allow you priority if other siblings attend but I think there are other factors which would put you higher up the list to enable you to have the placing request fulfilled.I don't know what would put you higher up the list. There were cases in my council area publicised in the local press where siblings were at a school but for whatever reason they obviously were not in the catchment area and they still expected their other kids to get into the same school. They were complaining that their cousins went to the school so they should be at the same school also.
(Bit extreme if you ask me.)

the_rottweiler

I went through the appeals process a few years ago, though it may have changed a bit since.
Ds1 went to an infant school, (no juniors) so required a junior place, was refused place in school 100 yards away and given place 2 miles away. I appealed this on the basis that I would have a 6 yo in the infant school and was not prepared to dump him in the playground to hang around on his own while i walked ds1 to the other school.
I also went to see my MP who sent a letter to the appeals panel
I won on the basis of family inconvenience
Good luck to anyone going through this, its nervewracking, but the panel are nice and not intimidating at all

danlojo

Hi

I've just gone through the Appeals procedure in England with a CofE Aided school.:mad:

I cannot get my third child into the same school her sister and brother are currently attending because the admissions policy is:

1.Catchment
2.Regular Church goer (which I did not know of)
3.Sibling link

11 parents (not in catchment nor with any other siblings at the school) have got their children infront of my child and gained places
Therefore forcing me to have my daughter start school 8 miles away from her siblings at a school where she will know - no one !:mad:

I am not saying that these parents used this admission criteria to their advantage:mad: but it does seem odd.

To say I am a tad annoyed would be a major understatement:mad:

My child is top of the waiting list and a place came up last week but another parent in catchment got that place because she FORGOT to apply.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.................

donna-j_2

ailuro2 wrote: »

. Why can't people just go to the local school, and when they move house their kids can go to the new school?

Because the problem with this is that, in places like Edinburgh, you could move one street over and then have to go through the upheaval of moving your children to another school. That's bonkers too and not at all in the interests of the children involved.

We may end up renting in our desired catchment for a year or so (for reasons other than school), and then if we buy a few streets up the road becuase it's affordable I won't be rushing to move my son to a different primary, which would also be further away

ETA: round here has been 're-zoned' so families who have one child in a school because of the old catchment areas would have to move the child, even though they are still in the same house. Madness. It would help if planners thought about these things before allowing hundreds of houses to be built too.

stormbreaker

ailuro2 wrote: »

when they move house their kids can go to the new school?

This is a big part of the problem though....people move on purpose so to be in a school catchment area.

Personally I don't think there should be a choice. Your child should attend the local catchment area.

If you move through the school year then the child remains at the school for the remainder of the year then moves in the next.

There are problems in all schools.

If the council decide to re-zone, children should remain in the same school and their younger siblings allowed to follow suit.

I think the re-zoneing in Edinburgh came about because of the problems with people moving specifically to be in a catchment area.

donna-j_2

stormbreaker wrote: »

I think the re-zoneing in Edinburgh came about because of the problems with people moving specifically to be in a catchment area.

And probably something to do with the huge number of new family houses built in Cramond. I feel sorry for the people in Barnton Park who were in the Cramond Primary catchment and now aren't.