No school placement for September - what do we do?

Transform_IT · 23 Jul 2023 at 20:02

Hi there,

Our eldest daughter has been bullied by the same group of girls for many years, and the school has failed to resolve it. As a result, we removed our daughter and her younger sister from primary school at the end of the last term (before the summer holidays)

Before doing this, we applied to another local school and had a tour by the head teacher. We were told there were places (1 in each child year group), and there should be no reasons why the girls won't get in. On Friday 21st, the council phoned us to say our younger daughter had successfully secured a place, but our eldest (who is being bullied), has been rejected due to the place being filled by an application the school weren't aware of. They informed me of the appeal process and advised me to submit another application as the people who had been offered the place haven't yet responded. However, they warned me that nothing happens over the six weeks holidays, and I won't hear anything now until the start of September and the appeal hearings arent until the end of September.

We don't want our daughter to return to the school where she was unsafe and scared to attend. What can we do during the holidays to resolve this? All schools are closed and the council don't deal with any applications or appeals during this time.

As you can imagine, this is very stressful for us. The headteacher said during our visit that if we have any issues, we can appeal, and they can take an additional child above their quota; however, the appeals are handled by three independent individuals, so I'm unsure how much power the school has. Also, it is my eldest daughter's last year at primary school, and the thought of her missing four weeks, whilst me and her mum both work full time, is extremely worrying.

Many thanks.

LACKERKNACKER · 23 Jul 2023 at 20:13

Appeal.

Do your research on the process and build the strongest possible case you can. Appeals can be successful, we went through the process with our daughter and were successful, that was 20+ years ago though. My understanding is that there is nothing after the appeal, so it’s important to get the appeal right.
very worrying times for you, good luck.

Feek · 23 Jul 2023 at 20:15

Transform_IT said:
What can we do during the holidays to resolve this? All schools are closed and the council don't deal with any applications or appeals during this time.

Probably nothing apart from get your appeal ready.

However, Roy Kent has good advice for dealing with bullies.

rangor gubbins · 23 Jul 2023 at 20:30

My advice would be to get the ball rolling ASAP regardless of the school holidays. Do you know who the school governors are? Can you get hold of any of them them and ask for any help? Draft your appeal and email it to the head of the school, then phone to let them know and ask them for advice and explain your worries at having no school for your daughter.
Hopefully they will give you some feedback on your appeal and suggest what you can do.
Submit the appeal to the council.

Sounds like you have good grounds for appeal.

rangor gubbins · 23 Jul 2023 at 20:32

P. S. We have just been through an appeal for a primary school place. We didn't have great grounds for appeal but we contacted the head and asked for advice and she told us what to focus on in our appeal.
Amazingly it worked. I was very surprised.

Goodie · 23 Jul 2023 at 20:48

Is there not an obligation to be accepted if a sibling attends the same school?

dowie · 23 Jul 2023 at 20:49

rangor gubbins said:
We didn't have great grounds for appeal but we contacted the head and asked for advice and she told us what to focus on in our appeal.

^^^ sounds like the best option tbh... ask the school or seek advice from people who know exactly what these appeals panels are looking for, what they can consider and what points are worth focusing on and then attack it that way.

This is some bureaucratic faff but it's going to boil down to some process/box-ticking exercise and you just want to maximize your chances of ticking the right boxes so that they grant a place.

Haggisman · 23 Jul 2023 at 20:51

Goodie said:
Is there not an obligation to be accepted if a sibling attends the same school?

No, it will put you way up the priority list, but there's no obligation.

I'd be tempted to write to your local MP, councillor and anyone else you can think of as well, explaining how the school have let you down after promising a place etc.. They might ignore it, but they might not, and the more people with even a little bit of clout who get involved, the better.

[FnG]magnolia · 23 Jul 2023 at 20:58

I'm not saying it's time to smash some faces but it is definitely time to start smashing some faces.

Whitewater · 23 Jul 2023 at 21:02

Boxing lessons over the summer and pursue the appeal when you can.

sprite1275 · 23 Jul 2023 at 21:06

Haggisman said:
No, it will put you way up the priority list, but there's no obligation.

I'd be tempted to write to your local MP, councillor and anyone else you can think of as well, explaining how the school have let you down after promising a place etc.. They might ignore it, but they might not, and the more people with even a little bit of clout who get involved, the better.

I would have thought the last thing you want to do is start dissing the school you want them to move to. It's the school that is not dealing with the bullying that needs the bad press.

Haggisman · 23 Jul 2023 at 21:17

sprite1275 said:
I would have thought the last thing you want to do is start dissing the school you want them to move to. It's the school that is not dealing with the bullying that needs the bad press.

It's not about "dissing" them. It's simply about making saying "no" a more inconvenient prospect than saying "yes"

Slam62 · 23 Jul 2023 at 21:19

The advice to speak to the head and governors in a quiet consultative way seems good to me.
Obviously there is no way she can go back to the other school so I’m sure she’ll be okay.

Citizens advice or some such organisation may be of help.

Good luck

Goodie · 23 Jul 2023 at 21:20

I don't suppose you have the initial confirmation that they would both have places in writing? From your post it looks to be verbal only in which case I don't envisage that will hold much at an appeal. Having it in writing and I'd imagine you'd have a pretty watertight case.

MikeTimbers · 23 Jul 2023 at 21:39

One of mine missed out on a place that was expected despite his older brother being there already (primary). We were offered a place at another primary but that meant delivering two kids to two different schools at the same time without a car!

We appealed and lost. We wrote to the local MP who put in a word with the local council and my son was reallocated after a month or so to the original school. Keep fighting!

rangor gubbins · 23 Jul 2023 at 22:19

MikeTimbers said:
We appealed and lost. We wrote to the local MP who put in a word with the local council and my son was reallocated after a month or so to the original school. Keep fighting!

Good advice. Don't give up

Raumarik · 23 Jul 2023 at 22:23

Appeal
Turn up to council meetings
Talk to your local councillor not just your MP
Speak to neighbouring councillors
Fire in multiple Freedom of information requests about school placements, education budgets, number of appeals successful v denied, school bullying etc.
Call the school every week asking for an update.

cjgardens · 24 Jul 2023 at 06:46

Haggisman said:
No, it will put you way up the priority list, but there's no obligation.

I'd be tempted to write to your local MP, councillor and anyone else you can think of as well, explaining how the school have let you down after promising a place etc.. They might ignore it, but they might not, and the more people with even a little bit of clout who get involved, the better.

Sounds like a bad idea to me.

Complain about the head teacher but then ask if he/she will let your child into the school?

Efour · 24 Jul 2023 at 08:35

You should have gone for the bullies.

It won't end.

potatolord · 24 Jul 2023 at 10:09

Don't play the waiting game. Let them know you aren't going away- polite and firm is better than angry.

FoIs need to be carefully worded, so make sure you understand what you want and request that exactly.

Investigate grounds for appeal, noting lack of action at the school. Use keywords and talk about their responsibilities. Copy in the local MP and governors at the school to the appeal.

Look at your local authority and get key names there- contact them politely and firmly, noting you are appealing and why. Local authority staff will work through the summer holidays. Director of Education or similar is a good place to start.

Good luck.