Secondary School places allocated today [sad]

A lot of solicitors provide the first hour of advice free

Gillybob's DGD has fallen through the cracks in the system simply because her parents moved house and there was no room at the feeder primary for her.

They will have to realise that this is a child and her future they are dealing with, not a statistic.

gilly - if you were to go down the solicitor route, you would really have to be very very sure that s/he was experienced in this area of law. You'd need a personal recommendation IMO. You haven't said if you've been on MN yet - I agree with others about how amazingly valuable this would be. Honestly, the threads there about appeals are brilliant and as others have said there are incredibly kind MNers who are legally qualified and willingly give help and guidance. I really do know how awful all this is - it was heartbreaking having my sister and DN crying on the phone and the impact on my dgn. S o grab all the help and support you can from people who are willing to give it and know what they are talking about. I also wouldn't go anywhere near a GP with this - as J said, it could make you dgd feel worse snd it also labels her which isn't necessarily helpful and can be the reverse. It's all just awful but try not to get too distracted by the unfairness ( and yes it is) of the feeder school system. God knows why they are allowed. My dgn was at a school that had been a feeder school when he started and then suddenly wasn't and no one knew why. Save your energy for focussing on what might help - facts, evidence, why the preferred school would be right for her ( apart from the journey issues as well of course). Good luck

Hi Gilly so sorry this has happened again. I know it is not any comfort but the crazy system is a direct result of

"A legal ruling in 1989, known as the 'Greenwich Judgement' (yes - Greenwich parents went to the Law Courts to gain legal access to Bexley schools and it became legally binding for the whole country!) , established the right of parents to apply to any school they want regardless of local authority boundaries and be treated on equal terms with the 'locals'"

It is not the LA rules it is a central government law that the LA have to uphold. You know the appeals system, it is the same for secondary.
Golden rules are
not to slag off the school offered or the kids who go to it.
Talk only of the educational / health reasons why your DGD needs to attend local school and how it will not disadvantage kids who are allocated a place there.

It is a crazy system and does disadvantage children who move house into an area where local schools fill up on siblings etc. Make sure DGD is registered on the waiting list ( I am sure she is)

I am not a member of mumsnet . Do I need to be a member to post? and Frightened.

Tbh I think we all the help we can get.

Still looking at ways to raise some money to go legal. I will take a loan out if I have to.

Yes Jalima she has fallen through the cracks of a system that really doesn't give a stuff.

You join just like joining GN - a few seconds and any nickname you want of course -WorriedSickGran springs to mind here. You could then start a new thread on the Secondary Education board or put Secondary Education into search and the relevant threads will come up.

www.schoolappeals.com/first.html

Have you looked at this?

www.beechampeacock.co.uk/education-law/

Is this anywhere near you? You could always ring and get a rough quote for starters.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/2868475-Catchment-priority-admissions-areas-and-feeder-schools-legality-and-justification?pg=2

As a former teacher whose own son went through a tortuous and labyrinthine appeals process, only securing a place at a decent school a week into his first term and after he had started at the school we did not want, I can offer some advice.

The above poster who advised to change primary places for your second child so they can automatically attend the feeder secondary school attached to it is on to something. However, that won't work for the one you are writing about now.

What you can do, though, is get the older child's name on the waiting list for the school you want and keep it there. You would be amazed at how quickly these lists move. You can be at number one hundred and then be offered a place quite soon, mid term.

The reason is that once children are settled the parents do not want to move them. They listen to the children's pleas to stay put with their new friends.

Also, some people move away and others go down the private school route.

You need to be resolved and not to worry about a mid term move. At a good school this can be overcome by the end of the school year and anyway there are years to go before the GCSEs start.

Good luck and keep at it! Don't let the LEA think you are going to give up. When my son was given the 'wrong school' I phoned the schools' allocation officer and was charming and polite but kept asking when a place would be free at my desired school for my son. At the first term's week's end she said, 'Well, if you got in now with an application he might be in.' My husband took the day off work and the special letter for late application was on the doorstep when they opened up shop!

I've just heard that my niece's daughter has been offered her 5th choice, which is also out of borough. Both her and my DGD had the same 1st choice but my DGD got her 2nd choice. The other girl's offer is my DGD's nearest school. The system seems bad.

I'd certainly agree with that Lilyflower and recommended this last week. I'm hoping this was done pronto before too many others did the same and the waiting list grew.

It is a total myth that there is a 'choice' for parents. Parents may state preferences (usually just 3) It does not help when all schools have slightly different criteria and whilst most schools' admissions are administered by the LA they have to abide by each schools admission criteria. It must be a nightmare to do.
I really think that the sibling link ought not to be a criterion for high schools and it should be on distance alone (unless there is a specific SEND unit). I know of too many parents who have rented for 6 months/year to get a kid into a school then moved back to their original address miles away. Subsequent siblings get in and more local kids are travelling silly distance. No laws, other than moral ones, are broken

Update. Sorry for boring everyone to tears.

Parents received a letter at the weekend from the Attendance Monitoring Officer stating that the children had been late for school on several occasions and that "continued lateness may result in parents receiving a fine or facing legal action in a magistrates court"

To say I am hopping mad is the understatement of the year and I have telephoned the attendance officer and given her a piece of my mind! I asked her if she could suggest any way to guarantee the children got to school on time every day when most days they have 2 bus journeys! Grrrrrrr I want to scream !

That seems grossly unfair!

I used to have to get 2 buses to get to school. But so did 5 others.
The school were more than aware of our predicament, and sympathised, not hand out stroppy letters!

Nowadays, if that sort of thing happened, I ask people to put things in writing if they have a complaint! That way, their unreasonableness is plain for all to see[especially if I were to hand around said letter!].

Oh, FGS!!


It could be a good idea to get the Attendance Officer on your side - could you phone her again and tell her how upset you are about the threats of court, how distressing all this is, because it is not the children's fault and not the parents' fault that they are late - it is because they have to go to a school miles away catching two buses.

She could be an ally in your fight to get your DGD in the school near her home.
Are the other DGC on the waiting list for the primary school near their home?

DS and DIL wanted to move house recently, a nice house at a reasonable price and larger than the one they live in - however, they decided not to because it is not in the catchment area of the comprehensive the DGC would go to.

This being despite the fact that it is much, much nearer to the school than their present house.
There is no guarantee that they would get into that school from where they are either, as they change catchment areas if and when they feel like it.
The constantly changing catchment areas resulted in me having DC at three different schools many years ago.
The whole system is crazy.

I did start off using the nicey nicey approach with the attendance officer but she really got to me saying things like "I do not take circumstances into consideration" "they should leave the house sooner" "get a taxi" how can you reason with someone like that? I explained that the first bus the children use is a very rural bus and it has travelled quite a fair distance before they get on it meaning that it is often late which means they miss the connection for the second bus which means they are late for school. What the hell else can anyone do? I truly despair.

Yes indeed Jalima the whole system is CRAZY !

I am writing to the attendance officer today Ankers to reiterate our telephone conversation as I want it to be on record. Thank you

And point out that they would not be late for school if they could walk to the schools near their home!
on your behalf.

yes, log everything, times, dates, who you spoke to, conversations

[[https://www.gov.uk/free-school-transport]
This states that:
If there’s no safe walking route, they must be given free transport, however far from school they live. Contact your local council if you think that the walk to school isn’t safe.

So the distance rules do not apply if the route is not safe.

sorry,
www.gov.uk/free-school-transport

I would think that a route with no pavements, along a rural road would not be considered safe.

I'd have been livid at that letter gilly - like rubbing salt into the wound.

However, it's an ill wind, etc .... this could assist your appeal supporting your claim that the local senior school is more suitable for DGD.