whether to accept school given by LEA

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kentmum2

whether to accept school given by LEA

Post by kentmum2 »

Hi
Wonder if anyone knows what would happen if we didn't accept the school we have been given?
The school in question was not one of our three choices, we are appealing to selective schools and one local comp but we have been given a truly awful school. We have been told we should accept or we may be given a school miles from our home. Would an appeal panel know if we didn't have a school to go to and can we go on refusing until we get a school that we feel is suitable?
Thank you
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Post by Sally-Anne »

Reading between the lines, I think you're hoping that not having a school to go to will increase your chances at Appeal, whereas you feel your chances may diminish if you have accepted the school you don't want?

I don't think either of those are true, but you do risk being given another horribly unsuitable school that is also incredibly inconvenient for you!

I don't think the Appeal panel will have any idea whether you have accepted a place at the unsuitable school. Your Appeals are for the schools you want, not against the one you have been offered.

I am not an expert on Kent, but unless anyone posts to the contrary, I would advise you to accept the school you have been offered "for fear of getting something worse". There is also a new thread on Home Schooling that has just started on "Everything Else" - a possibility?

I really hope that one of your Appeals comes up trumps though. Keep us in touch with how you get on.

Best wishes
Sally-Anne
kentmum2

thank you for advice

Post by kentmum2 »

Thank you for your advice, it is really appreciated in this difficult time. It is such a shame that there seem to be quite a few people like us, the wait still going on!
Hopefully one of our appeals will come off but we feel forced into sending our son to the school given by the LEA even though we know it is not right for him. How can this be fair?
Thanks for your kind support, it's good to have your feedback!
Kentmum2
Alex
Posts: 1097
Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2006 10:10 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Post by Alex »

It is possible to appeal against a school that has been offered. It is not often done as it is implicit in appealing FOR a school that was applied for but has not been offered. Also it presupposes that something better might be available if it succeeds - not always the case!

If you have not already done so you should ask the LA for a list of schools which have available places to see if any might be more suitable or acceptable. If you are near the border for another LA you should also ask their admissions departments for this information. If there is anything better available you can apply for it. This usually means submitting a new form which must also still have the schools for which you wish to appeal listed, but check with your admissions department for the correct procedure for your area.

The fact that you have accepted the school offered should not damage your appeals for the schools at which you did not get a place. If the question arises at the appeal you simply explain that you had to accept for fear of being left with no place at all.

You can get very good advice on oversubscription appeals from ACE (The Advisory Centre for Education) - their advice line number is on their website (not sure if it is permited to put telephone numbers on here).
kentmum2

thanks alex

Post by kentmum2 »

Thank you for advice I will phone LA to find out if any other schools have spaces.
Kentmum2
guest10

kentmum

Post by guest10 »

hi kentmum where abouts in kent are you what school did you get. we are in exactly the same position as you , offered a terrible comp not even listed and am having to appeal for grammer and both other comps listed on the form, i am too worrid whether to accept the place given as it seems like defeat , or whether to take a chance and decline it. but i phoned the lea and they said like you they could give me a school really far away if i lose my appeals and dont take the place offered. sounds like scaremongering to me , but you can never be sure
kentmum2

school given by LEA

Post by kentmum2 »

Hi Guest10
We are in Herne Bay and the school we have been given is in Whitstable, not sure whether I should say the name for legal reasons but you can probably guess.
Kentmum2
diz

Awful school

Post by diz »

Hi Kent Mum

We have just moved to whitstable and are also appealing for a grammar school place and the other school we have been offered is the local school you are talking about. As newcomers we went by the ofsted report and a quick visit to the school - but have heard some worrying things since - could you say a little more about why you think it's such a bad school? as we are starting to be worried.
Guest

Post by Guest »

Can you not appeal against a school? A mother I know does not want her daughter to attend the school allocated her, on account of her son having been set on fire by another child in same school. The girl refuses to go.
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Post by Sally-Anne »

You can really only appeal for a different school. In this instance the transfer appeal would be on the grounds of bullying.

There is a story here in Bucks about a mother who appealed for a different school on the grounds of bullying, had her appeal rejected and pestered the living daylights oout of Admissions - to the extent of physically staking out the Admissions office, and eventually got the transfer she wanted.

I'm not recommending it as an approach, but with what seems to be such a strong case (presuming the school will back it up) it is worth trying every avenue to get the child moved.

Sally-Anne
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