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Admissions and Exclusions case studies

Jake

Jake was due to start primary school. However because of his difficulties with walking his mother decided that only one local school would be suitable for him. She applied for a place at this school within the time limits and asked that he be included within the group which should have places because of his health and physical difficulties. Because she did not have a letter from her doctor saying that only this school was suitable, he was not considered to have special reasons for attending the school and her application was judged solely on how far they were from the school As a result he was not given a place.

We helped lodge an appeal against this decision and during the case it became clear that even if Jake had been put in the right category he still would not have been given a place as it was below a number of other criteria, particularly religious ones as this was a church school. As a result of this children such as Jack had little chance of being given places at the schools they really needed. We argued that the order of the local authority criteria for deciding which child got a place was unfair, and did not deal properly with his disability.

The independent appeal panel agreed that the decision not to give the place that Jake needed so badly was wrong and ordered the local authority award a place at the school. Jake has since started and his mother says that the placement is working out exactly as they hoped and he is making excellent progress.

Peter

Following a family breakdown, Peter had to move schools. However he was not able to settle in a new town. His mother applied for his old school place to be given back to him as she planned to move back to the old family home but her application was turned down as there were no available places.

An appeal was lodged on her behalf and it was argued that the difficulties Peter had to cope with together the emotional effect that having to go to yet another new school would have far outweighed those that the school would have to cope with should an extra child be allowed into the school. The independent appeal panel agreed with this and ordered that a place be given to Peter at his old school. He is now attending and progressing well.

Kosi

Kosi had recently been diagnosed as being autistic and was allocated a place at a school two bus journeys from his home. His mother can see very little and is registered blind so could not help him with the bus to school and he did not have the independence skills to get there alone. His closest school and the one that his mother had applied for was a ten minute walk on main roads from their home.

We helped by lodging an appeal to the independent appeal panel putting forward all of the difficulties and the fact that Kosi’s mother could walk him to school if was given a place at the school she wanted. It was decided that Kosi’s need to attend the school was greater than the school’s difficulties in coping with an extra child so the appeal succeeded and Kosi was given a place.

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