A Nottinghamshire man has voiced his frustration as his 11-year-old step daughter was allocated a secondary school place two hours away from her home. Mike Chinery, of Ruddington, said the family was informed of the decision on Wednesday, March 1, while most other families were celebrating getting their first or second choices.
The family had listed West Bridgford High School and Rushcliffe Spencer as their top two preferences due to their close proximity to the school and the schools' good reputations. However, they were "frustrated" to find out that instead their daughter had been given a place at Hall Park Academy, which was 15 miles away in Eastwood.
Mike said: "At the moment she hasn't got a school place and we won't know now until next month. I'm being told by all the schools that every school is full up."
He explained that the family submitted the application on time, and that "The first choice was for Rushcliffe Spencer, the second choice was West Bridgford High and the third choice was meant to be for Southwold's that was in Keyworth, but for some reason that was deleted off. They put in Eastwood instead and I've been told that this was because all the other schools are full and that was the closest school that had a place."
"It may well be that there was a mistake in putting that school instead of perhaps East Leake, but now it's a fight to get her in anywhere. I can't send her to Eastwood as it just wouldn't be safe, she would have to travel on two buses through the city centre and she's an 11-year-old girl, extremely vulnerable, you would never know if she would come home or not."
Mike added: "I would be scared to send her. The other thing is if I have to drive her how do I take the other kids to school, and the cost of that.
"The other thing you have to consider is her mental health. All of her friends have either gone to West Bridgford or Rushcliffe Spencer, and maybe one or two to East Leake, but she at the moment has nowhere to go and she's going to lose touch with all her friends.
"Kids are delicate, they love their friends and if all their friends are gone what do they do." Describing the current situation, Mike said that he has been on the phone constantly trying to find a school with a place available, but due to different schools having different processes it's a "difficult" process.
He said: "It's phone call after phone call after phone call, I'm having to do new applications to all the schools to get her on waiting lists for all the schools but even then there's no guarantee that she will get a place. If that's the case, what do I do then, do I home school?"
Mike explained that his stepdaughter is "a really good student" and needs to have a good education to achieve her full potential later in life, and doesn't want the current situation to affect her future.
Nottinghamshire County Council ’s Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Councillor Tracey Taylor, said: “On secondary National Offer Day 2023, Nottinghamshire saw 89.6 per cent of families offered their first preference and 97.1 per cent offered one of their listed preferences. We do our utmost to offer a preference school.
"Whilst the admissions process has been applied correctly, we understand why there is disappointment when families do not receive an offer of a place at their preferred school. We continually advise parents to check the admission oversubscription criteria for each school they list on their application and to list four preferences.
"If just one or two schools are listed, parents significantly reduce the chances of their child being able to attend a school close to their home address. When a school receives more applications than it has places available, its oversubscription criteria is applied."
She continued: "If other applicants have a higher priority, and it is not possible to meet any preference, an alternative offer is made for the next closest school with places available. Once an offer of a place has been made, if the parent then makes an application for another school, that is processed as a late application and outcomes for late applications are expected by the end of March.
“The School Admissions Code 2021 prohibits admission authorities from guaranteeing an offer of a place at any specific school but families have the right to lodge an appeal.”
MP Ruth Edwards, who represents Ruddington, said: "Although the vast majority of children do get their first choice school, because of the popularity of some Rushcliffe schools, there are sometimes a small minority who don't and I appreciate this can be very difficult for the families involved.
"I always advise parents who contact me to use the appeals route and to contact the County Council’s admission team or their county councillor, if they are having difficulty with the admissions process. Given the significant distance involved in this particular case, I have also made sure that the County Council is aware of the situation. "
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