This is a stressful time of year for many Jewish parents. Not just because of the start of the new school year, but the thought of applying to schools for their children. Check your local authority’s website, as the application closing date for secondary school (year 7 and sixth form) is October 31 and for nursery and reception, January 31, 2121.
The first suggestion is to read carefully the admission policies for each school to which you are applying, visit the school (probably virtually this year) and ask lots of questions. This is not so obvious, as many times we have seen that parents select schools based on what their rabbi told them, what a friend told them or whether the uniform looked nice.
Admission policies for schools are not all the same and it would save a lot of heartache if parents read them carefully before applying. For example, some schools’ policies state that they will allocate places based on distance from the school, others through a lottery and some may reserve places for feeder schools. Any of these may affect your plans.
Parents may apply for several schools, but we urge you not to put down any which you do not want your child to attend just to fill in all the spaces; you may be offered one of them.
On the other hand, putting down just one school, because you feel that is the only school for your child could be a very dangerous decision, as the local authority, which co-ordinates all state school admissions, will not know this and allocate a completely inappropriate school to your child.
Let us hope that you get allocated at least your first or second choice school. But things sometimes do not work out so simply. At that point, in the summer term, you may want to appeal against the decision that your application was refused. Again, we can offer some advice. We would urge you to read the Department for Education’s School Admission Appeals Code, as there are only a limited range of reasons why an appeal is upheld.
There is a strict timetable for submitting your appeal and you should keep to it, although late appeals are accepted. Very often, parents will send a vast amount of supporting documents, videos of performing children, letters of recommendation from friends or neighbours and endorsements from community rabbis or employers. Most of these are irrelevant and cannot be accepted by the independent appeals panel.
Medical evidence is slightly different, but only if you have a letter from a doctor, on hospital or professional headed paper, stating clearly why the school for which you are appealing is the only school for your child. Writing that “our child needs a Jewish school” will not help, as it could be for any number of schools. Appeal panels have to be assured that, for medically stated reasons, this is the only one suitable. And don’t forget, some appeals do succeed.
Sadly, some parents hold a place at one school, then lodge appeals at other schools. We cannot stress how unfair this is, as there may be other parents and children agonising about the lack of places when, in fact, there are sufficient. Just imagine if you were one of them.
Finally, if all other routes have failed, we would urge you to ask the school to keep your child’s name on its waiting list indefinitely. Some schools will automatically remove names after a term or a year. If you feel that there is a chance that a place may become available and your child would transfer at that time, stay on the list.
Simon Goulden is a consultant to Pajes
