Without going into too much detail I have taken custody of my 8 year old son and pending a decision from the courts it will be made legally binding. Now my situation has become worse by needing to remove him from his school in Birmingham due to a child protection issue (again not going into too much detail). I have followed the correct procedures and applied to schools in Sandwell as I reside there.
I have waited the '15 working days' for a decision to be made at which point they have told me there are no spaces in year 4 in the whole of Sandwell. Despite our sensitive situation and the fact that he is currently out of school (something I thought parents get told off for) the council workers repeatedly told me there is nothing more they can do and I would have to try other local authorities such as Walsall or Birmingham despite not being a resident.
Now for they best part of the conversation, as if they were not being helpful enough already her next suggestion was priceless...
"If you have a problem with this then you should contact your MP"
Really that is what my tax is paying you for?? Not to help a family in need out but to pass the buck?😤
Sure enough I have spoke to Tom Watson's staff who could not understand why on earth they would be suggesting that.
After phoning many schools across Walsall and Birmingham and hearing the words "sorry we're full" (now I know how Mary and Joseph felt) I am at a loss, what am I suppose to do my son is out of school no one is helping me and I have bills to pay so I cannot afford to take that much time off.
Out of frustration and anger I vented on Social Media as you do these days. Now I'm not sure if many if you have complained via Twitter but it's got me a free £10 voucher from pizza hut 😀 and a cheeky dig from Dominos pizza so always worth a go.
It took the council a matter of minutes to respond (can't say you would be the same turn around if you complained via email), they asked me to direct mail them and I went on to explain the details. At which point they told me they would investigate the matter.
A couple of hours later and surprise surprise they may have found a school place after all and I would be receiving a phone call. To their word I got a call and now we are waiting for confirmation on Friday that this place is ours 😆
The sceptic in me and my lack of faith in public sector workers (I'm sure your not all that bad) I'm not getting my hopes up but we are in a better position then we were at 1:30 this afternoon.
All this has made me question how people are treated by companies/public services. If I had used the usual channels and followed what they suggested then I would still be waiting for a letter in the post. But because I have put my issue in the public domain it suddenly becomes a priority?! So companies/public services say they treat everyone fairly up until you make your issue public where their usual policies fall out the window and all of sudden they can resolve the matter with a couple of hours and not the 5-10 working days they advise over the phone.
Another question raised from this was the current state of our schools. Everyone I have spoken to have told me one way or another that year 4 across the country is full, so either in 2006/07 there was something in the water or our country is filling up?
Now we have just had the European In/Out vote, I didn't actually vote as I did not trust either side. One thing I did not really get from either side was the impact migration has on education in our country. If you look at the 2011 census it tells us that 5% of white residents in Sandwell were born in the EU and 7.5% of non-white residents were born outside the EU. Both a significant rise on the last census.
I'm not blaming this for the situation I find myself in however it cannot have helped. I believe in having a free world and the right to live where you wish but if your country is at breaking point then surely something has to be done. I know the Corybn militia will be screaming at me that it's not but if all schools at year 4 are full then what's their definition of full?
As for Teresa May she is hardly helping the situation. Perhaps instead of spending her time trying to bring back selective grammar schools, she should sort out the mess that is our full overloading public schools. But then again that would mean a Tory helping out the working class and we all know that doesn't happen.
If i had the opportunity to vote again I would listen closer to what either vote would have on school places.
All in all what conclusions do I have from all this. Take time to decide who your populate with, never transfer schools and always complain via the social domain.🙋
*****Blog Update 15/09*****
I have since phoned the school and they have offered Adam a school place. Ain't that just champion 😂😂
So it goes to show never doubt the power/fear of social media👍🏻
No comments:
Post a Comment