Our education officer Cherry Hughes gives a short guide to school admissions in England when your child has a stammer.

Applying for school places can take time and effort and as a parent, you want to get it right.

The admissions process usually starts from September of the year before admission. The admissions authority for a school may be the local authority or the governing body of the school. However the admissions arrangements are set by law to ensure fairness.

Parents usually choose three preferred schools on the application form. An additional form is often required by church schools about religious observance. When there is a place available in a chosen school it must be offered to parents. However, it is important to express a preference on the form because if there are more applications than places available, preferences will be taken into account.

Admissions criteria

These are used if a school is oversubscribed. When your child stammers it's very important to find out what admissions criteria schools use before you choose which schools to apply to, so that you can see if they match your child's situation. Details of admissions criteria, along with figures showing the number of applications received the previous year, are listed in school prospectuses. This information is also available in the 'Information for Parents' booklet produced by your local authority. Some common admissions criteria are:

social and medical need. This criterion may be helpful for a child who stammers and provides an opportunity for you to provide information about the effects of stammering on your child and your reasons for choosing a particular school. If your child has been placed on 'School Action' or 'School Action Plus' at nursery or primary school, there is clear evidence that the stammer has been acknowledged as causing difficulties;

your child has a brother or sister who will be at the school when they start there;

for religious or faith schools, your child or family is of the particular religion or faith served by the school;

for secondary schools, your child attends a linked primary school.

If your child is in line for more than one of your chosen schools, you will be offered a place at the school you ranked highest on the application. If none of your chosen schools can offer your child a place because other applicants met the criteria more closely, your local authority will offer you a place at another school.

Complex needs

If your child stammers and has other complex needs you must talk to your local authority and your child's doctor about what sort of school would be best. In some cases the local authority will need to assess your child's educational needs. If they decide your child needs specialist help, they will make an assessment and may write a Statement of Special Educational Needs, naming a school. This means that a state school that is named must give your child a place.

Completing your application form

Once you have decided which schools are right for your child, you need to get an application pack from the local authority. Complete the application form in the pack or submit your application online. There is always a section for reasons for your choice of school, and for stating whether the child is on the SEN register. If your child stammers and you believe that the stammer does affect learning then s/he should be on this register at 'School Action' or, if he is receiving therapy, 'School Action Plus'.

If you wish to say on the application that the school you prefer is particularly appropriate for the support it can give your child who stammers, then it is helpful to have already established that your child's speech needs have been supported by the SEN Code of Practice through 'School Action' or 'School Action Plus'. Also, the BSA can provide information about the effects of stammering on children to support your application. Your child's speech and language therapist may be prepared to supply personal details of your child's needs as well. However, this is not permitted by all therapy services as sometimes the service does not want to appear to be supporting one local school over another.

Appeals

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your application, you have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel.

If you wish to discuss your child's admission, Cherry can be contacted on tel 01606 77374 or ch@stammering.org

From the Autumn 2008 issue of 'Speaking Out', page 11

See also: School appeals - how to appeal in England if an admission application is refused.