Please keep sharing the petition if you can, we’re nearly at 100,000 supporters.  You are Alfie’s voice and you are being heard.

There was no child in catchment, whose application was on time, who did not get to their local comprehensive in any of the 9 senior schools that Newport City Council administer - except Alfie. 

We learned this from the partial response to our Freedom of Information Request received this week.

We also discovered this week, that Newport City Council did in fact have the discretion to admit Alfie in the first place.  We found that paragraph 3.5 of the Schools Admissions Code 2013 specifically says that the local authority can exercise discretion.  Newport City Council did not have to single Alfie out for exclusion.  As it turns out, room was found for another 4 pupils from out of catchment whose appeals were granted.

Newport City Council Have Not Complied with Our Subject Access Request.

This will come as no surprise to anyone.

On the 09.11.21 we made a Freedom of Information request seeking certain information and a Subject Access Request seeking copies of relevant documents.  The freedom of information request should be complied with within 20 working days and the Subject Access Request within one month.

The Freedom of Information Request was 2 days late.  The Subject Access Request is two days late and counting.

Newport City Council declined to tell us anything about two out of catchment admissions that we had been told about that appear to have links to Newport City Council.  It’s very important to say that they could be legitimate, or we could be misinformed.  They may have got in on appeal or moved out of catchment once they had a place.  Obviously, the local authority won’t discuss individual’s private business, but there should be some form of oversight for issues like this.  Perhaps Alfie’s MP or the Ombudsman could investigate this.

The local authority also declined to tell us the grounds on which four on time but out of catchment applicants were admitted on appeal.

No other updates this week.

Background

Alfie was the only in catchment year 6 pupil, out of 291, to be declined a place at his local comprehensive.  The local authority proposed to taxi him right across the city every day to a distant school. He was first on the waiting list, but since then he has been pushed back around a dozen times by late applicants or out of catchment children who have been given places ahead of him.

 Alfie appealed but lost his appeal 2:1. A frankly shocking list of issues with the appeal have come to light, but the local education authority is refusing to accept any of these issues are a problem.

 More here https://chng.it/WtL2jZMV

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Thank you to every one of Alfie’s 98,000 supporters for giving Alfie a voice.  We will get this done.