So, we are off to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. We have been told that this process will take six to twelve months. We hope, that as Alfie is not in school it may be possible to expedite matters. We will see.
The Ombudsman can decide that the Education Authority’s decision or the Appeal Panel’s decision should be set aside. Unfortunately, the outcome of this process is not a foregone conclusion. We have first to persuade the Ombudsman that there were sufficient issues with the decision making and the process in Alfie’s case that the current position should be set aside.
If we persuade the Ombudsman, the Education Authority do not have to take any notice of the decision. Given that the Education Authority have already declined the opportunity to re-run the appeal based on new evidence, this is a real worry.
And finally, if Alfie is successful in obtaining another appeal, there is still the new appeal panel to persuade.
As you can see, we are still some way from a solution.
Background
Alfie was a year 6 pupil refused a place at his catchment high school on the grounds of capacity. He has lived in catchment all his life. Alfie is the only child out of his sixty classmates at primary school to be turned away from the catchment high school. He is the only child out of 291 in catchment applications to the school to be refused a space. He is the only child in the entire Local Education Authority area to be declined a space at their catchment high school.
We say that it is clearly damaging for an 11-year-old to be singled out for rejection in this way. Alfie has a parent recently diagnosed with cancer which exacerbates the problem. The Education Authority have offered an alternative school that is on the opposite side of the city which further exacerbates the problem by imposing long travel times across the city at rush hour. This will hamper the formation of new relationships and compromise Alfie’s existing relationships by curtailing at least some of his after-school activities.
As the only child in the LEA area excluded in this way, Alfie’s situation is unique, and he clearly suffers prejudice as result of being singled out for exclusion.
The original decision to refuse Alfie a space was appealed but the appeal failed by a majority of 2:1.
We believe that the decisions by both the LEA and Appeal Panel were flawed. A significant number of procedural issues are also coming to light, every one of which prejudices Alfie.