Poole Parent Partnership Service (PoPPs)

About us
Applying for a school place for the following September
Applying for a school place in Reception when starting school for the first time
Applying for a school place for moving up to secondary in the following September
Special Educational Needs - an explanation
Exclusion from school
How PoPPs can help you
The services PoPPs offers
PoPPs can help if you disagree with the school or Local Authority about the way your child is supported for their special educational needs
Your views can help to improve local services
Disagreement Resolution (for Special Educational Needs SEN)
Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal
Disability Discrimination Act

About Us

PoPPs Poole Parent Partnership Service is impartial and confidential.

We give information, help and support to parents and carers who live in Poole.

You can contact us if you would like help when applying for a school place:

in a reception class for the first time
or for moving up to a secondary school

We can also give information and support if you:

have a child with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
or have concerns about your child or young person being excluded from school

We are very happy to hear from you for an informal chat and to give you more details of how we may help.

Contact us in confidence to arrange a visit link will open in new window .

Applying for a school place for the following September

The normal year of entry in Poole's maintained schools is:
Reception year for First schools, Combined schools and Primary schools
Year 4 for Middle schools (except Broadstone Middle which is Year 5)
Year 8 for Secondary schools (except Corfe Hills which is Year 9)

PoPPs can help you if you are applying for a school place in reception for the first time or for moving up to secondary school.

PoPPs is not currently funded to support families applying for places to move up to Middle school or for school moves during the year. You can contact School Admissions for help with this.

Applying for a place in a school reception class for the first time in 2011

Was your child born between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007?

If so, you will need to follow a number of steps to apply for a place in a reception class.

From 1 September 2010 you can look at:

the normal year of entry information within school admissions
the Parents' Guide, containing information about the application process, and the rules used to decide how to allocate places if there are more applications than places available (over-subscription criteria)

From 1 October 2010 you can:

pick up application information from any Poole First, Combined or Primary School
ask the schools when they are holding Open Days (usually October – November), go to the Open Days and look around all the schools that may be options for your child

On 13 October 2010 you can

come along to Poole Information Day - Apply for a Place to Start School at The Lighthouse 10.00am - 8.00pm
find out how the process works, what you need to do and who can help you

For more information you can contact PoPPs, the Family Information Service or the Children's Centres.

From October to December 2010 you should:

decide on the school you would like your child to attend in September 2011
read the normal year of entry information and apply online (available from September 2010)
complete the form with your three preferences for schools and the other information required. If you do not have a computer, you can use one in a library, or if you prefer, hard copies are available from schools and PoPPs
If you are a Bournemouth or Dorset resident, you must use the application form for the Local Authority where you live, even if you are applying for places at Poole Schools (your Local Authority will liaise with Poole for you)
if you apply to a school on religious grounds, you need to ask your priest or minister to complete the supplementary information form, and post it to school admissions.

The deadline for the Borough of Poole to receive your application is 15th January 2011

If you do not get your application in on-time it will not be processed until after all the on-time applications and you may stand less chance of getting a preferred school place.
If you post your application near the deadline, you may need to provide proof of posting.

From 26 April 2011 the notification letter from the Borough will be posted to Poole residents, who applied by the clossing date, offering a place in Reception at a school.

You must return the Acceptance Form to the Borough by 10 May 2011 to say you accept the school place that has been offered.

You have the right of appeal if you are not offered the place you wanted and would prefer a place at any of the schools you placed on your application.

You should be aware that Reception classes can only have a maximum of 30 pupils by law so you cannot win an appeal unless you can show that the Borough operated the admissions process wrongly and that your child would have been offered a place at your preferred school otherwise.

Applying for a school place for moving up to secondary in the following September 2011

You will need to follow a number of steps to apply for a place.

From 1 September 2010 you can look at:

the normal year of entry information within school admissions
the Parents' Guide, containing information about the application process, and the rules used to decide how to allocate places if there are more applications than places available (over-subscription criteria)

You can contact us for information or help with your application.

On 6 October 2010 you can

come along to PoPPS Application Information Session between 7.00pm - 8.30pm at the Quay Advice Centre to find out how the process works, what you need to do and who can help.

From September to October 2010 you can

go along with your child to Open Evenings to look around all schools that may be options for you.
decide on the school you would like your child to attend in September 2011
In case you cannot have your first preference, decide on a second and third preference

You should be aware for this process, if your child is:

Year 6 at Bearwood Primary now, you can only apply through this process for a secondary school that starts in year 7.
Year 7 now, you can only apply through this process for schools that start taking children in Year 8 – this means not Corfe Hills, Bournemouth Schools or Dorset Schools.
currently in year 8, you can only apply through this process for schools that start taking children in Year 9 – like Corfe Hills and some Dorset schools.

You can then:

read the normal year of entry information and apply online (available from September 2010)
complete the form with your three preferences for schools and the other information required. If you do not have a computer, you can use one in a library, or if you prefer, hard copies are available from schools and PoPPs
If you are a Bournemouth or Dorset resident, you must use the application form for the Local Authority where you live, even if you are applying for places at Poole Schools (your Local Authority will liaise with Poole for you)
if you apply to a school on religious grounds, you need to ask your priest or minister to complete the supplementary information form, and post it to school admissions.

The deadline for the Borough of Poole to receive your application is 31st October 2010

If you do not get your application in on-time it will not be processed until after all the on-time applications and you may stand less chance of getting a preferred school place.
If you post your application near the deadline, you may need to provide proof of posting.

From 1 March 2011 the notification letter from the Borough will be posted to Poole residents, who applied by the clossing date, offering a place in a secondary school.

You must return the Acceptance Form to the Borough by 15 March 2011 to say you accept the school place that has been offered.

You have the right of appeal if would prefer a place at any of the schools you placed on your application. Contact us or the School Admissions Team for information about your options.

Special Educational Needs - an explanation

Children with special educational needs all have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age. These children may need extra or different help from that given to other children of the same age.

Children with special educational needs may need extra help due to a range of needs, such as:

thinking and understanding
physical or sensory difficulties
emotional and behavioural difficulties
difficulties with speech and language
how they relate to and behave with other people.

The law says that children do not have learning difficulties just because their first language is not English. Of course some of these children may have learning difficulties as well.

Many children will have special educational needs of some kind at some time during their education. Schools and other organisations can help most children overcome the barriers their difficulties present quickly and easily. But a few children will need extra help for longer periods or for all of their time in school.

We can give you impartial information, help and support in working with schools and the Local Authority around your child`s special educational needs (SEN). Call us for a confidential chat.

Exclusion from School

An exclusion means that a child is not allowed to attend school (or go on to school premises) for either a fixed term (from half to 45 days) or permanently. Head teachers exclude pupils in response to serious breaches of the school`s code of conduct, as published in the school`s behaviour policy.

Parents and carers need to know their rights and responsibilites concerning school exclusions. We can provide impartial information, discuss your concerns around exclusions in confidence and, in some cases, support you through appeals processes. Do call us.

How PoPPs can help you

We understand that you know your child better than anyone
We will always listen to what you have to say, and keep everything in total confidence
We can help you to understand how education processes work with regard to: special educational needs (SEN); exclusions from school; applying for school places
We provide impartial, accurate information on your rights, roles and responsibilities
We can help you to feel confident in dealing with schools, pre-schools, the Local Authority and other professionals who may be involved
If we cannot answer your query or help you ourselves, we can put you in touch with other local agencies or voluntary groups who may be able to help
PoPPs staff work together to ensure that you receive impartial help, information and support

The services that PoPPs offers

You can choose to use as much or as little of the service as you want, when you need it:

You can telephone us, use email or arrange to meet for a confidential discussion (or just to ask a few questions)

We will take the time to listen to your concerns and talk things through with you
We can provide you with accurate information and impartial advice, according to your needs
We can help you to prepare for meetings with the school, pre-school or LA and, if you wish, we can go along with you to give you support
We can help you to understand reports and letters from the school, pre-school or the Local Authority.
We can help you to write your own reports and letters (or to complete forms), as your views and knowledge of your child are very important.
We can help you to contact other agencies and voluntary groups, who may be able to help.

PoPPs can help if you disagree with the school or Local Authority about the way your child is supported for their special educational needs

We will do our best to help. Sometimes parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) are worried or unhappy with their child's progress or the way in which their child's needs are being met.

There are a number of things you can do to help:

Share all the information you have about your child with the professionals involved in his or her education
Always speak with your child's teacher as soon as you have any worries or concerns. Let your child's teacher know your views so that together you can try to solve any problems as soon as possible. You can also talk to the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo), Head of Year or Tutor. If you are still unhappy then speak to the Headteacher and the Governor with responsibility for special educational needs.
Try to attend meetings about your child - you can take someone with you if it helps. This can be a relative, friend or someone from PoPPs (call us to arrange)
Be well prepared for meetings. For example, make a list of the questions you want to ask and take along as much information as you can about your child's special educational need
Keep your own records of meetings, telephone calls, letters and reports in a folder
Ask to see the school's policy on special educational needs (SEN)
If your child has a Statement of SEN, or the Local Authority is carrying out a Statutory Assessment of your child`s needs, keep in contact with the Formal Assessment Team.
We can help and support you with any of the above, and can also put you in contact with local parents' groups or voluntary organisations

Your views can help to improve local services

The Poole Parent/Carer Special Needs Forum is run by Coping with CHAOS (a local voluntary organisation) and supported by PoPPs. You can find out more on the Forum website link will open in new window .

Disagreement Resolution (for special educational needs SEN)

Sometimes it is difficult to reach agreement. The process of disagreement resolution may help parents, schools and local authorities when there is a dispute about the kind or level of help a child is receiving for their special educational needs (SEN). It may also help when there is a disagreement about a disability discrimination matter.

An independent mediator will meet with parents and schools or local authority staff. The mediator does not take sides, but will listen and find out what has been happening. Mediators are skilled in helping to sort out disagreements and have knowledge of SEN and disability issues.

The following may help when considering disagreement resolution:

It is free
It is independent of both schools and the Local Authority
Asking for the help of a mediator is voluntary - nobody will force you to take part
It is confidential - nothing you say will be passed on
Everyone involved must want to find a way to reach an agreement

Disagreement resolution can provide an opportunity for parents and school or LA staff to meet with a third person who is not involved in the disagreement. The aim of disagreement resolution is to find a workable solution that everyone can agree with and that will last.

We can give you with more information, and tell you how to contact the Disagreement Resolution Service for special educational needs or the mediation service for disability discrimination. We can also support you in dealing with this process if you wish.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST)

SENDIST link will open in new window is part of the national tribunals organisation and it considers appeals around two main areas:

SEN - parents' appeals when they disagree with the Local Authority about certain special educational needs (SEN) matters (around statutory assessment and statements of special educational needs)
Disability Discrimination - claims about disability discrimination in education, including cases related to fixed term exclusions from school and school admissions, where these are alleged to be related to a child or young person`s disability.

You cannot appeal to SENDIST against:

the way the school is meeting your child's needs
the way the Local Authority is arranging for your child`s needs to be met as described in a statement of special educational needs

You can read more about how to appeal via the SENDIST link will open in new window website. PoPPs can also help and support you through all of this process.

The Disability Discrimination Act

If your child has a disability and you consider that they have been discriminated against in education, you may be able to challenge this under the Disability Discrimination Act.

You can make a claim about disability discrimination if:

your child is treated less favourably than someone without a disability,
and the treatment is for a reason related to the disability,
and it is not justified.

Your claim will be against the 'responsible body'. This may be the governing body of your child's school, the LA or the owner (if your child attends an independent school). The SEN and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) hears most claims for disability discrimination, though some claims are heard by other appeals panels.

If the tribunal finds that discrimination has taken place they can order the responsible body to do anything reasonable to put right the discrimination. The tribunal cannot order the payment of financial compensation.

Further information about how to make a claim for disability discrimination is available from SENDIST link will open in new window , from PoPPs or from the Local Authority.