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If you do a formal Subject Access Request, in writing, they have to respond within a given timeline. Slightly different to an FOI. I did one a few years ago regarding my daughter - wrote to her school and the LEA requesting all information they held, both digitally and on paper - important to request both. It was quite illuminating to read the in- department emails! I seem to that mother who is ‘bombarding me with emails’! Bet they didn’t think I’d ever get to see that ??

Hi Donatella, I'll try and do a formal Subject Access Request tomorrow. Do you know if there is a template letter anywhere that I could use? Do you also know what the given timeline that they have to respond within is?

Thank you so much.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-do-i-make-a-subject-access-request#:~:text=%20To%20make%20a%20subject%20access%20request%20%28SAR%29%2C,the%20right%20to%20make%20a%20subject...%20More%20

Have a look here - don’t know why the link is so long. Also might be something on ICO website

Thank you so much for the link. I'll do the formal Subject Access Request tomorrow. Should I write to both the college and the LEA?

Thank you so much.

Yes, cover all options. There’ll probably be a link to follow on your LA website. I googled the name of my LA followed by SAR and it was the first thing that popped up

Thank you. I'll do it first thing tomorrow.

This is so stressful!

You are doing an amazing job!

Thank you! It's just so stressful!

Sorry - I have not read the thread thoroughly but it is my understanding that your daughter cannot volunteer at school because they have been informed that she is deemed to be a risk to others. In this case, I would consider looking at other voluntary positions where she does not have direct contact with vulnurable people/children - https://do-it.org/opportunities/search is an amazing database - maybe she can find something else she might get excited about...? She can do it only for a couple of hours per week which she could do in addition to her Princess Trust Programme...

Rosieflowerbloom, you really are doing a great job. I've worked in middle management in fe colleges for several years and my experience is that it is not that easy to expel (except see 42 day rule below). Normally you'd have to have 2-3 incidents, all documented together with witness statements and formal warnings before an expulsion took place. Given your daughters age, you should have been fully informed and included in meetings. I would check the college disciplinary policy because it is not unusual for decisions to be made without reference to it. Given the undertakings the college made toward your daughter and then failed to support her, I would suggest they had been negligent in their duty of care. Someone in the college should be responsible for formerly looked-after children. I'd want to know who it is and what they have done to support your daughter. There are serious legal responsibilities here.

Colleges are under enormous pressure for results. This is passed down the chain to middle managers. The key to results is to select the intake very carefully becuase if someone fails or drops out before the end of the course, it counts as a fail the the managers job can be on the line. College have a 42 day window from the date of enrolment. If a student drops out, or is expelled withint that 42 days they will not count against the results. After 42 days, even if a student dies, they count as a fail! Consequently college managers can be quite ruthless during that 6 week period. Any hint of potential future trouble and the get rid of the student using any argument at their disposal. They can be quite nasty - which is why I left education a while back - I'm quite ashamed of some of the things I've had to do at the last college I worked at.