primary school admission - anyone ever appealed?

[lucykate]

dd is due to start school in september, we are relocating so the school application was late. she's been offered a place at our 2nd choice so are trying to decide if its worth appealing. there are :

school 1 - new house is in the catchment area for this school, according to ofsted and league tables it is the best. it was our 1st choice but is full and would be the one we would be appealing for.

school 2 - although we are not in this catchment area, it is actually closer to our new house, but out of the 3 primary schools in the village it is the lowest performer (but it does take more pupils with special needs).

school 3 - was our 3rd choice as is further away. would have to drive, not walk.

has anyone any experience on appealing?

how much attention do we actually need to pay to the league tables?

tia for any advice.

[rickman]

Is this for infants? I think having a successful appeal for infants is quite difficult, because they have to be strict on class sizes. You would have to prove that the admission criteria was not followed to be in with a chance.

You could just put your name on the mailing list and hope that someone drops out.

[lucykate]

she's 4, so yes its for reception.

according to ofsted, most of the pupils accepted at school 1, come from outside the catchment area, is this not a bit odd? i thought you had to be living within the catchment area.

[Littlefish]

If there are spaces then you don't need to live in the catchment. You can apply to any school you want, but can only be accepted if there are spaces. In Reception, Year 1 and 2, class sizes cannot exceed 30 unless the school has been named on the statement for a child with additional needs. There may be other exceptions but I just can't remember them!

[GDG]

Have the places only just been allocated? If so, it's worth just remaining on the waiting list as people will drop out between now and Sept and you could well get a place. Could you find out where you are on the waiting list?

I've never appealed but I know a few people who have and it's never been successful for reception entry as the classes cannot exceed 30. If they are full, that's it, there is nothing they can do.

[Kaz33]

We exchanged on a house in May and got put first on the waiting list for the school for reception. Two weeks before the end of the summer term we got a place!! We were lucky, maybe you will be.

Doesn't seem that you have any hope of appealing as they are not in a position to take a place away from another child and give it to you. Class spaces are strict at reception.

You don't have to start school at 4. You could keep her back and wait until a place becomes avaliable. Two children out of 60 have left since reception began last september, so there is always a chance you might get lucky that way.

[GDG]

Good point Kaz33 - 4 people have left ds1s reception class up to now - all relocations with jobs.

[mysonsmummy]

hi - just waiting for ds application for reception so on tenderhooks. just wanted to say make sure you are on the waiting list. lots of people get accepted for a school and then something comes up and they cant accept. also they may have applied for private and not want the place they have been given. the fact you are in catchment area i would have thought should have given you a place above someone who isn't but don't know how system works really. but do have friends whose children have not been accepted for a school and have moved up the waiting list really fast and got in. good luck - hope you get the one you want.

[logs]

hi just to let you know that my friend won her appeal to get her twins in to the same school. she appealed, and the school told them they were accepted due to the fact that a majority of schools need to keep x amount of space in classes free just incase of emergency places!!!ie emergency relocations of families, refugees etc etc so when that deadline passes and there are appeals going ahead the school can then allow the children a place.
now this happened to my friend and that is what the school told her.
so in other words try appealing you never know!

[Blu]

Lucykate - it could be that many pupils live outside the catchment because it is popular enough for people to have rented property nearby in order to get into the school and secure a place for a sibling, and then moved further away or back to their usual house? In a school near us, by the time younge rsiblings enter the school, the family have moved away but want to keep the places at the school. Or is there a faith criteria? Thoses schools often have a wider catchment.

Have you visited school no 2? Tables and ofsted reports really aren't everything. Is there a big difference between published performance, or does ofsted raise anything that alarms or depresses you - or is it just not quite as high performing?

We appealed - on grounds that DS needs a school with v few stairs because of the primary years he will sopend in wheelchair / leg in plaster - and FAILED! I agree with other posters - stay on the waiting list.

[Tortington]

i would ring and ask what expected class sizes are likely to be - this would sway my decision between 1 and 2.

[Clary]

lucykate this may help
We have a perhaps unusual situation at our school where the year intake is 80 so we are not supposed to go over that; BUT if we were to get an appeal from someone in that situation it would probably be allowed because with 80 in the year, the classes aren't actually over 30 (do YSWIM?).
So if I were you I would find out how many in the class - as others say, if, say, it's a case of one class of 30 intake and they have offered places to 30 pupils, then they can't do anything.
But if there's an intake of, say, 45 with mixed classes, then there may be more flexibility.

[lucykate]

thanks for all the advice everyone, i spoke to the admissions officer this morning and basically the class size is 40 and all places have been offered. however, dd is on the waiting list. there are 9 on the list, dd being the 9th, but the list is based on locality to the school. at the moment she is counted as being at our current address, which obviously makes her the furthest away, but once we have exchanged contacts, we can officially use the new address which will take her straight up to the top of the list . so all i need to do is get the solicitors to get a move on so we have something in writing.

so hopefully it will be a case of if someone drops out between now and sept, she will be offered that place.