Did Not Get A Date In May Appeals

[Elif]

Hi, I have found this forum to be invaluable and first of all I would like to thank to everyone who give their time to help us with their knowledge.
In the appeal form that we have received it stated that to qualify for the May appeals papers have to be submitted before a certain date. I have given them few days before this date and they stamped a receipt for me.
We have waited for a long time for an appeal date and I have found out that most of the other families had their appeals and got their results in May.
Now I have received a letter,it tells us that our appeal is going to be at the end of June. I thought that in the appeals code it says that all the appeals for the same school should be seen at the same period and the panel should only decide after all the appealants have been heard.
What do you think was the reason for us to be left to the end and was it fair because I am worried that if any appeals already accepted there will be so little chance for us to win it for an oversubscription criteria.
And I am not sure the panel is the same one but I will try to find out.
I will appreciate your replies.
Thank you

[admission]

The first thing to say is that there is no official cut off date for admission appeals, you can appeal anytime. The second thing is that the legal requirement for admission appeals for a secondary school place is that the appeal is held by the 6th July. So the question is whether the appeals for your school have actually been held or not. If not then there is nothing lost.

However your post seems to suggest that you know that appeals for the school have taken place. It is not unusual for there to be a "main" set of appeals and then subsequently for further appeals for the same school to come in. In that circumstance the panel would make decisions after the "main" appeals have been held. If possible the same panel will hear subsequent appeals but that is not always possible.

However you seem to have been left out of the main appeals even though your appeal request was in on time. So you certainly need to ask the question as to why you were not allowed to appeal at the same time. Whether you have been disadvantaged will depend entirely on what happened at the other appeals. If there were quite a few admissions then you may have been disadvantaged by not being considered with the others, if we assume that you have a strong case. If there were no admissions or very few then you have not been disadvantaged.

Some parents think it is a definite advantage to be late, as it means that it will only be you on appeal and you are more likely to be admitted as a single appealant. Personally i do not agree with that idea.

[prh47bridge]

The admission authority is required to hold all the on time appeals at the same time as far as possible. The same panel should hear all the appeals and none of the appeals should be decided until all have been heard. Even late appeals should be included unless it is impractical to do so.

It sounds like your LA hasn't followed the rules. If your appeal fails you should refer the matter to the LGO and suggest you have been disadvantaged by the LA's failure to follow the rules.

[Elif]

Thank you prh47bridge,
You have been already a big help to me during these past months with your knowledge and always there to answer everyone as I have seen with other parent's posts.
Do you think it is a good idea to raise this matter during the appeal or should I leave it until after the decision.?
Also in the papers that we have received there is a general letter from the headteacher of the school stating that the students' placement at the school may also result in union action as her receiving a place would mean that staff will be required to teach classes of over 30 students and this is not acceptable to a number of teaching unions and may result in advice being sought and possible action being taken. This is for a secondary school which has been refurbished last year for a ... million £ss.
When I read that I felt really upset.Maybe I am being unreasonable but it felt threatening. Do you think it was appropriate for the headteacher to add this?
Thank you.

[admission]

That is outragous that the head is including that. Who runs the school the head or the unions! It is simply a form of bribery to the panel not to admit.

Also it is simply just not a valid arguement. Most secondary schools run with various teaching groups and in many cases they will have smaller teaching groups for those students who are struggling and bigger (34-35) for those who are academically brighter. Of course every teacher wants a smaller group but that is not reality.

As a matter of principle I would send that to the LGO, no matter the outcome of any appeal.

Is this an Academy school by any chance?

[Elif]

No, this is one of the top schools in the borough and community secondary school.I have to go through an appeal but I feel like there is no way to win after reading what it says in the letter.
I have two appeals coming and today I have confirmed with one of the other parents who had their appeals weeks before me that for one of the schools I am going to face a panel different than what they had. Do you think this is fair?
Also how can I find out if any children have already won their appeals before us?

Thank you

[prh47bridge]

I agree with Admission about the head's statement.

The LA is supposed to use the same panel for all appeals for a particular school if possible. Again, this may be something to raise with the LGO.

The LA can tell you if any children have already won their appeals. They won't be able to give you details of their cases but they should be able to give you the number.