APPEAL for secondary school stressed

[sham80]

hi my firsT post so stressed can anyone help me as am so stressed whith the whole thing a have a child who goes primary school in heaton mersey and we been given secondary school offer for priestnall my boys extremely upset being burgled twice his not happy travelling by bus and its more convenient for him to go priestnall high so a can pick both boys up you think a got chance of appeal we going through hell at the minute

[sham80]

thanks tiggy no main reason is he to scared to travel nd needs a lot support we been dealing with it as a family but now since he found out he going different school to his friends and has to travel by bus its flared up again he wont go out to play alone or even bedtime he scared but how can i prove this to appeal am new to all this he my first born so not a familiar thing all this appeal etc a got no family a can rely on or friends we just moved manchester few years ago

[sham80]

the other school will help him flourish with support of friends and offers good sport which he loves football etc he not dealing with it all he holds all together in school then he bursts at home his sense of security gone and confidence since break ins

[sham80]

PLEASE ANY ADVICE HELPFUL AS AM VERY STRESSED

[sham80]

yes he going monday to see docter because before 3 years ago we helped him cope with breakin in he jus bout got over it and just gone christmas bang another break in now he really scared so since he found out he travelling alone things got worse for him he just brokedown a want him to be independent but its to early for him

[sham80]

any proffesionals who can give advice please do

[sham80]

a dont no what all this appeal like what they ask what shall i say a probably start crying cos not coping myself

[whyayepetal]

Hi sham - sorry you're having such a bad time. Just wanted to say that I agree with tiggy - in the light of the recent change in his behaviour and the burglary, you might be able to appeal on the grounds of emotional/medical needs. It would be helpful to your appeal if you can highlight how the school you do want would be best placed to support his emotional needs (rather than saying that the other one would not, IYSWIM). In the meantime, make sure that you are on the waiting list for the school you want. If you're not sure how to do this, your local county council will be able to tell you the procedure for your area. Bear in mind that there can be a lot of movement between now and September, and some children who have been allocated places may not take them up. If you do get to appeal, remember that you can usually take another adult with you to support you.

[sham80]

thanks whyaye and tiggy the points a put in my appeal is impractical to pick up other child and then go other end of stockport to pick elder child as he very scared so yes emotional grounds and that this school will help because i can drop him of he feels safe he got support from friends and sport so will help him was a lenghty letter a wrote but the school we appealing we not in catchment area etc

[sham80]

and anyone been to appeal panel what shal i expect am very scared and nervous

[admission]

Sham, I chair admission appeals and whilst I accept it can be a daunting situation, please believe that the panel will do everything they can to make it as easy as possible for you.
What will happen is that you will come into the room with the representative of the admission authority.The first stage is where the representative of the admission authority will try to make the case for why they cannot possibly admit your child. Please do not take anything they say personally, it is always the same kind of case they will present. You can then ask questions about their case as will the admission appeal panel. Normally the panel then make a decision whether the representative has managed to convince them that they have met the minimum level of evidence for saying that they should not admit the pupil. Then in the second stage you have the opportunity to say everything you want to say about why this particular school is the right school for your child. The panel and the representative of the admission authority can ask you questions to clarify what you have said. Then that is the end of the hearing. When everybody else has left the room the panel will decide which case was the strongest, whether to admit or whether not to admit.
That is why it is important to build a strong case of why this school is the best school for your child. Do not use the reason of two different schools to get to as your main argument, that is not an acceptable reason, you should be concentrating on your child's issues in terms of their emotional needs and why the chosen school would be the better option.
Oh if you start crying at the appeal, please do not bother about it loads of people do, it can get very emotional which is why i always have a lot of paper tissues available.

[sham80]

the main issue is not just to dfferent schools its the emotional stress and scared so its a social thing a guess for my son and he is naturally upset by it a lot lately does that not count enough that a child who scared to travel on bus because of whats happened he wont go out to play alone or go bed he to scared so the other school will help because a can drop of and pick up and his friends are there for support so he will feel safe and he enjoys sport what this school offers

[sham80]

hi can anyone help how far in miles or distance u have to be to be in catchment

[Blu]

Sham80, your poor son, he does sound very fragile at the moment.
I am glad you are seeing the GP, I think you need to press for urgent support for him, maybe for counseling . And ask if he can be referred to CAMHS (mental health support). The thing is that often these services are under pressure and waiting lists can be long.

Your GP should be able to write a letter about his fear and lack of confidence , but it would be good to get a specialist view too. I wonder if his primary school could help refer him to an EdPsych or something ? Can you talk to the SENCO at his primary , on Monday, too?

[sham80]

thanks tiggytabe will look it up

[sham80]

blu thanks will do a didnt wan go down this route but he just so upset at the fact he have to travel and he shy low confidence boy took him 3 years to get over it was just bout playing out etc but now he gone back in his shell breaks my heart

[sham80]

hi can someone tell me what this mean a found it online will it help my appeal a found last few years year 7 intake and for the school we appealing it says PAN 255 AND ALLOCATED 261 THATS 2013 RECORD AND AND SO ON AND GOT A 2011 WITH SIMILAR PAN AND ALLOCATED WHAT YOU THINK

[sham80]

hi tiggy what i found and printed it out is whole list of schools and the 1 am appealing for it says PAN 255 AND ALLOCATED 261 SO YES WHAT YOU THINK

[prh47bridge]

Normally a PAN is divisible by 30 because there are normally 30 children per class

For primary schools I would agree but this is much less common for secondary schools. Average class sizes in the first few years of secondary school are around 25. Having classes below 30 is therefore less helpful to an appeal than it would be for a primary school case.

The fact they have gone over PAN previously helps. You also need to find out how many pupils they currently have in total and the calculated capacity range for the school.

[sham80]

prh its for secondary the stuff a found a printed it and the school am appealing normaly keep 255 children so it shows they allocated more will it be useful at appeal