Please or to access all these features

Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Secondary appeal

30 replies

bushra83 · 03/03/2018 08:09

Hi I am looking for some advice please in regards to school appeals my daughter got her third preference and I am looking to plead for the first preference I am looking for any advice u csn give in regards to how to win a appeal I have a young child who suffers from hyperinslinism and is tube fed and needs constant monitoring and one of the things I was going to use in my appeal was that because I have no family where I live I have no body to reply on and I will be in great difficult trying to get my daughter to school along with my younger children to primary school I know they will prob tell me that my daughter can get the bus into school i can get medical evidence and supporting letters from my baby consultants nurses etc to confirm his medical conditions I am looking for any advice anyone can give me pls hope this msg makes sense

OP posts:
jaimelannistersgoldenhand · 03/03/2018 09:22

Is your #2 choice easier to get to? You can appeal for more than one school. Make sure that you are in waiting lists too.

If you are concerned about your child travelling, there is plenty of time before September to practice.

BertrandRussell · 03/03/2018 08:40

Does the child going to secondary school have medical needs too, or just the younger one?

prh47bridge · 03/03/2018 08:39

As superram says, the appeal panel will be sympathetic about your young child but it is very unlikely this argument will win your appeal unless there is evidence that your daughter is unable to get herself to and from school. They are indeed likely to take the view that your daughter can get the bus.

You need to concentrate on why this is the right school for your daughter. To disagree with superram slightly, it doesn't have to be the only school that meets her needs. You have to show that it meets her needs better than the school you have been offered. So you need to build your case around things this school offers that are missing from the allocated school and which you can show would be particularly beneficial for your daughter. For example, if your daughter is musically gifted and this school has lots of extra-curricular musical activities but the offered school doesn't, that is worth raising in your appeal.

PanelChair · 03/03/2018 08:38

Does your local authority have a medical/social category for admissions? Where they do - and some don't - different local authorities seem to vary in how much weight they're willing to give to the medical/social needs of parents and siblings, rather than the child who's applying for the place.

If you want to appeal, you will need to demonstrate why this school is the best one for your child. The panel may well think that your older child can walk or get the bus to school - most do at that age and it's unusual for parents to take Y7 children to school unless it's in a rural area with no transport, etc. Look for other things - curriculum, pastoral care, whatever - that make this the best school for your child.

superram · 03/03/2018 08:19

You need to appeal on why School 1 can be the only school that meets your eldest daughters needs. At secondary age she will be expected to travel alone, so the health issues of sibling are irrelevant.