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Original poster

Secondary school appeal help!

33 replies

Stressedoutmum11 · 21/04/2022 09:37

Hi all, I would be extremely grateful for some guidance on how to counter the claims made by the school for stage 1 and 2 of the appeal.

Abut of background on my child, he is in a feeder school but doesn't Live in catchment. He suffers with anxiety and going to chosen school will greatly help with this. Ever since he’s found out he didn’t get a place on offer day it’s affects his sleep and day to day performance.

summary from the schools case is
high performing school with an excellent reputation. As such, we are heavily over-subscribed and have already admitted more students than our school site can accommodate, in order to respond to this popularity and local demographics. To admit more students will only serve to place an intolerable strain on the school, physically as well as financially, which would severely prejudice the quality of education we can provide for the students already admitted. Ultimately, this only serves to undermine the school’s reputation and will lead to our eventual demise.
Furthermore, to admit additional students into any year group is likely to bring about a serious health, safety concern, particularly within design and technology.

images are attached with other points.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as dad works away most of the week and I am a full time student in another city. Also have 2 other children who are in school and the logistics of the school offered which is in the opposite direction would mean children are late getting to school on a daily basis.

thank you.

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Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 19/05/2022 09:17

I did ask but the school did not give me this information. Thanks all.

school did mention that the fair access protocol is used for pupils not having a school
place but I’m unsure how to go about this. Seems like I have no options left.

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hayh · 17/05/2022 20:05

I assume you don’t know this, but did anyone else get in on appeal.
sorry to hear that. 😥

PanelChair · 17/05/2022 19:11

I’m sorry to hear that. I asdume the panel concluded that, although your case was strong, the school’s case was stronger.

Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 17/05/2022 18:24

Thank you for all your input. Received the news that my appeal was rejected and we cannot appeal again until June 2023, feeling very upset as the panel mentioned I have a strong appeal and written a very good letter as well as proving sufficient evidence.

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LunaAndHerMoonDragons · 22/04/2022 11:16

On the PAN it might be worth seeing how that's tracked over time. If they've coped with a bigger number of students at his year level then they've currently admitted their might be some argument to say that they can actually cope with that.

PanelChair · 22/04/2022 08:34

I agree with PatriciaHolm and prh47bridge. The school’s case is so far over the top that I think many panels would be sceptical about some of the claims. Clearly, though, the school has got into the bizarre situation of having a published admissions number and then an actual admissions number that’s far higher, so pupil numbers across the school are high.

Often on MN, we suggest that one strand of the appeal should be chipping away at the school’s case for not admitting. That’s tricky here, where the school is admitting so far above PAN, but you could question why the school or the LEA has not revised the PAN to match what actually happens.

I think you need to focus much more on positive reasons why your child needs to attend this school, with supporting evidence from healthcare professionals. A sad consequence of the pandemic is that many children have had a very difficult two years, and many are experiencing anxiety. The school/LEA are likely to argue that all secondary schools are prepared for this and will support children as they settle in, so you need to demonstrate why your child needs a place at this particular school.

RedskyThisNight · 22/04/2022 07:51

I have further seen that the school offered has had incidents of children being followed and knife problems, is it fair to mention this in the appeal?

I don't see that this would serve any useful purpose. Any school these days can, sadly, potentially have incidents of children being followed and knife problems. And presumably ones that you are aware of have been dealt with - which is better than the ones that no one is aware of that are not being dealt with!

EdwinaSharma · 22/04/2022 07:47

. I have further seen that the school offered has had incidents of children being followed and knife problems, is it fair to mention this in the appeal?

No, you mustn’t say that.

You are appealing for the school you want. Not saying the other school isn’t good enough for your child, just for other people’s children. Nobody wants their dc going to a school with ‘knife incidents.’

Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 22/04/2022 00:06

My son has siblings at the junior school and not at the secondary school as sibling link would
Place him at Higher ranking however this is not the case. I do agree that people would use such circumstances however I do have professional documentation to prove this, just not sure how much weight all this will hold at stage 2.

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Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 22/04/2022 00:02

That fair access protocol seems like a good topic to mention as it does indicate spaces are reserved. The figures for capacity and building are current and upto date. I am surprised myself at how much over they have gone for capacity and have produced this information for appeal as it’s seems like I’m fighting a losing battle.

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Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 21/04/2022 23:59

Thank you for your post, I know that the kids do adjust it’s us parents who have a harder time. The school does not offer boxing however with the timings of the school and the closer distance is just over a mile he will be able to attend his extra curricular actives instead of that time being spent in commuting. I have further seen that the school offered has had incidents of children being followed and knife problems, is it fair to mention this in the appeal? Any advice would be great fully received.

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Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 21/04/2022 23:55

That’s a good point I need to find out if any support will be offered for the distance. Thankfully I do have professional documentation regarding the anxiety, thank you.

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KenaSpirit · 21/04/2022 20:05

Sounds like your DS has been through a tough time. My DS is similar - his anxiety was also triggered by the sudden unexpected death of a young family member. He gets public transport to his school which is ten miles away (it’s only about a 30 minute journey though as most of it is 60mph country roads). He was extremely anxious about getting the bus alone but now feels it’s helped to increase his confidence.

Could the boxing be used as reason for your preferred school? Does the school you’ve been allocated offer boxing?

prh47bridge · 21/04/2022 17:23

The school's case is definitely over-egged. Suggesting the school might end up closing if it admits an additional pupil is way over the top. The whole thing is so obviously over the top with talk of criminal prosecutions that I would hope an appeal panel would simply disregard a lot of it.

I would pick up on the reference to the Fair Access Protocol as this hints at them keeping places free in case they have to admit pupils via the FAP. This is not allowed. If they can admit pupils via the FAP, they can admit pupils now.

It would be interesting to see what the net capacity assessment actually says. Is it up to date, based on their current buildings? Have they set their net capacity at the bottom of the calculated range? And, if they can't cope, why have they gone so far over net capacity?

titchy · 21/04/2022 16:09

As the allocated school is 8 miles away as others have said the LA will make provision for free home to school transport. Find out what form that will take. A taxi door to door, or a bus pass? If the latter then what will the journey length be - if it's more than say 1.5 hrs you need to include that in your appeal, or ask that the Fair Access protocol is applied for your ds as that length journey is unreasonable.

GrannyBloomers · 21/04/2022 15:52

I should imagine that the vast majority of children who have not been allocated their choice school where their friends are attending will all have anxiety. Some of these children will have also been through tragic events and have difficult backgrounds, family circumstances or SEN.
I don't want to diminish your son's needs but I think it's worth being aware that others appealing may be using SEN or other extenuating circumstances as part of their appeal. Then how is the decision made if there is a queue of candidates with good reason to be at that particular school.
Am I right in thinking your son has siblings at the school - does that not place him higher up the priority list or have I missed something (apologies the copied text is hard for me to read.)

LIZS · 21/04/2022 14:17

You would need to present some professional documentation to support the anxiety and why the preferred school specifically is able to address it. Presumably within the Feeder school category , distance is a tiebreaker. At 8 miles are the LA offering transport?

Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 21/04/2022 13:46

im glad it worked out for you in the end, that’s all I want and it’s ideal hearing it from you’re child hes happy. I also worry about my other two children facing the same issue as they would be in the same situation once they’re ready for secondary school.

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Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 21/04/2022 13:44

I can see your point and it does the seem the obvious however he is familiar with that school having attended many sporting events linked to the school and has friends from boxing that already attend there. We went there on the open day too. When we moved into the area around 3 years ago he struggled with the school change and does adapt better in familiar surroundings.

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Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 21/04/2022 13:39

it really is a very stressful experience, I’ve checked with the school as well as reading the literature, out of 6 scenarios our is at number 5 with most precedence given to catchment as opposed to feeder school.

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Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 21/04/2022 13:37

After re reading my post I can see it seems as if the anxiety is surrounding not getting a school place. This isn’t the case he has been suffering with anxiety and his mental health after the horrific death of a young family member who he was very close to 3 years ago. Ever since he has not been the same, not getting a place into the school has further added to the problem that was already there. He is a keen boxer taking part nationally in skills bouts however not getting the school place has tipped him over the edge and he is now demotivated, not eating & sleeping properly and I’ve had to reach out for extra help.

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Original poster
Stressedoutmum11 · 21/04/2022 13:33

The school he has been offered is 8 miles away, he has never travelled on his own and having researched on the other school offered there’s a clear acknowledgment of pupils facing issues while travelling on buses.

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PatriciaHolm · 21/04/2022 13:31

The key is that you need to show that the detriment to your child of not attending this school is greater than the detriment to the school of taking another pupil.

Whilst the school's case is over-egged a bit I think, it would seem that they are genuinely overcrowded and significantly over PAN. I'm not sure how they have got to the stage of taking so many over PAN each year, I would imagine it started with requests from the LA and has continued if pressure in places locally is strong. However, they would appear to have significantly more pupils than their net capacity suggests they should, and unless something comes out on the day, it looks as if they do have a strong case. You could ask about whether they have any children in wheelchairs, and if they have had any reportable accidents.

So you would need a strong specific case for your son to attend this specific school; documented evidence about his anxiety, for example, and very clearly (ideally in the of a medical expert) why this school is the one to meet those needs. General issues around going up with friends, etc, are not going to be enough. Many children have anxiety about going to secondary, and all schools would be expected to be able to deal with that.

Issues around transport aren't relevant - he would normally be expected to be able to make his own way to secondary.

MalbecandToast · 21/04/2022 12:42

Is the school you have been offered more than 3 miles away so will be offered transport?

hayh · 21/04/2022 12:40

I really for you, my son is the same. Anxious and heartbroken at the same time.

have you double checked the admission policy, as usually a feeder school is high on the listings to get in a school, regardless of living place?

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