School appeal

[Chundle]

Hi all looking for some advice please. Dd is in year 2 has dx of ADHD and gets no support at all no statement etc at current school and as result has very low self esteem and is currently very unhappy teachers not understanding her etc etc. Few months ago we moved house not far away but put us in different catchment area. Dd desperate to go to catchment school as she so unhappy in current school. Applied for place but full and she 2nd on list. No spaces have come up in her year group in last 2 years. I can't swap her to any other school as I have epilepsy and can't drive and dd2 also has additional needs. Just wondering how successful we will be at appeal due to infant class size legal limit? As it take 6 weeks to get to appeal it will be start of May before appeal anyway and then only one term left before year 3 will they take this into account at appeal? So in effect class
Numbers will only be one pupil over infant class size limit for about 7 weeks before summer hols
Dd so unhappy, her school have truly broken her spirit this year and is heartbreaking, doc said if she gets any lower he will sign her off sick

If it is an infant class size case your chances of success at appeal are limited. You should only win if the LA has made a mistake which is unlikely for a transfer like this. The fact that there is only one term left until the class size limit ceases to apply doesn't matter. Having said that, you may strike it lucky and get a sympathetic panel who will admit your daughter despite the regulations.

You are entitled to one appeal each academic year, so you can appeal in September even if you appeal unsuccessfully straight away. Alternatively you may want to think about delaying your appeal so that you are clearly appealing for your daughter to start in September. If she isn't going to join this school until Y3 class size regulations will not apply.

Thank you for info that's helpful

I would time your appeal papers to go in about mid June, this will ensure that the appeal is going to be for a september start, when it will not be an infant class size regs case.
You need to come up with a good case and that will depend on the willingness of your doctor to write a suitable letter. It needs to say "I have examined X and have found .... Any letter that says Mrs X tells me that daughter has,.... is actually not going to be a help.
I personally might be tempted not to tell your daughter you are going to appeal if she is in such a poor state of heath over the anxiety to go to this particular school. There is no guarantee that you will succeed at appeal and that would be an even greater blow to her to know the appeal has failed.

Yes, I would definitely wait until September. I totally appreciate your situation and sympathise (my older daughter has SEN too) but, as a teacher, I can look at it from the other side too - it's actually awful for us when appeals go through because you suddenly find your already full classroom/stretched resources forced to accomodate another child who is quite likely to have additional needs of some sort and therefore feel like more than 'just one extra'

If your daughter is really struggling where she is then maybe a term of homeschooling would be an option? She might lose out a little educationally but a term of schooling at 7 is probably worth sacrificing if the alternative is her long term mental health.

Thanks both