Appealing for Primary School

[The3Bears]

I am going to appeal for a place at our prefered school for ds, we are not far out of the catchment area but I cannot find out what place we are at on the waiting list until 2 weeks.

I am new to this so just wanted to know if my appeal sounds ok.
My son is at the preschool at the school we want to send him to, he is extremely shy and has taken a while to settle at nursery.
I am going to talk with his keyworker when they are back at school as she has said about how since he has settled and made friends here etc he has been learning alot more which is what we want, she showed me the chart and since xmas his levels have gone up alot, I am worried about him going to the school we were offered because I feel it will set him back even more.

I am also planning on going back to work or back to full time education when my ds starts school and my sister who has her children in the school is going to be collecting my son after school and watching him until i finish work I would be stuck if he couldnt go to this school as she couldnt go to 2 different schools at the same time and neither of us drive.

I am very familiar with the prefered school and really feel that my child could have the best education there he has a couple of friends who already attened the primary and he is very interested in the after school activities they do and I am very pleased with the education my son is getting at the schools pre school.

Do I stand any chance, I honestly thought my son would get a place his friend who lives 2 doors down has a place although he has a sibling there but I know thats better than him not having a place.

Should I accepet the offered school even though I am extremely uncomfortable sending him there?
He is 5 in Feb so can I not send him until then?

sorry for the essay but I am so confused and am going through alot at the moment so really want to get this right.

You could keep him out until Easter. If the school is full you have to prove he has been unfairly denied a place based on the published criteria, social and childcare alone would n't be enough. Siblings would probably go ahead of non siblings for example, then maybe catchment or distance. Accept the place you have an go on a waiting list

Accept the place as the back stop if everything else fails.
Get on the waiting list for the school and as you say hopefully you will know where you are on the waiting list in 2 weeks.
You should go to appeal but you do need to be aware that your case for admission is quite weak. Appeal panels are not allowed to take into consideration that it is a good school and that your son is doing really well in the nursery. The assumption that the panel has to work to is that your son will do well in any school, though I know that is practically not correct. Also childcare arrangements are also similarly not given any real priority.
You do obviously have some time available to you before it is necessary to send your child to school or arrange home education, so finding out how much movement in places there is will be an important consideration in how long you keep your son out of school.

I agree that you should accept the place. Rejecting it will not improve your chances of getting in to your preferred school and any alternative offered by the LA may be even worse.

With any primary school appeal the big question is whether it will be heard under infant class size rules. If the school has classes with 30 children in Reception, Y1 or Y2 when all three years are full it will be an infant class size case. That means you should only win if you can show that a mistake has been made, although you may be lucky and get a sympathetic panel who will admit your child even though they shouldn't. If it is not infant class size you stand a better chance, although I agree with Admission that your case is quite weak. However, there is always a chance that your appeal may succeed. You will never know if you don't try. So give it a go but be realistic about your chances.

As your son isn't 5 until February he doesn't have to start full time education until the start of term following Easter next year. You are allowed to defer entry until then and see if a place comes up through the waiting list.

Thank you for the help everyone, I will accept the place but I cannot send him there but like you all said there is still 5 months im trying to stay posative although it's so hard his best friend had a sleepover tonight as hes just come out of hospital for a couple of days and I just cannot tell him he wont be going to the same school as her :( Im just going to keep everything crossed, we are just out of the catchment area by a road. I really need something good to happen now !

I am still going to appeal because I cannot find out where he is on the list until after the closing date for appeals and I am willing to try everything.

I have to admit this has been so difficult to deal with, parenting really is the toughest job.

Your comment that you can't find out where he is on the list until after the closing date for appeals worries me. It suggests that the LA may not be filling vacancies from the waiting list until appeals are over. If that is correct they are in breach of the Admissions Code.

Ask them why they won't tell you where you are on the waiting list. If they say they won't admit anyone from the waiting list until appeals are over it is time to kick up a fuss, particularly if you think you may be at or near the head of the waiting list for your preferred school.

PRH,
I think that the3bears is referring to the mythical date by which people should lodge an appeal, not when the appeal will be. 3bears - all Local Authorities put a date in their information by which they want the admission appeal returned to them. The suggesting is that this is some kind of deadline but it is not official, it is the deadline that the LA has so they can do all the organising of the appeals. I don't blame them for doing this but actually they have to accept your application for an appeal at any time of the year.

I sincerely hope so! I only worry because I have come across some LAs who refuse to fill vacancies until appeals have been heard.

I have rang this morning and its 3rd may we can ask about waiting list and 11th lastdate to apply for appeals, fingers crossed