PanelChair
prh47bridge and
Admission
Here's my appeal, I would really appreciate your feedback. Just one question though, do I have to write my reasons for wanting to appeal on the appeal form, or, after filling out my personal details and info about the school etc, can I enclose my appeal with it so I can then print it out and send all my evidence at the same time? I have had bad experiences with our local authority customer services before and want to prepare for the worst case scenario - it being lost! ;-)
We would like to appeal against the decision made against our daughter, , attending Primary School for the following reasons
? has attended the Nursery which is attached to the main school since September 2011. The foundation stage building houses the nursery classes and also the reception class for which has been refused a place for. We feel this is unfair as has always looked up to the older children in the school and has been very excited about starting full days in the reception class. Once a week the children in FS1 take part in a PE session which is usually held in the main school hall and has also used other facilities at the school and has become very familiar with the school environment. Had we known last summer what we know now, that attending the nursery does not necessarily mean a child will attend the main school, we would have thought long and hard about our decision to send * to the nursery as to take her away from all that has become so familiar to her, her friends, teachers, the familiar environment etc seems so unfair on many points.
? We would like to raise our concerns that has not been accepted into the school on the grounds that the school has set the PAN for the reception class at 27 and NOT at the legal limit of 30 children per qualified teacher. Our research has shown that it is illegal for a school or local authority to hold back any places for children who may require a place in the future. We are at present trying to establish how many children are on roll for the whole school and how many children the school can take when it is at full capacity. As regards the foundation stage unit being a separate building, we sincerely hope that hasn?t been turned down for a reception place because of any potential numbers of children starting in FS1 in September, as we feel she should be given priority due to the fact that has been attending the nursery for so long and that she is in the here and now and for to be turned away for a potential child sometime in the future surely wouldn?t be right?? The Foundation Stage Unit Admission Policy gives a breakdown of how the numbers of children are made up in the unit - if FS2 are undersubscribed these places may be filled with FS1 children but does not
state if the reverse is possible1a. We believe that in the reception class this current year there are actually 29 children and in Class 1 there are 28.
? When started the nursery, during the first few weeks did have the occasional accident relating to toileting. This stems from the fact that from being very young, since starting potty training, has always been intensely private. We know that if had to attend another school toileting would be an issue, and one that would cause a lot of upset for my daughter. Her problem is that until she feels she knows somebody well enough, no amount of prompting will encourage her to go to the toilet; she will continue to say she doesn?t need to ?go? until she literally wets herself. This has been a problem with other family members she doesn?t see so often and at her dance class on a Saturday morning. This hasn?t been so much of a problem whilst has been in FS1 due to the fact we always ensure that has been to the toilet before she leaves the house and she has not been there for more than 2 ½ hours at a time, but this will change when * starts full days in September.
? ** is the only school for our daughter for the following reasons:-
o The foundation unit has an excellent outdoor play area for the children to use at playtime with equipment to climb on and a slide etc which * doesn?t have at home and has come to look forward to using during term time. Over the past year has taken part in sponsored events, such as the sponsored workout, and raised money for resources such as this.
o also has an interest in gardening and likes to help out at home and also at her grandparents houses, not only has a Gardening club but also has a large pond area which teachers use to teach the children about wildlife which is of particular interest to , who has not forgotten that her older brother enjoyed attending this club in year 6 last year.
o After comparing the menu?s for both * and the offered school, I am very concerned that will not eat the types of foods on their menu, and would be much more likely to use s salad bar which has options such as Tuna, salad and bread roll or chicken etc and the main meals do tend to be more ?? friendly in general.
o ** also uses a traffic light system in line with their marking policy to mark the children?s work. The offered school uses a more complex system which I feel is very complicated for children to understand and to use effectively.
o * also appears to be much more up to date in their use of computers and ICT. has had access to a mini ICT suite whilst at the nursery and this would continue if she were able to attend the reception class.
o would also gain a lot from as we know from our son attending the school that the children are taught very well about how to keep themselves safe in relation to the Highway Code etc. Children are taught how to be a safe pedestrian and further up the school cycling proficiency is taught. This was also brought up in the Ofsted1b report dated June 2008.
o has, for some time now, expressed an interest in music as her Grandmothers partner is in a band and she regularly watches them rehearse. offers much more in the way of learning to play an instrument and has more variety on offer than the offered school.
o Many of the extra-curricular activities offered at *** tend to include the younger children in the school as opposed to those which are older in comparison to the offered school.1
? The school has an excellent head teacher, Mr , he is well known throughout the school community for making a point of knowing the names of each and every child that attends the school and is always approachable and on hand most days in the school playground at the beginning and at the end of the school day, whatever the weather. We feel this is something which makes the school special and, and from a child?s point of view, Mr gains respect through his ability to interact with all of the children on their own level, even at such a young age * looks up to the school head, as he regularly visits the FS1 children and gives out rewards etc for good behaviour.
? ?s father was made redundant in June 2011 and has just returned to work with a new company. Since was born (actually since ?s older brother was born in 1999) I have always worked part time at weekends to enable our children to grow up with either their mother or their father caring for them. It is a personal choice of ours that we would like our children to be brought up by their own parents and by other members of the family when needed. Whilst ?s father was out of work, it became necessary for me to find full time work, which I did though this took some time with the current economic climate. Due to the fact that both myself and ?s father work full time, we would be relying on ?s Aunty (* ) to drop her off and pick her up from school almost every day. As both my niece (who is in the same nursery class as and has been accepted into the reception class) and my nephew (in class 2 in September) both attend , it would be impossible for Aunty to be in two places at the same time, and as there is no one else who could do the school runs for us, I would have to give up my job. I have approached my employer and requested a change to my hours, but as I knew before asking the question, this would be impossible for him to let me do so. As neither of us earn a large wage, this would cause us as a family to drop, once again below the Poverty Line, which would affect both of my children. has never had a holiday as yet, and both of us wish to set a good example by being working parents. Also, because of our current work situation, has had to come to terms with a huge change at home already with us both working full time, add to this the fact that she may not get into as well and you can begin to see the traumatic effect this will have on a 3 year old.
? From a social point of view, even outside of school / nursery, all of ?s peers attend XXXXXXXXX. We have been told that because we live further than 0.4 miles from the school (we are 0.7 miles away) that we have to appeal due to the distance as well as the schools PAN being met, but round the corner from us there are 6 children who all attend XXXXXXX who, however the distance is measured, cannot possibly be any closer than we are. knows the children of our friends and friends of the family etc in different classes the whole way through the school and can only benefit from this. ?s father, Uncle, brother, cousins etc all attended . Siblings count for something when applying for a school place and we feel that the fact that this has been a family school for generations should count for something too.
? We feel that our hopes and expectations for to continue her education from starting in FS1 right through until leaving primary school education in year 6 is not in any way unreasonable. In fact the schools Early Years Foundation Policy states that it aims to ?ensure a smooth transfer through FS1, FS2 and into Key Stage 1? and ?To provide a secure environment where all children feel safe and happy?3. This policy also states that ?The nursery aged children (FS1) start the term after their third birthday dependent on admission procedures, and continue in the unit until they reach the end of the Reception year (FS2)? It was after reading the schools literature on starting at the nursery which led us to believe that would in fact continue to attend the school once she had been granted permission to attend the nursery last year. We feel that should have to attend another school, the aims and objectives mentioned above within the Early Years Policy would not have been met. Likewise, *'s Vision Statement states that the school aims to ?provide a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum with continuity and progression, which met the needs of all pupils and is accessible to all pupils?. Again we feel this aim would not have been met if this appeal is not successful as the continuity and progression will cease to be available to our child.
? Should be able to attend , both myself and her father could then continue working, * would always have somebody there at school to watch her take part in activities such as school plays, special mentions assemblies, school disco?s, sports days, school fairs etc as her cousin is in the same class so her Aunty would be there anyway. Of course there are times one of us would be able to attend, but often there are times such as at Easter and Christmas in particular and at the end of a school term, when all the children?s activities come thick and fast and it is very hard when there is an activity almost every day after school throughout the week to attend every one in support of your child.
? We have found through our research that if a child?s parents obtain a place in a reception class by means of providing the admissions authority with a false address in order to do so, if this comes to light before the child?s first day at school then the offer of a place can be withdrawn, but if this is found to be the case on or after the first day of school, the decision will not be withdrawn so as not to unsettle the child. We feel this goes someway to prove that the law agrees that for to be taken away from the school she has attended for the best part of the past year would have a detrimental effect on her. The fact that (at the time of writing) is 2nd on the waiting list also adds weight to this.
? We found out on Friday 20th April that had not been offered a place at . During the week commencing 23rd April I spoke to the school admissions authority and was told that the appeal would be an ICS appeal. I then rang FISH and they also contacted the admissions authority and again, they were informed this was an ICS appeal. After a little research, I called them back on Friday 27th April and spoke to a an admissions guy to query this being an ICS appeal when the legal limit of 30 children per qualified teacher had not yet been met. At this point I was informed it was not in fact an ICS appeal. I have sent several emails and made several phone calls to the admissions team requesting information I deem necessary to put forward this appeal and, I feel that I should point out here that I haven?t found them, on the whole, to be either very forthcoming or helpful in any way to date, especially in regards to my queries as to how many children are currently attending the school.
WELL, THERE IT IS. SORRY IT'S A BIT LONG BUT I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS WERE ON THE WHOLE OF MY APPEAL :-) . ANY COMMENTS FROM ANYONE ELSE ARE MUCH APPRECIATED TOO. I'M HAVING A REAL NIGHTMARE TRYING TO FIND OUT HOW MANY PUPILS ARE ON ROLL AT THE MOMENT. TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO GET MY APPEAL IN AND BOTH THE SCHOOL AND ADMISSIONS ARE FULL OF EXCUSES WHY THEY ARE UNABLE TO TELL ME THIS INFO, SUCH AS WE ARE UPGRADING OUR COMPUTER SYSTEM THIS WEEK, WE HAVE A BACKLOG OF ENQUIRIES TO DEAL WITH ETC ETC. GOSH, I FEEL DRAINED x