School Appeal

[Morena40]

Am currently waiting for an appeal hearing on the 28th of Nov. Would like to know if any of you have gone throught a similar situation in the past? My DS is still on the waiting list for 3 schools in my catchment area and recently was offered a place at a school which am not happy with and is 25mins on the buss as we don't drive, my DS is a very sincitive child and has gone throught lots of changes recently, left all friends behind, has to adopt to new environment etc...that is one more reason why I don't really want him to start at a school which we are not happy with, whe waiting for a place at Yr 3 class, which is over subscribed, but I have no choice if not appealing.... would appreciate any imput from you and what would be a strong winning case? We live right opposite the school. Thank you for your feedback in advance. X

As this is an appeal for Y3 it will be decided based on the balance of prejudice. You need to show that the disadvantage to your son from not being admitted outweighs any problems the school will face from having to cope with an additional child.

A 25 minute bus journey is considered reasonable for a child of this age so that is unlikely to carry any weight with the appeal panel. Your child being sensitive and you not wanting him to start at a school you don't like while hoping that a place comes up at a school you want is also unlikely to be helpful. After all, it is possible that none of your preferred schools will come up with a place before your son moves up to secondary school.

You need to look for specific things your son will miss out on if he doesn't go to the appeal school. What do they offer that is relevant to him and is not available at the allocated school. If you can identify a few items it will give you a reasonable case. However, that doesn't mean you will win. Sometimes a school is so full that even the most deserving cases can't win an appeal.

Prh47. Thank you for you for imput, I will find out more about the school and what my ds could be missing out. Much appreciated.

The premise is all and any school can cater for any child unless you can prove otherwise.
Forget travel, childcare, afterschool provision. What you don't like about any offered school.
Look at how accepting a child affects that cohort and future years, ask admissions for information on the make up of the class, look at the Ofsted and the schools strengths, look at the Dfe website for staffing levels, how much is spent on each child and the outcomes as compared locally. Where can they more easily accommodate a child, what is their vision, what draws you to that school. There is no 30 limit on year 3 but if they already have additional children and staff in that classroom then the question of personal space comes into the equation plus every school has an overall capacity space to include lunchtime, collective worship, gathering etc.
You may wish to add engagement into the equation because you have nothing to lose by not doing so. You may wish to research pastoral provision and look at previous newsletters for ideas about what they promote. You may wish to place importance on their behaviour policy, their inclusivity, the additional aspects of education they have. Look at how they spend their OK and PE funding and the barriers to learning they are prioritising. Look at last year's results and the worst of this is likely to be their priority group for this year. Does your child fall into this group? Look for any angle outside the box. If there are several positive appeals it may come down to allowing only the strongest one to be granted if there is limited room. In that case anything additional you refer to may be the deciding factor. Research, research and use fact.

That is PP funding not Ok. I would turn off predictive if I could find it.