ADMISSIONS APPEALS

[Moommypig]

Does anyone have any information or experience of the admissions appeals process? My son has not been offered an place at either of the schools we listed and instead is being placed at a school where he will no know anyone...

First thing to check is if the declared admissions criteria have been fairly applied in your case. If for example the schools you listed further away than the one allocated it may be they had sufficient children living nearer or siblings of those aready there who would take priority. Listing them doesn't mean you will definitely get a place at either. If however you believe your ds's application has not been considered fairly then you can appeal on those grounds.

schoolappeals.co.uk has lots of useful advice. You can download their info pack for a fiver.

Good luck

Hi,
I do have experience of this! my experience is if you have infant class size predjudice sited as the reason for not getting a place then you are very unlikely to win an appeal, if not then you may have a chance...

Thank you for the adivce... My son is unfortunately disabled and my main concern is he will not be starting school with any of his friends as we thought he would be... It is class size that is agianst us so maybe i am hoping for too much...! He is 2nd on the waiting list so fingers x a few kids don't take up their places!!!

Its very stressful, but number 2 on the list is probably good!

When I appealed the information I received from that website (I don't work for them, honest!) gave information on floorspace as a factor (i.e. there needs to be something like 1 sq m per child). Also you can appeal on social and medical grounds.

I really hope he gets his place - try not to worry about it (from me, who was obsessed for months with the waiting list waiting game! )

I mean, floorspace as just one of the examples of a factor - not a deciding factor! LOL!

do you have a statement of sen yet? if yes then i take it the lea have used the phrase"mainstream school of parental choice" in part 4?
if he has a statement then why did he not get preference?, can you get any of the professionals involved with your ds to write statements for your appeal wrt: continuity of care/friendships already made/confidence if applicable to your child?

i might be in the same situation at the end of the month only ds needs are not anyway severe enough for sen(speech problem)

can i just ask - foxeythesnowman - did you get into the school or did you have to appeal?

Also - my son doesn't have a statement of SEN - does anyone know what that entails and if it would make any difference to the appeal?

does your son have an iep or are you in contact with many professionals that help your son? what is his disability?

i'm about now for a little if you need any help!

We got in on the waiting list in the end, but I did appeal. The appeal was a complete waste of time in our situation, and I never really had a case on the grounds of social or medical needs. I think given your circumstances, however, you should appeal. It won't affect your waiting list place (unless its successful of course!)

I appealed more so to show I was serious and was going to go through all the necessary procedures. When it came to the list being handed over from the LEA to the school, I wanted to be on it. My plan was to homeschool until a place came up.

As it happened we got a place in June/July.

Going back to your original OP, your local Council's Pupil Services will have the information on how to appeal and its deadlines. They will administer the procedure, so are the first point of contact. Give them a call and discuss your case. They will also have the waiting list (at least, that is how it works here). You may have gone up already.

Quite a few online resources. Do a search on google. This school appeal website helped me a lot when I was going through mine.

My son's school says they WONT send off his transfer form to a new school because of dinner money arrears... can they do this?
Bearing in mind he IS elligable for "Scheme of Aid" or Free school meals, i didn't even know there was money owed!!! It also a V/A school too.
Can anybody help me please? We are moving out of the area in a few weeks too, and the school has known this beforehand. Thanks.

No they cannot do this. Also if you are eligible officially for free school meals then I do not understand why you would owe money, that meal is provided for free and the Local Authority pay the school the cost fo the meal. In this particular situation it does not matter what kind of school it is.
I would check that you are on the official list for a free school meal and then ask the school to confirm in writing what you are supposed to owe and for what. Your son has not been having fruit or drinks at the school, which he needed to pay for?

Thankyou for your reply.
The only thing i can think of is when my benefit stopped a while ago, but im still on Child tax credit, but i didn't receive any info' on that until my payments stopped because my son had reached 9. I am activly looking for work so i decided not to claim J.S.A, and with moving home in the next couple of weeks, im to looking for employment in my new area.
My son has been taking a packed lunch for a number of weeks now, because he can't have school meals (due to said arrears), and he doesn't have milk,juice of fruit from school either.
As i see it not only is the school with holding his transfer application, they are also depriving him of an education, which i can get in a lot of trouble for if it isn't done.
Im sure it's not legal for them to do this.