Any tips for primary school appeals?

[smallmotherbigheart]

This is my first time doing this, and I want to do this right. My son didn't get into any of the preferred schools that we listed? Has anyone done an appeal before?

Thanks for such a quick response! I have copies of emails sent from the Head to the LA questioning the decision and supporting the transfer - confirming they have space and resources. The school is closer than the current one but this argument lacks weight as there is a closer but large school where there are spaces available. Would a letter from his Ed Psych confirming the benefit of a smaller school and a need to support transition be helpful in this case? Am I right in thinking it is unhelpful to focus on the negatives associated with other settings- eg the lack of space in his current classroom? I guess this will just come down to the panel on the day?!

The emails would clearly help your case. If the Ed Psych believes there is a genuine need and is willing to say so then that would also be helpful.

Being negative about the current school is generally not a good tactic. Try to turn it round into being positive about the preferred school. For example, instead of talking about lack of space in the current classroom you can talk about the extra space in the preferred school and how that will help your son.

At the end of the day it is up to the panel to decide whether the prejudice to your son through not being admitted outweighs the prejudice to the school through having another pupil. However, the emails you mention sound like they give you a strong case.

The appeal was today and the email evidence from the school supporting the transfer was not allowed as 'the LA admissions were there representing the views of the school'! We await the decision of the panel with little hope of success.

It is true that the school is not supposed to support your appeal. However, emails stating that they have the space and resources to accommodate your son are germane to whether or not admitting your son would cause prejudice. I obviously haven't seen the emails nor do I know how you got copies so it is difficult to judge, but if you lose the appeal I would be tempted to refer the matter to the LGO and ask if the panel were right to exclude this evidence.

In my opinion the panel (or was it the clerk who made the decision) were incorrect. Yes the LA is representing the school at the appeal and therefore it would have been totally inappropriate to table the email as part of the school's case in part 1. However when it came to questions you should have been allowed to ask questions around the reasons why the school is saying that they have the space and resources, which seem at odds to the LA view. The panel would then have to weigh up the respective positions as to whether the school (via the LA) have proved prejudice.

Also when it came to part 2, you should have been allowed to enter it as part of your evidence, you can put in anything you want that you feel helps your case. It is questionable how it does help your case much at part 2, other than trying to reduce the level of prejudice to the school, but it should have been allowed to be entered as part of your case.

One email was sent from the Headteacher to the admissions team and copied to me. The other was sent from the Headteacher to me answering questions around arguments the LA had put forward regarding room sizes etc. It was the clerk who made the decision that the emails should not be allowed. I was allowed to question the issue of space but the email was not allowed to support my argument. Thanks again for your advice through this process.

In that case I completely agree with Admission that the clerk was wrong. You should have been allowed to use these emails to challenge the LA's case. I would definitely go to the LGO if you lose the appeal.

We heard today that the appeal had been unsuccessful. Having considered our options, we feel that as our son is Y5 it would be too disruptive to pursue this. Thanks again for your advice.

Personally I would be tempted to take it up with the LGO anyway to ensure that future parents were not prevented from presenting evidence at appeal. Even if you go to a second appeal and win you still have the option of rejecting the place. But it is your decision and I hope it works out well for you and your son.

The LA agreed that the school had sufficient space and the email supported me in arguing that case. The move was refused on the grounds that he is dyslexic and at SA and since there were 2 other children at SA in the class n would prejudice the education of the others. His need for an experienced and effective SN teacher was one of our arguments for moving!

This gets worse. Not only is the clerk incorrectly stopping you presenting evidence, the LA is saying that your child has been refused entry because of his dyslexia. If the LA is basically saying they would have admitted your child if he was not dyslexic it sounds to me like a breach of the Admissions Code and probably a breach of the Disability Discrimination Act. They may not discriminate against chiildren with special needs. I know you previously said you don't want to pursue this but please refer the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman. If the LA is discriminating against children with special needs they need to be reminded of their responsibilities. The LGO is usually fairly quick with school admissions cases and you don't have to accept any place offered at the end of the process.

Thanks. Yes, once I had calmed down about it all, I began to think it must be wrong to refuse him on those grounds. I will get in touch with the LGO and see where we go next.

I can't really believe that this is what has been said, it is definitely a breach of what is now the Equalities Act and the panel should never ever have been making a decision based solely on the fact that there were other pupils with special needs in the class. Yes the panel can give some consideration to the level of special needs in the class, but 2 others in the class at school action is nothing. Most school teachers would kill to have a class with only two pupils at school action in it.
If as I assume this is in writing I would be sending that to the LGO immediately as they need to be made aware of these kind of decisions which simply show a clerk who hasn't a clue and a panel that is not making decisions independantly knows the code of practice

Hi my DD is changing primary/prep schools in Y3 and hope I don't have to write an appeal but if it comes to that then I suppose I will. Some of you on here are really experienced on the admissions machinery at some of the private pre-preps in London from reading other posts. I am on my own with her at the moment as a solo parent and hoping to secure her a place at City of London Girls in 2012 or James Allen Prep ( both single sex).

Been to both schools and CLSG seemed to offer more in terms of wraparound care (afterschool club etc) but want you to say if you're a single parent when you register but JAPS did not ask. Do schools sometimes 'rat out', indirectly preferring children from married families? Can this be a ground of appeal if turned down, which we really hope DD is not. What kind of families/pupils don't these two schools like if anyone knows who has applied before or has a DD there? If DD passes selective exams well, will this be enough or will her family setting also matter in the selection process?

Thanks for reading this post. Not looking forward to appealing at all and hope we don't ever have to. A little anxious!

Hi everyone,
There is some great advice on here so I'm really hoping you can help me too !
My daughter didnt get into either of my chosen schools. We are out of catchment for both schools, however my daughter has the criteria for Serious medical condition and Exceptional social or domestic needs as she has Leukaemia.
Both schools are smaller schools with classes no bigger than 15. This is the sort of school that my daughter needs to attend to help keep her as safe and healthy as possible, less pupils=less illness=easier to keep my daughter away from it, plus hygiene is easier to control with less pupils in the class and school. The school also has a sort of knowledge of cancer and chemotherapy as a member of staff is currently undergoing treatment. They also have experience of hickman lines (the permanent line she has in for chemo and blood tests) as theyve had a previous pupil with one for a different illness. Both schools are closer to my work and family, if my daughter gets a temperature she needs picking up ASAP and taking to hospital, this is another reason for choosing these schools.
I have the appeal form ready to fill in but want as much info to back my case as poss to give me a greater chance of a positive outcome.

PLEASE HELP ASAP :-)

Assuming the school gives priority to children with medical needs, the question will be whether your daughter's leukaemia means she needs to go to your preferred school. An appeal panel will have to consider whether the evidence available to the LA on your application was strong enough to mean they should have made that decision. Having said that, I can imagine a sympathetic panel giving you a place in this case even if they shouldn't strictly under the rules. As SchoolsNightmare says, you need as much independent medical evidence as you can get. It needs to be about your daughter - general articles about children with leukaemia are better than nothing but nowhere near as good as a medical professional writing something specifically about your daughter. Also it needs to be clear that the professional is offering their opinion, not just reflecting your views.

Good luck.

The questions I would ask are firstly whether you know that the LA accepted your wish to be considered under the medical priority and that in the case of both schools this was applied.
Secondly if neither school could offer a place that suggests that the admission criteria for medical is actually quite far down the list , could you confirm what the actual admission criteria order is please.

Hi, i have read all of your posts with great interest. my Daughter did not get into to the primary school I applied for. Due to my personal circumstnaces I only put one choice. I am within the catchment area and my two younger siblings, who live at the same address as myself and my daughter, attend that school. I work as a nurse with shifts starting at 7am and ending and 9pm. This means that my mother would be responisble for taking my daughter to and from school and since she takes my siblings to school she cannot take my daughter to a different school at the same time. i understand that this alone is not adequate grounds for appeal, however due to the early starts and late finishes my job entails, coupled with an hours commute each way, school breakfast clubs and childminders are not able to meet my childcare needs, hence the arrangement with my mother. I have been informed that this is grounds for appeal by my LEA. The school i was offered is inappropriate also as my younger siblings previously attended this school is recpetion class and were removed by my mother due to a case of serious negligence. I have found this discussion to be very helpfull in a number of ways but i am left iwth a few questions. Firstly, does anyone know of any sites/information which would be useful in helping me to write my appeal statement, in regards to structure and wording. Secondly, when the appeals code states that evidence of curcumstances must be provided does this simply mean the statement written by the parent or is this something else such as proof of address etc?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Emma

I wouldn't worry too much about the structure and wording of your appeal statement. Appeal panels see all sorts. As long as you make all the points clearly that is all that matters. If you are worried feel free to PM me and I will review your statement for you.

Could you tell me where in the appeal code you are talking about? I can't immediately find anything like that in the current code.

Hi all, I frankly feel a bit of a berk. My youngest son has failed to get into my preferred school, nearest by far to me but also very over subscribed. I named only this school on my form as my older 3 all went there and we are in the PAA and very close. With hindsight this was a mistake as this year (of course) councils - in our case, Hounslow - have changed the criteria so that siblings get highest priority, followed by those closest to school. As his nearest sibling has just left the school we were relying on distance only, but as we are so close I didn't feel this would be a problem. Unfortunately there were an enormous number of siblings applying this year and new flats built recently very close to the school. The last distance admitted was 0.407 and we are 0.411.
Anyway, he is 5th on the waiting list and I am thinking of appealing on the grounds of distance measured. I don't think they have used a path which runs diagonally across the green at the end of my road which would certainly cut the distance measured for me (and also anyone living this side of the green). I am waiting for confirmation of this - they are being quite slow giving me the information - but in the meantime does anyone know if this would be grounds for an appeal?
Many thanks for any help, this is a nightmare.

Hi posting on behalf of a friend.
She has been refused a place for her youngest child even though there is a sibling already at the school. Logistically she clearly cannot be in two places at once but she knows that this in itself is not grounds for appeal.
Her elder child was moved to the school following serious bullying at his previous school and had very low attainment because of this, in addition he has severe allergies, Due to these issues she feels it is not an option to move him to yet another school.

The admittance criteria for the school is as follows:
1 Looked after children
2 Children in the priority catchment with a sibling at the school
3 Children in the priority catchment area
4 Children outside priority catchment with a sibling
5 Other applications.

However the school prospectus reads as follows:

If the school is over-subscribed, priority is given first to looked-after children, then to children living in the catchment area who have a sibling already at the school. When places are still available, these are allocated to children who completed the form by 30th November AND

• have siblings at the school
• live closest to the school

Which switches criteria 3 and 4.

Finally, she made an online application and when she input that there was a sibling and their details she was taken to the next section of the form and not given an option to input 2nd or 3rd preferences (not that she had any!). When she has pointed this out to the LEA, they have said that she would have had to click on a button to "ADD" any further preferences, rather than the normal procedure where you just state additional preferences. Crucially they also said that no-one had chosen to "ADD" 2nd and 3rd Preferences this year. Presumably this implies that the online submission is unclear in this regard.

I know that the 3rd point doesn't make any case for entry into her chosen school, but does it mean that she has been prejudiced by the application process in the first instance?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thank you

Thanks Schools, food for thought. I have emailed them as they said they couldn't answer my questions over the phone and it may take a few days.
The footpath is used by everyone walking to the school from this side, it is well lit at either end and runs across a public open green, so is completely safe. In fact it is much safer than going along the very busy roads surrounding it. Do you think a canvas of school children using the route would be any use at appeal? I also think that previous appeals have resulted in specific similar paths being named as exceptions do you know how I can get information on these appeals?
Thanks so much for advice.