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?

Thank you for the very prompt response.

Yes she was criteria 4.

There are four families who applied under that criteria and only one got in, they live closer than my friend.

The places would have been filled by those living within priority catchment area, a few with siblings, but most without.

At the moment the LEA are not providing much info on what the priority catchment area is and being very vague, just saying it's on postcode and not providing her with specifics. Have told her to go back and ask for further details. I suggested asking what happens if you live in a tower block and all have the same postcode, are you considered nearer on the top floor as that would be where the crow actually flies lol

It is a class size appeal

Thank you

Thanks for your help. I do realise that I may indeed be opening a can of worms which may benefit others more than me! However my road is at the very start of the path so I wd probably be one of the first to benefit and it is actually ludicrous if this path is not used. I will wait and see what they say, and have requested forms to apply to go on another school's list. I feel a fool for not listing it originally, but it never crossed my mind we would not get in by a few meters!

PrincessTamTam - Hounslow measure the distance by the shortest route using public roads and footpaths adopted by the LA. Apart from a couple of specific exceptions they do not use routes across common land, open spaces, public parks, subways or footpaths that haven't been adopted. So the central question is what is the status of this footpath. If it is adopted you have a case. If it is not you can still appeal and try to argue that they should have used it but it will be harder to convince the appeal panel. Note that if other children are affected by the use of this footpath they will have to remeasure the distance for all the children concerned to determine who would have got in if they had got it right.

julieh1968 - It sounds to me like the criteria in the prospectus are a misprint as they don't give priority to children in catchment unless they happen to have a sibling at the school. I don't think you will win an appeal on that basis.

I presume your friend's child was in category 4? If they placed her child in the wrong category that would certainly be the basis of a successful appeal.

Your friend could also appeal for the schools she would have named as second and third choice. From the comment made by the LA it is clear that their online system was unclear. It is simply not believable that every single online applicant only wanted to name one choice. So it is open to her to argue that she has been disadvantaged by this and would have got a place at one of these schools had she been able to apply. If a lot of people appeal on this basis it could cause chaos as the LA would effectively have to rerun the allocation process to sort out who should have been offered places at their 2nd or 3rd choice school. Appeal panels would probably find that the number of potentially successful appeals exceeded anything the schools could handle so they would be left with the thankless task of deciding which appeals should succeed.

hi all, im brand new to this, desperately seeking some assistanc what to do next!! My youngest son has just been turned down for the preferred school, its a small school that only takes 10 children, both my other children attended this school although my oldest son will be going high school this year therefore when my youngest is due to start he doesnt officially have any siblings there. My concern is that my child has been with his childminder for 4 years since he was 6 months old, i am a nurse and have to work full time. He has been with her every week since this age and also her 2 children one of which goes to this school and one whom will be starting this year. I dont feel it would benefit my son to find a new childminder after 4 years of having the same one, she has done all the school stuff as i am at work. There is no way my employer will allow me to cut my hours and in fact i couldnt afford the pay cut.
Where do i stand with this?

I'm afraid your childcare concerns are unlikely to make a successful appeal.

How is this school organised? If it has one class covering Reception, Y1 and Y2 any appeal will be an infant class size case. That means you need to show that a mistake has been made and your son should have been admitted. Was he, for example, placed in the wrong category or did they measure the home to school distance incorrectly?

If it is not infant class size you have a better chance. You would need to show that your son will be disadvantaged by not going to this school.

prh47bridge it is stated throughout the feb 2012 appeals code that evidence should be submitted before the appeal in writing. i just didnt want to make any mistakes in regards to the appeal and wanted to double check that by evidence they meant the statement. thanks for your reply

Hi, my daughter didn't get any of our preferences or catchment. I am going to appeal and know it will be near on impossible to win as it will come down to infant class size.

I ordered the Ben Rooney book which was delivered today but to be honest I am still a little unclear, how can I prove that the Council have made a mistake? I thought that there would be mpre example letters in the book but there are only a couple, does anyone kjnow where I can read other examples?

I just wondered, my letter just said "refused" next to each choice and on the back page said "if you have been refused a place at a x county council please contact the county council direct on xxxx who will be able to provide you with information on how places we're allocated according to the published admissions criteria.

I wondered if they are allowed to do this, I thought they had to give me a reason on the letter? For info, I live in the city, applied for county schools.

As I say, I am not holding out much hope. We're no 4/17 on the waiting list of our 1st choice school. I have applied for 2 other schools which is my plan B, 1 that had 12 places left & the other had 2 places, that could obviously change as more parents get their results. Plan C is to sell every belonging I have and send her to private school.

The school that she has been offered does not offer after school care which i require, would a lett from my employer stating that i cannot change my working hours help or not?

Many thanks

Hi all i'm new to this and i would really appreciate any advice and guidance what to do next. My son has been diagnosed with moderate global verbal and non verbal delay by paediatrician in October last year. The second review took place in the end of February and current diagnosis is possible autistic spectrum disorder, profile of language impairment, social communication difficulties and behavioural issues. I?m awaiting genetic test result and LANDS assessment.
So far he had two sets of Speech& Language Therapy. He's been on IEP at his nursery since last June. Currently i was told to initiate SEN assessment.
My son hasn't been offered a place at any school i applied for.
All applications were based on special medical/social needs.
Schools i've chosen had the best provision for children with learning difficulties. My first choice was Church of England school which is the nearest to my home (0.3 mile), special medical/social needs were 2nd priority according to submission criteria, 3rd sibling, 4th distance. I applied for open space. The second school was community one about 0.5 m away.
He's got allocated place in school, which is 2.5 mile from home.
I've called LA admission team today to find out the reason why my son hasn't been offer a place in preferred schools. The main reason was the distance (apparently we live to far). When I asked about the medical/social needs i was told that they haven't been taken into account. I don't understand that. If LA has already been involved with my son education why did they refuse to consider his needs?
At the time of applying I asked my son's IEP person what kind of medical proof i need to support my application, whatever she could write a formal letter. Also i asked the same my GP. I was told that i don't need such a letter and that scans of paediatrician report from October and SALT report will do. Since the application my son behaviour on the road deteriorated. He's very unaware of danger; he's running away and not stopping before crossing. He needs to use particular route to go to the nursery if not he's throwing tantrums. I didn't consider this as a major issue back then but at the moment I don't think we can easily get to allocated school. After 2 bus changes and 15min walk (probably 30 min with my son) he will be too exhausted and frustrated to do any activity at school.
I'm going to appeal from LA decision but I'm not sure what ground i should based my appeal on. Also i need to find out how to appeal to church school.

Emma24H - If you have any documentary evidence you want to submit to the appeal you need to send that in before the hearing. It doesn't have to go in with your initial case but don't leave it too late. If you introduce significant documentary evidence in the hearing you may find that the appeal is adjourned to a later date to allow the panel and the authority to digest the new information.

Blanka4 - The problem you face is that, unless a school has a specific autism unit or similar, your son's needs will not give you priority for that school. The theory is that any school can cope with autism and will make proper provision.

You say you were told to initiate SEN assessment. If that results in your son getting a statement of SEN you will be able to choose the school you want him to attend. The LA will have limited grounds to refuse your choice so you will almost certainly get what you want.

If you appeal your chances of success will depend on whether it is infant class size. If it is ICS you will have to show that a mistake has been made. You could argue that the LA was unreasonable in refusing to give priority to your son but it is a long shot. If it is not an ICS case you will stand a much better chance. In that case I would talk about your son's condition and the recent deterioration, especially if you can provide independent expert evidence to back it up.

Thank you prh47bridge that's very helpful. I will try to get letters form paediatrician and SALT therapist. I?m meeting my son?s IEP person today so maybe she will help too. Also will you be able to tell me where i can find specific information about school eg autism unit or what is percentage of pupils from certain ethnic background at the school. I?ve been through Ofsted reports and schools websites but there?s not much information.

helen1122 - You need to press the LEA for confirmation of why you missed out on a place at your preferred school. Clearly, it's good practice to put this in the initial letter rather than make you ask for it, but the key thing is that they must not obstruct you in preparing your appeal. You need that basic information, as (obviously) without it you can't check for any mistakes - did they measure the distance to school correctly, did they place you in the right admissions category etc etc? The LEA (and schools) also have to give you any other information you need to prepare your appeal. If they don't give you the information you need, you can mention that to the panel, who may then be more inclined to give you the benefit of any doubt.

A letter from your employer will make no difference because parents' employment status is not a part of any school's admissions criteria and you have to base your appeal on what your child needs, not what you as a parent would prefer. I imagine the Ben Rooney book talks about infant class size appeals. If yours is an ICS appeal, the grounds for winning are very narrow and you need to pitch your appeal accordingly.

Blanka4 - I'm not sure why you think the percentage of pupils from any particular background has anything to do with an appeal? You have to frame your appeal in terms of the school's admissions criteria.

Agree with PanelChair that the ethnic backgrounds of children at the school is irrelevant to appeals. Regarding autism units and other specialist SE provision you can ask the school.

My son has severe speech delays. Also he?s bilingual. He uses a lot of jargon and mixes two languages. His speech is unclear and difficult to understand by other people. I was thinking if I could make a point that it would be beneficial for his speech and language development to be around children from the same ethnic background. I could back it up with a letter from SALT. Please tell me if this could be another argument;

I would be very nervous about making that argument. It could easily come across as racist. However, if you have a letter from a specialist saying "I have examined Blanka4's son and in my opinion..." or similar it may be worth trying. But be very sensitive in how you present it if you choose to go down this route.

Exactly. I appreciate that there are issues here about your son's speech but arguments about wanting to be with people of the same ethnicity/cultural background/speaking the same language need to be handled with extreme care. The panel will decide the appeal on its merits - not on how much they like you - but, if the arguments are finely balanced, you want them to give you the benefit of any remaining doubt. Giving the impression that you are prejudiced or a racist will not help.

Thank you prh47bridge and PanelChair for your honest opinion. That was just an idea to have more arguments while appealing. I?m aware of all sensitive issues and I?ll think this through again.
Another thing if you could help with, I would like to ask, if anyone knows a good but yet affordable education lawyer or firm. I don?t think I can handle all appeal process by myself. It?s so many things to do and no time (I?ve had got a new baby recently), so many right questions to ask LA. English is my second language and I?m not sure if I?ll be able to put my all arguments together in appropriate way to give me a better chance to win an appeal.

Even though English is your second language I would not use a lawyer for this. Many education lawyers seem to know very little about admissions. I have known cases where the parents have engaged a lawyer who has thoroughly put the panel's backs up. You don't want that.

You will get plenty of help here to prepare for your appeal and you can take a friend to support you. Appeal panels are used to parents who are nervous and most will have come across parents for whom English is a second language. That should not damage your appeal.

Hello
Can anyone offer help to us please for a reception class appeal (school has intake of 60).
We are going to try to appeal on social needs grounds as our child currently attends the school nursery and has had difficulty settling - tears and trouble parting with us on a regular basis, though I don't think the teacher would necessarily back us up as she always says that as soon as we have left the tears stop. We believe that to have to start over at a new school in September will be detrimental to our child's well-being and brought this up with the school educational psychologist earlier in the year. 2 appeals were successful for places at the school last year though I am not sure of the grounds. 1 may have been on medical.

The nursery class is really integrated into the school so our child imagines that everyone just continues on together into reception class and it's going to be a tough one to have to start out elsewhere in September.
Any advice appreciated, thank you.

If the school has an intake of 60 an appeal will be heard under infant class size rules. That means you should only win if you can show that a mistake has been made or the admission authority has acted unreasonably. Did they, for example, put your child in the correct admission category? Did they measure the home to school distance correctly?

You can still appeal even if there is no evidence of a mistake. You never know what will come out during the hearing. But you should be realistic about your chances of success.

Hi,
We have just have the dreaded rejection letter for our youngest son. We live in the walsall borough but our eldest son already attends a junior school in the wolverhampton borough. We had applied for son2 to go to the same school as son1. We have been looking to move near to the school in wolverhampton but this is taking longer than expected. At the moment i pick up son2 from school and bring him back to my work until wife is back with son1. Work are accomodating this on the understanding it is until the end of the school year.
Son1 has asbergers, he has a statement. Wife picks him up because there are many occasions where issues have arisen and need sorting out with the school. We were advised recently by teacher of son2 to refer him to gp because of handwriting problems, gp also noticed hyper activity, something he thought should be looked into. Ultimately son2 will suffer, he does feel left out, it seems son1 is taking up moms time.
Does anyone know the best way to appeal on this basis?

If this will be an infant class size appeal I'm afraid it is unlikely you will win based on these arguments. You would need to show that a mistake had been made and your son should have been admitted.

If it is not infant class size you stand a better chance. If you want to appeal based on your younger son's problems you will need to show that his problems mean he needs to go to the appeal school. Hyperactivity on its own will not an appeal unless there is a letter from an independent medical professional saying that your son's hyperactivity means he needs to go to the appeal school. Even then there are no guarantees.

Thanks prh47bridge. No mistakes have been made so, as it will be infant class size, I guess we are appealing on the grounds that the decision not to include our child was "unreasonable" given that we have already stated our concerns about starting at a new school in our original application. I am sure it is very rare to win on these grounds but we know that they have granted appeals in the past and gone over the 30 child limit. The council told me that any child admitted over and above the 30 are called exceptional children, so if anyone can offer advice for this nature of appeal, we would be grateful.