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?

Hi again, in connection with my previous message ; We've missed out on our school of preferred choice as I didn't supply proof of address when we moved. Admissions confirmed that if we had supplied proof then we would have got a placement at our first choice of school.

We are so upset of this oversight by us. I did add my new address to my online application but was still in the process of completing the purchase of our new house and had planned on sending in the proof when we had completed. With the stress of the move we forgot that we had to send in proof and our application was treated under our old address even though our confirmation letter was sent to our new address. Please can anyone advise us what we can do?

I have a further question, can we use this in our case whilst reading the government guidelines for LA there were two sections that I felt might be important to our case.
When the LA contacted me on the 16th of April about proof of address. They informed me that they would be withdrawing my offer and was going to locate a school closer with spaces. All of this was done without writing any confirmation although I do have a letter saying the place was withdrawn.
I have now found out that this also has a very limiting affect on my appeal as they placed us at a catchment school that we particularly didn't want for various reasons.

1
Withdrawing an offer or a place 2.12

An admission authority must not withdraw an offer unless it has been offered in error, a parent has not responded within a reasonable period of time, or it is established that the offer was obtained through a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application. Where the parent has not responded to the offer, the admission authority must give the parent a further opportunity to respond and explain that the offer may be withdrawn if they do not. Where an offer is withdrawn on the basis of misleading information, the application must be considered afresh, and a right of appeal offered if an offer is refused.

2.13 A school must not withdraw a place once a child has started at the school, except where that place was fraudulently obtained. In deciding whether to withdraw the place, the length of time that the child has been at the school must be taken into account. For example, it might be considered appropriate to withdraw the place if the child has been at the school for less than one term.

2
Right to appeal 2.24
When an admission authority informs a parent of a decision to refuse their child a place at a school for which they have applied, it must include the reason why admission was refused; information about the right to appeal; the deadline for lodging an appeal and the contact details for making an appeal. Parents must be informed that, if they wish to appeal, they must set out their grounds for appeal in writing. Admission authorities must not limit the grounds on which appeals can be made.

Thank you :-)

Dear all

I am hoping for some appeal advice if possible. My second son did not get into his elder brother's primary school (our first choice) and we have been offered a poor school not in our top three requests. I wondered if anyone had any advice for our appeal that cites scientific research into the potential psychological damage to the younger sibling who feels he is 'not good enough to go to his older brother's school'?

I also wondered if any county councils prioritise siblings over distance i.e. would not place children who live in catchment above children who are out of catchment but already a brother or sister in the school? If there are I wonder if they publish their ratioanale?

Lastly, on a related theme, would anyone know of precedents that may have been established outside of the world of primary school admissions where the 'splitting of siblings' is actually prohibited due to ethical concerns and other arguements?

Many thanks for anyone who might be able to help.

Hi Hontin

It's common enough for distance to be prioritised over siblings, or catchment siblings, then catchment other, then non-catchment siblings to be the order, that a panel is unlikely to rule these criteria as unreasonable.

Assuming that it is an infant class size appeal, the panel is only supposed to grant a place in very limited circumstances which don't seem to apply here. Worth a try so you can feel you gave it a shot but unlikely to work.

You may be lucky and get a place from the waiting list. You could put him on the waiting list for other schools too.

Hontin - what is the PAN for the school - the number of children they admit? If it is 15/30/45 children, then the appeal is likely to be ICS (Infant Class Size - limited to 30 per class) and pretty much impossible to win, as you would have to prove the LEA made an error in administering the admissions regulations or made a decision legally irrational in deciding not to admit.

If the appeal is not ICS, then you need to show that the detriment to the school to admitting is lower than the detriment to your child to not doing so. The things you mention - the research into psychological damage, ethical arguments against splitting of siblings - are irrelevant. They would apply so widely and so nebulously (no proof of any damage, siblings are split all the time) that no panel will consider them.

Many counties prioritise siblings over distance. The fact they do isn't important for your appeal though, it has no relevance.

You need to look at the school itself and why admitting one more child won't be to it's detriment. Has it admitted over PAN before? Has it specific features that make it attuned to your son particularly (e.g. he's a grade 3 pianist and it has a dedicated music room etc..)

Momzilla82 - TheDoctrineOfSnatch is correct that a foundation school is responsible for arranging its own appeals, although they may get the LA to do it on their behalf. It should make no other difference.

sass2014 - Please see the advice I have already given you. There is an LGO ruling that strongly suggests the LA should have phoned or emailed you to request proof of address before making any decisions. It was a long time ago and an appeal panel may take the view that it no longer applies but it is worth trying.

Hontin - I agree with the advice you have already been given. If this is an infant class size appeal you won't win with this kind of argument. Even if it is not infant class size you won't win with general arguments about splitting siblings. You would need specific evidence from experts who have examined your children and are willing to state that, in their view, your children have a stronger need than other siblings to be at the same school. It is unlikely you will get this so you really need a different approach. Look at things this school can offer your child that the allocated school cannot. If you can show that these are particularly relevant to your child that helps. So, for example, if your child is musically talented and the appeal school has more musical activities available than the offered school you could use that.

Thanks prh47bridge. We've included the ombudsman case in our appeal and it our appeal is based around this reason. After reading info on how to appeal it suggested giving lots of reasons and I was wondering if we should include any other reasons. Admissions are fully aware of what they are doing and have given us a catchment area school so that we cannot add distance as one reason to appeal? Therefore limiting grounds on which to appeal. Or are we clutching at straws? We've also re-read our original offer letter and it states on the back that they note our new address. I think I should change my name to miss angry!!!
I also now know the pan size is 14 and it is not a class size appeal.
Thanks again for all your help

sass2014 - Distance rarely wins an appeal unless the allocated school is a totally unreasonable distance away (and unreasonable is further than you think!).

Personally I'm not a fan of giving huge numbers of reasons. It can make it harder for the panel to see the strong points. However, if you can identify things about this school that make it particularly suitable for your child you should include those. For example, if your child is musically talented and the appeal school has a lot more musical activities than the allocated school that is worth bringing up.

How can I prove the lea made a mistake when working out the distance and route to the school if I can not access the system they used. The child that lives across the street from us got a place and we did not. I have used a measuring wheel and another systems online to calculate the route and we are always nearer. Plus the lea did not use our shortest route. How can I prove this? Anyone have experience of this?

The council have provided a map with e route they used. It is not the shortest and the I don't believe that the distance they have given is right. Either they have calculated our distance wrong or that of our neighbour. If we are walking the same route to school due to the positions of our houses it is impossible for them to be a shorter distance. What can I do to prove their system has made an error?

Did your neighbour get in but not you?

Yes my neighbour got the 30th place. No other reason he got in above us other than distance. Raised the issue with the council and she is coming to look at routes and houses.

So does your letter say something like "you are 451m from the school and the furthest offered distance was 437m" but your neighbour is actually one house "further away"?

The letter says that no child living more than 1269 meters from the school was admitted. The lea said We live 1277 meters away. The child lives across the street at an angle to us. They must be 1269 meters from the school due to the 8 meters difference between our quoted distance and their house. We have measured with a wheel and there is 13 meters differences between the two houses. If we are walking the way the lea say we would be 13 meters ahead. We have also used similar systems they used to calculate the route and distance and we come out shorter. The system has made an error.

Thanks to all 3 posters who have helped me get some sanity here. On your advice I am now dealing directly with the school by email, so I have an audit trail (including My account of the various untruths/ half truths the LEA have given me thus far). The headmaster will come back to us on the questions we raise and clarify the situation. The LEA have been hopeless! Hoping this moves us forward quickly.

Hi all, thanks for all the advice on this thread I have been reading for the last 2 hours and my brain is a mush at the moment trying to take everything on board.

Our DS got our 3rd choice school which is 5 miles from home and our local catholic school is only 1.8 (straight line distance). We both work full time and family all in Ireland plus wrap around childcare local to his current pre-school (in primary school grounds). My question is does anyone have any advice on appealing on grounds of a 70 PAN intake with 10 of the places being allocated to a vertically grouped class? Is this sufficient grounds of appeal?

thanks
A.

I'm assuming you are in England.

It sounds like this will be an infant class size appeal. From the information you have posted I'm guessing they run a total of 7 classes covering Reception, Y1 and Y2. I'm afraid that means you are only likely to win if you can show that they have got it wrong and your son should have got a place. If he was placed in the wrong admission category or they got the home to school distance wrong, for example, that would be grounds for a successful appeal. The grounds you have suggested will not work for an infant class size appeal. And even if it isn't an infant class size appeal it is extremely unlikely you would win on the basis of child care and transport issues.

Jojo, you said the original map from the council showed a route different to the one you think is the shortest? If that route is used, would other house be closer?

Has the council lady been round yet?

Also, measurement may be to middle of house not from pavement outside house (the council should be able to tell you) - do you maybe have a long drive or something?!

Thanks prh47bridge - I feared this may have been the case but going to give the appeal a shot anyway as have nothing left to loose now!

any help please

now going through appeals process sibling goes to 1 school & are little 1 is about to start reception but we did not get the same school as sibling.

schools are 0.7 miles apart takes 15 min walk for an adult (quickest with youngest 22 min) up a big hill but school start times are 10 min apart 0840-1515 & 0850-1500.

children always walk to school & we have no way of getting youngest child to school on time he will be late every day every week every term, school youngest has been allocated is all ready on special measures for lateness & attendance. We have no solution for this no family near by

we basing are appeal on these grounds but its all down to class size, school youngest been allocated are getting social services involved with any children that have lateness/attendance issues

Can't you just drop your eldest child 10 mins before school starts?
Most schools have kids playing in the playground before school.

because that would be very good parenting leaving a 7 year old to their own devices.

I'm afraid you are very unlikely to win on these grounds. Even if this was not an infant class size case, transport and childcare issues do not win appeals unless the child has mobility issues. In an infant class size case it is irrelevant. If your older child's school gives sibling priority but your younger child was not given priority that would give you a good case. But unless you can show a mistake has been made and your child should have got a place you are very unlikely to win.

The school being in special measures is also irrelevant I'm afraid. The panel cannot allow appeals on that basis. Someone has to go to this school.

You should still go through with the appeal. It is always possible that information will emerge during the hearing that shows a mistake has been made. But you need to be realistic about your chances of winning. And, as VegasIsBest says, you may have to drop your older child off early in order to get both children to school on time. Many parents face this. I know it means you don't get to see that child go into school but that is the situation for many parents.