Advice for year 3 appeal

[zippy123george]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give advice for a year 3 appeal.
My daughter currently in year 2 attends an out of county school approx. 4 miles away. Her older sister attends a school 0.4 miles. I would like my younger daughter to move to this school and she has been on the waiting for a long time.(currently 3rd) She keeps getting moved down it though as new children are added who live closer than us/ in catchment. She was offered a different school 0.38 miles away in the opposite direction that we refused. Neither schools are catchment(that is 0.4 miles away and full).

The school we would like her to go to is outstanding and over-subscribed, the one we refused is rated satisfactory (i have no problem with this - her current school is rated satisfactory), it does however, have a problem with challenging and bad behaviour and bullying - as cited on the ofsted report. I have also loooked at the school and know of parents with children there who say the same.

The school I would like has a net capacity of 420 and currently has 412 on roll-these vacancies are in year 6 though as some children leave to go to the county secondary schools which take at the end of year 5. The school has in the past gone over numbers and the prospectus states that classes have up to 33 in them. It produces outstanding ks2 results.

My dilemma is although i really want my daughter to go to this school how can I prove that her need out weighs the LA's not to admit. I will be basing the appeal mainly on social and emotional needs of my daughter. She attended the nursery of this school (but unfortunatley did not gain a full time place when we applied)so she knows the layout,staff, children in the year group, etc, she has a small secure group of close friends that attend too.

She took a very long time to settle where she is now but i feel she needs to be at a local school where she can build solid friendships and feel part of the local community. She is quite an anxious, shy, quiet child and is very close to her older sister who i feel will help aid her move to a local school.
If anyone has any advice it would be much appreciated thank you.

I think you've said it - you base your appeal on your daughter's emotional and social needs. You can say that she is anxious and shy and would benefit from being at a school closer to home with her sister. Is she anxious to the point of having had medical help? If so, a supporting letter from a GP/therapist giving their professional opinion in support of your case will be helpful. Can you identify other things about the school that would benefit your daughter - sports facilities, music provision etc etc?

Don't mention the difference in Ofsted ratings and KS2 results because they have nothing to do with the appeal. I don't think mentioning that your daughter went to the nursery will help much, either; attending the nursery doesn't give priority for Reception admissions, let alone Y3.

As you say, the vacancies in Y6 don't help very much but the comment in the prospectus about classes taking up to 33 might. Get some recent figures from the school of numbers in each KS2 class - if you can point to years when Y3 has had more than 30 pupils that will support your argument that the class can cope with another pupil.

Hi, many thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, there will be no supporting evidence - it will just be my own reasons and personal opinion of my daughter's shyness etc, which is why I really do want to give it my best effort to get the wording just right.

Is it worth mentioning that she is familiar with the school and the staff? Also is it worth adding the other reasons I would like to move her to this school such as long journey, traffic, unable to walk either of my girls to school, cost of having to pay for before and after school care for my elder daughter at the moment. Also she will have to move to the partner junior school on another site approx. 1/4 mile away from her existing school for ks2, where she will meet new members of staff,etc so Sept seems the ultimate time to do the move with minimal disruption to her.

Or would all of this get looked over and discarded as she has been offered a local school albiet in the opposite direction to the one my elder daughter attends?

Your case needs to be about your daughter's needs. Concentrate on that. Things like childcare arrangements, transport difficulties, etc. are not generally relevant to appeals. If the long journey, for example, has a much worse effect on your daughter than it would on other children of her age it is worth mentioning but otherwise it isn't really relevant.

If you do bring these things up try to focus on the effect on your daughter rather than the problems and expense you might face.

Prh47bridge has just said everything I was about to say. Don't base your appeal on saving yourself time, money or inconvenience but on what your daughter needs and how this school will meet those needs.

I think mentioning that she knows the school and the staff is (really) clutching at straws. She can't know them that well because she's been at another school for the last 3 years and this could just as easily be turned around by arguing that she would be going to the partner junior school with a lot of children she's known for years. Better, as I said, to concentrate on what she needs. Knowing the staff at your preferred school may help her to settle in, but you need to focus on why she should be admitted in the first place.

That's very helpful. Thank you both.