Anyone appeal class placement decision?

[WorkingMum20]

Hi, has anyone appealed against a class placement decision and if so what was the process? and outcome. Lots of info on school appeals but not on class appeals. thanks

Do you just mean going to talk to the headteacher? It is their decision.
I have made requests about teachers for my DDs when it was necessary and have always been listened to, but that is the style of the DCs headteacher.

It is my sister and her son has been placed in a class with no peers (all 29 other children from feeder playgroup in other 2 classes). He is v sensitive and in parent and playgroup statement listed need to be in familiary groups. Her class form said NOT to list friends but in talking to head she said that is the basis of placement so she has been disadvantaged. So wanted to know what she can do. Is talking to Head but not getting anywhere at the mo just saying wait until Sept when kids don't turn up.

Sorry but to some extent schools are dictatorships. In your sister's situation I would try to make contact with parents of other children in the class and get my son to know some other children over the summer.
Haven't they had any induction days so far? Does the school have a class rep system, they can help with getting to know other children/parents.

Ther is no legal "right of appeal", and schools will vary in how much they are prepared to discuss and be flexible about these kinds of things. All she can do is talk to the school and see what they say - and if the head has said "wait and we'll see" then that's the final decision on the matter.

I assume he means he won't take another child out of their assigned class to accommodate her wishes, but that if there is a slot in another class then they will move him at that stage.

Easy to sya try not to worry, my ds started in Sep knowing no-one at the school never mind his class and he soon settled in. He did miss his nursery friends so i made an effort to catch up with his best friend at weekends.

I assume they will all be together at playtimes?

Head being very difficult and stubborn and sister v upset. She is going in to meet her this week but letters only just gone out to limited amount of time. Thing is all 29 kids her DS has intereacted with for 3 years are in other class!

Well, I'm sure it seems "difficult and stubborn" to your sister, but if the Head has sent out letters giving the allocations, then she can only move your nephew by pulling another child out of the class to which he/she has already been allocated. If that family then objects, what is the Head supposed to do - she can't just say "Oh we've shoved your child into a different class because someone complained after the allocations were made, even though she hadn't said anything earlier on"

the issue is the form said NOT to list friends however other mums did and the school have admitted that that is how they place the children and that their form was misleading. Head has said even though form says not to list it they expect mums to so is sisters fault for not listing them?? if just random bad luck then you have to deal with it but when my nephew has been disadvantaged by an unclear and unfair process it doesn't seem right.

But what do you think the Head should do to fix it now that it has happened?

i would think as a minimum contact the parents of those children in the preferred classes where they have come from home/single setting ie no setting whereby friendship groups are an issue and ask if they mind changing. If they don't then so be it but at least make an effort. Some parents won't mind if there are no ties so at least it then looks like they have tried. i don't expect other parents/kids to be disadvantaged in favour of nephew but i think it only fair that the Head at least asks. My sister could have asked at the parents meetings etc if the school had issued the class placements before the last week of term.

That sounds unrealistic to me, and could make other parents very uncomfortable being phone up and asked.
At my dc's infant school it is random and sometimes a child end up being the only one from their preschool in one class. Actually often they make a better set of friends in the long run as they are mixing better.
If they do that for you they're opening issues where others start saying "you did it for them..." I think they're being very generous saying you might be able to swap in September.
Even if there are people who are from home/single setting, they don't necessarily want to swap forms after their child's done a settling day, talked to the child about their teacher etc.
My dd1 was split from her best friend after preschool which was very traumatic for her. They're still best friends at the end of primary despite not having been in the same class.

At most she can approach the governors but even they tend not to be involved in individual day to day issues unless very serious. Friendships are pretty transient at this age and I suspect the head will think she is being overly precious cautious. Maybe others have played the system a little she sounds narked that she(or rather her ds) may have lost out as a result. However unless he is SEN or can produce evidence of the potential damaging effect she may just have to accept it. The more positive she acts the less her ds is likely to feel any sense of disappointment and the quicker he will make other friends.

Just to give you hope - when we moved to our current town, DS (under Ed Psych in his old school for severe anxiety, and a school-induced selective mute at his old school also) joined a year group of 58 in which he knew not a soul. To make it worse, he actually started 3 weeks before the end of Year 1, and nobody had joined that year group since the beginning of Reception so they were a well-bonded group with very established friendship patterns.

Equally, DD joined the Reception class of the same school in the September, again knowing precisely 0 out of the 59 other children in her year, having spent the previous 2 years at a pre-school where we used to live.

Both quickly developed an extensive friendship network (to the extent that other mums, and to a great degree the school, didn't really believe the anxiety / selective mute facts about DS, they thought I must be exaggerating) and i would say that neither suffered in any way from being in a class of children they did not know when they started.

So think positive! You and your sister should emphasise that all the other children are new too, that you know that he will make great new friends, that he will also get to see his old friends at playtime so will end up with twice as many friends in total - if you make it sound a positive and exciting adventure, you are doing a much better thing for him than by getting involved in appeals etc.

Of course you and your sister will be anxious. The hours of DS's first day at his new school were some of the longest of my life (he emerged shrieking across the playground 'My new school has 3 BREAKS and ALL MY CLASS IS MY FRIEND' ... this from a child who did not speak to anyone except immediate family for several months was just amazing!) but don't let your anxiety show to the child and they are likely to be much more resilient than you expect.

They have literally just been informed of class so there has been no settling in.nor meeting teacher. I appreciate kids are resilient but her ds is v sensitive. Just don't know why.they would separate one child.out of 30 doesnt make sense.

I have friends who are teacher's and it does have neg impact.

"it does have neg impact." Can have, not necessarily does have.

There is no WAY the HT will phone up parents and ask if they mind switching their child's class!!! Most people believe their child is "sensitive2." Your nephew will be fine.

this has been happily resolved and he has moved class :-)