Appealing against primary school allocation

[amandakay]

Hi, i have just rescently found out that my daughter did not get a place in my first choice of primary school :( i am going to appeal against this but have been doing some research and it looks very difficult and scary. I was just wondering if anyone has been throught the appeals process and could give me some advise.
Thanks!

hi
some experts will be along soon but until then you need to share some more info!

-Is this an infant class size appeal (i.e. are classes made up of 15, 30, 45 or 60 kids etc)

• has there been an error by the LEA/foundation school e.g. they measured your distance wrong

-What ground are you appealing on?

Agree that you need a reason for an appeal - it can't just be that you don't like your allocated school.

if its an infant class size appeal as mentioned above you can only win if there has been a mistake - things like childcare, attending preschool and often siblings etc are not taken into account. If is not infant class size you have more chance of winning but nationally very few win.

Have you accepted the allocated school - most experts agree you should to be sure you get something! Have you been to see it?

It is a Catholic school and the only one in my area, she has not yet been christened but is due to in june. I explained this on my aplication but i done suppose that was going to help as i could have said that regardless but she actually is lol. The school does take children that are not christened as i know a couple so i dont understand why she did not get it? and was wondering if i do get an explination as to why she wasnt accepted?

have you checked their criteria? My dd goes to a Rc school and the criteria is:

1 - baptised RC in parish
2 - Baptised siblings not in parish
3 - Baptised RC not in parish
4- Non RC in care
5- Non RC siblinngs
6 - Non RC

My dd school rarely makes it past criteria 3 thus if you she is not christened she has little chance of getting in as EVERY catholic in EVERY area will likely get in first - thats how most RC schools work. There sounds like there hasnt been a mistake so that alone wont win an appeal sadly. the other non catholics probably got in on low birth rate years. Schools have to follow their published admission criteria by law so even if you said you were getting her christened, they cant treat her as RC - schools check baptismal records so lying wouldnt have worked.

Your letter should say why you didn't get in but from what you're saying it sounds right.

If it's a Catholic school it will have its own admissions policy which you are able to look at. (Did you check it before applying? You can work out for yourself where you are in the pecking order.) If the school has followed the policy (which I would expect it has), it will be hard to see what grounds you have for appeal.
Sorry!

If she hasn't been baptised and your aren't regular church attenders then it is unlikely you would get in - you'd be right at the bottom of the list behing non-baptised children with siblings at the school, non-baptised children who regularly attend the church etc.

I recommend you get her baptised NOW so you jump to the top of the waiting list! You must do it soon through as you are likely to be lower than others on the list as she is not catholic. As soon as she is baptised, she will jump above all others who are not- check your criteria first and asap!

thanks everyone for all your advice...Sunnyday123 your right i need to get her christened and fast and make sure she is on the school waiting list! i dont think that i really have grounds for appeal as i am fully aware of the schools admissions policy and she is quite low down in the pecking order as has no siblings attending the school. The only leg i have to stand on is that i am from a family of catholics and want my daughter to be brought up in this faith also and if she attendes the school that she has been offered a place for (which is not catholic) then this will be difficult.

you wont win on appeal even with that sorry :( - i had a friend who did this last year for our school. She had a son in Y2 and the youngest didn't get in as she hadn't baptised him yet (like you, had it booked for later and thought she's be okay as a sibling). He didn't get in and she appealed and lost. She got him baptised a months or so later and he moved to the top of the waiting list as she lived opposite the school. Our school is also the only catholic school in the area and as such there is very little movement. Thus he never got a place until Dec and so had to do a term at another school!

I don't mean to sound overly negative - you need to be realistic thats all. Currently there are probably lots in front of you. If i were you and desperate to get her in now i would cancel the June christening if poss and do a quickie christening as soon as possible. Any movements that happen in the next few weeks will go to other RC (inc non parish probably) or Non RC siblings.

I would find out where you are on the list now and if there are any parish catholics on the list. Then see if you can get her done this week before people swap and change schools. If the school is not overly busy you may be first on the list once baptised!

The first thing to say is that you are not appealing AGAINST the allocation. You are appealing FOR your preferred school. You must remember that. You will not win any appeal by saying why you don't want the allocated school.

As others have said, the big question for any Reception appeal is whether or not it is infant class size. If the school would have classes of 30 children in Reception, Y1 or Y2 when all three years are full the appeal will be infant class size which means you should only win if you can show that a mistake has been made and your daughter should have been offered a place.

If it is not infant class size you have a better chance. You will then have to show that the disadvantage to your daughter through not attending this school outweighs the problems the school will face through having to cope with an additional pupil. Faith reasons can certainly help with a faith school.

ok so im making a list of the things i need to do! these include...

1. ringing the school to see if she is on the waiting list and to see if there are any baptised children already on the list.
2. find out how meany children are in the reception class and weather this would be a class size case
3. get intouch with the priest to try and bring christening foward!

Even bringing the baptism forward may not help you.

As has already been said, you need to check the school's admissions criteria very carefully. Many Catholic schools stipulate that the child should have been baptised before the age of 12 months and so, if this school is the same, a 'late' baptism at about the age of 4 might make no difference to where you are placed on the waiting list.

The letter notifying you that you have not got a place should give the reasons. If you go to appeal, then - as prh47bridge says - you can certainly mention your reasons for wishing your child to receive a Catholic education. You need to be prepared, though, for probable questions about why you have not (as I understand is usual Catholic practice) had your child baptised as a baby and why (or so I assume because you have not mentioned it)) you do not attend church.

what does your criteria say in terms of being RC?

my dds rc school only has baptised as criteria - nothing to do with when or church attendance? DD was 3 when baptised! I have the Lancashire school admission booklet and very very few RC schools stipulate church attendance (literally 1 or 2) and non mention date of baptism? In fact interestingly it seems its the CofE ones in our area that mention church attendance! It must vary greatly between areas - most of the threads i've read which mention such strict criteria are down south i think or in very oversubscribed cities maybe?

It is perfectly possible to raise a child as Catholic without attending an RC school (or at least I hope we are!), the main things are regular attendance at Mass, discussing and observing her faith and identity at home, and attending weekend classes for Holy Communion in yr 3 (haven't got beyond that). You won't win an appeal on those grounds.

Have you looked around your allocated school? Explored other schools which have places still which you might prefer to your allocated school? The vast majority of schools in this country teach RE from an early age, will engage in Christian worship (far more than many parents would like) and will respect her beliefs if there are things she can or cannot do (e.g. If CofE school and you objected to her going to their church service). We haven't had a problem.

i think if raising your daughter Catholic is genuinely important to you, the panel could legitimately wonder why you have not yet christened her (very late in the Catholic faith!) and why you are not regular church attenders?

Are you a regular attender at mass? Can you demonstrate that you are serious about raising your child as a Catholic? Have you been attending the church playgroup or anything like that?

I would advise you to appeal if you are able to state the importance of a catholic education in the context of faith, and family connections, are able to show that you have been engaged with the church and parish, or have been attending in another area and a priest from another parish can vouch for you, and can give a good reason why she was not baptised earlier.

There's no disadvantage to you in appealing, anyway, and if you don't parents who do might overtake you in the queue for any available places.