School appeals

[charm2012]

hi there,
my daughter (4 yrs) was due to start reception in september but we had to move house due to a mutual exchange so could no longer except the school she had been given, i rang and told them i planned on moving and all school admissions were interested in was seeing a new tenancy aggrement.
so the move went ahead i had my new address let school admissions know and my preferred school was one that is literally up the road and round the corner also family members (cousins) attend this school.
school admissions sent me back a letter saying that they cannot offer us a place due to infant class size, i rang the school the headmisstress was very nice and said there only 1 other family on waiting list and doesnt see what the problem would be in the classroom being just 2 pupils over and she said she would phone back.
next day she rang and advised i go down the appeal route meaning my daughter wont start reception till end off september insted of the beginning with all the other children. i could go through all this and still be denied a place and she would of missed 3 weeks of starting school for nothing. other schools in my area are also very over subscribed, the one that is avaliable has not got a very good reputation. i dont know what im doing to be honest whats right or wrong very distressed. do i go through with appeal or take this other school into consideration :(

Infant class size is law. 30 is the maximum, so I have no idea why the head told you this? Unless they are an academy?

this school is in charge of there own appeals and class sizes, the school we was offered before hand before the move accepted 35 pupils. seems they do as their pleased.

Why? Can you link to the school?

Charm,

That's not legal....if all the 35 were in the same classroom with the same teacher.

It may be that 5 or more were mixed with either an older Year 1 class or a nursery class.

No school has the right to admit over an infant class size of 30 unless excepted children are admitted through appeals.

Unless it is a private school, it is not in charge of its own class sizes, and the law on ICS will apply.

For an ICS appeal to be successful, you have to show that one of three things apply: LEA have made a mistake that has deprived your DC of a place; or the criteria are unlawful; or the decision is so unreasonable as to be perverse (in the legal sense). I am not sure that a properly handled late application stands much chance of succeeding, i matter how friendly the head.

If no school whatsoever within a reasonable travelling distance has a place at all, then the Fair Access Protocol will be invoked. This will allow the LEA to place an additional pupil in the school best able to accommodate an extra one, even if already full. This may or may or may not be one you would have chosen.

What other schools have you visited? Are there any other acceptable options you can get to?

the class has a teaching assistant also, school admissions never gave a second option all they did do was send out a what to do next form. on the phone thay told me the avaliable schools, one is way out off catchment area and i do not drive, the other is the one that hasnt got so much of a great reputation. there are two other schools in my area but have been told they are both full too.

"The LA is obliged to find you a school place"

True, but they already have, haven't they, for the OP's old address. I thought she said she'd not accepted it as she knew she was moving? In which case, I don't think they're obliged to offer another.

charm what makes you think that the school is in charge of its own admissions and class sizes? I'm sure that can't be right as, apart from anything else, the it's the LEA admissions department that has been in touch with you regarding your application. Meaning it's their business.

Coming to this a bit late but just thought I would make a couple of points.

Academies, faith schools and the like can set their own admission criteria. However, parents still apply to the LA and offers are made through the LA. As Clam says, it is their business. The school may organise its own appeals but it must use an independent appeal panel, so it can't just do what it likes. As EdithWeston and tiggytape have said, an ICS appeal can only succeed in limited circumstances.

As others have pointed out, the law is that there can be no more than 30 children with a single teacher in any class where the majority of children are in Reception, Y1 or Y2. A class can only go over this size if some of the children are excepted - usually this is a result of successful appeals which in turn is usually a result of mistakes made during the admissions process, but there are a number of other classes of excepted children. If a school has 35 children in a single class and none of them are excepted it is breaking the law.

"on the phone thay told me the avaliable schools, one is way out off catchment area and i do not drive, the other is the one that hasnt got so much of a great reputation."

Taking out the school which is out of catchment, there is a school with an available space. It might not have a great reputation but the important thing is it appears to be in reasonable travelling distance and, most desirable, it has a place. Surely better to take what's on offer, help your daughter settle in and start to make friends while you continue to try and get a place where you want, than have her miss out on the crucial early days of forming friendships with her classmates. It's going to be harder for her, whichever school she ends up at, to start late when the other children are already settled in and know who is who. I appreciate it's going to be hard for her to move as well, but at least if your appeal is unsuccessful she doesn't then have to start that process.