Any help/advice for school admissions appeal please.

[schoolappealshelpplease]

Hello, as above would appreciate any "expert" opinions and advice or to hear from parents who have been in similar situations.

We have two children currently in year 2 and year 4. We had to move house rather suddenly (various unavoidable reasons which aren't that interesting) and have had to move towns. We don't have a car so rely on public transport. Currently traveling to their old school each day on the bus and it's 1.5 hrs round trip, twice a day for me and we don't get home until 16:30.

There are local very local schools, on our road and we applied for both. We have been rejected for both as they are full so we are on the waiting lists. Our youngest is 1st on the list for year 2 and eldest is 5th on the list for year 4 but will be 1st once the youngest gets a place due to sibling priority.

So, I would like to appeal, but it will be an infant class size appeal and I know these are pretty impossible to win unless a mistake has been made (it hasn't). So when do I put in the appeal s that it is an appeal for him to have a year 3 place? Do I have to wait until he has finished year 2 and appeal over the holidays? I know I can only appeal once per school year so don't want to waste my one chance on an infant class size appeal rather than a year 3 appeal.

What reasons are worth stating at the appeal? Our school journey is pretty rubbish as the bus is unreliable and we have to leave home early and get back late. They kids can't do after school clubs or before school clubs/activities any more due to the distance and it's pretty impossible for them to have friends home or go to friends as we can't collect them easily.

There is a school in this town with space for the youngest, which they have offered us but it's the opposite direction from their current out of town school, and a 30 min walk as no bus route and no space for our eldest. I can't be in two places at once and it would take at least an hour likely 1.5 hrs from that school to then get eldest to his school. Would me refusing this place due to impossible logistics lessen my chance at appealing the school near our house that he is 1st of the waiting list for.

Thank you for any tips!

Yes I need some back up plans I know. It's hard to explain it all and I realise it may look unreasonable but I simply can't have my ex having this control over where the children go to school when it's not him having to do the school runs each and every day (he won't help despite having a car and not working) and it's me that has tired grumpy upset children each and every evening.

What happens if he has made an application? From his address it would be a false application going by the rules on what address has to be used. But what if he has made an application using my address? Can I ask for it to be withdrawn given that I don't agree, it is my address not his and as I am resident parent?

Remember

a) In year admissions are now formally the responsibility of the school rather than the local authority (although most will work with the authority to ensure this happens)
b) appeals have to be made on specific grounds and not just because you disagree with the decision.

The guidance says The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 states that there cannot be more than 30 pupils in an infant class (Reception, Year 1 or Year 2). In most cases, the admission authority will have refused to admit your child to because to do so would cause a class to breach the legal limit of 30. If yours is an infant class appeal, this will be explained in the papers circulated before the hearing"The Appeals Panel will only find that the decision to refuse a place in Reception, Year 1 or 2 was unreasonable where it believes that the decision was perverse and no reasonable person could have arrived at that decision. In recent years very few appeals for Reception, Year 1 or 2 have been successful.".

Appeals will only be allowed if any of the following criteria apply:
a) the admission of your child would not breach the legal limit
b) the admission criteria were not lawful
c) the admission criteria were incorrectly or impartially applied and your child would have been offered a place if they had been correctly and impartially applied
d) the decision to refuse was not one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.

Note that 96% of appeals fail, and most because they do not address any or all of the above.