Appeal advice

[laurajane83]

Wondering if anyone may be able to advise me. We are currently living in Canada, my husband had a job transfer for 2 years, but before we left we were living in Haywards Heath, and we will be returning to our same address in the summer. My son will be starting school in September, and because we will be returning to the same address, we could apply as usual.

Anyway, our first choice school is a C of E school, and whilst it is not our catchment area school because it is voluntary aided, it is actually closest to us. We applied to the school to be considered under the category 4 criteria which reads:
"4.Children whose parent(s)/legal guardian/carer are involved in the regular worship of a Christian Church in membership of Churches Together in England and Wales or the Evangelical Alliance and who application is supported by a letter, written in the year prior to school entry, from their parish Priest or Minister;"

We provided a letter from our Reverend confirming our attendance at Church regularly, prior to moving for work. However, the Governors considered us under criteria 5 - basically "anyone else" - and we have not got a place.

We we're hoping to appeal on the basis that we have been judged unfairly. Does anyone have any experience of appealing for a C of E school? Or appealing in circumstances similar to this?

Sorry this is so long winded. Any help would be gratefully received

Have your school or LEA said you can apply from Canada? I'm in Australia and my two will be starting school in the UK in September too. We will be living back in our own house.

However our LEA said we couldn't apply until we were actually back in the house. We can't apply from here. And the school we are applying too is undersubscribed.

I think it would be terribly unfair if they allocated places to children who were not in the UK and took a place away from a child who was.

There have been a few threads on this in the last few months which says to me that people are coming and going all of the time.

I remember reading not so long ago about someone who was allowed to apply from wherever she was. Using her address abroad I think. And they applied the admission regulations to her.

I hoped that would be the case for me too as even though we would are 12000 miles away, there wouldn't be anyone closer applying so we would get in!

OP, it sounds like your letter was not written about the year prior to entry as you have been abroad two years.

They may not even have noticed that you aren't yet back at your current address. If they had, as savoy says, I don't think they would have processed your application at all.

When you get back in the summer the LA will need to allocate you a place and you can go on waiting lists for any alternatives you want.

Yes, worship in Churches Together is a common criterion. There's usually other Christian or other faith before all others. But there doesn't have to be. I am assuming there aren't for your candidate school as otherwise you could be in the another Christian based on your Canadian attendance.

Yes, it's permissible to specify both duration of attendance and that it be in the run up to entry.

I'm also surprised they even allowed you to apply - my LA, not very far from Hayward Heath doesn't allow applications from people until they are actually resident (unless they are crown agents).

Op, did you actually speak to anyone at the LA asking of you could apply from canada?

of a Christian Church in membership of Churches Together in England and Wales or the Evangelical Alliance if you're in Canada I suspect you may not be able to apply under that.

Most places say only if you're resident because otherwise people say "honest, I really am moving to this house next door to highly over-popular school" and then find that they weren't quite actually going to do it once they've accepted the place.

As others have said, it is highly unusual for a LEA to accept an application from abroad. Usually, the family must have a confirmed address in England and be living in it - they don't accept applications from a prospective address (even if it's one that the family already own).

As for the priest's letter, if I've understood correctly, it was written 2+ years ago, before you moved abroad. Either that or it was written by your priest in Canada. Whichever it is, it doesn't fulfil the conditions in the admissions criterion as you've quoted it here.

There's nothing here to suggest that the LEA has made any sort of error in processing your application. If the school admits in multiples of 30 (so, 15, 30, 45 etc) this will be an infant class size appeal, in which the only prospect of winning depends on identifying some error or irregularity that has deprived you of a place. By all means appeal, and highlight any reasons why this school might better meet your child's needs, but I very much doubt that it will succeed so identify your alternatives - joining waiting lists here and elsewhere etc.

Actually having read West Sussex's (North) admission criteria, you have probably inadvertently applied fraudulently. As I assume you applied with your Haywards Heath address, although you were not actually living there on January 15th, even though you may have been paying Council tax. If you had been offered a place at your preferred school it could have been removed at any time, including after your DD started.

Yes, the LEAni spoke to (Derbyshire) said we had to have a council tax bill and be living in our house.

Which is a pain for us as it's going to take our furniture 12 weeks to arrive and we were going to stay with family until then. But now we are going to have to rent furniture and move in.

I had been in contact with the LEA prior to moving and also whilst applying for my son, and they assured me that I could apply as usual, I checked numerous times - so I presume that it was all above board, otherwise I have e-mails from the Council confirming that I could do this. However, it is a different situation for my daughter, who will be going into Y2 in September - we cannot organise a place for her until a few weeks before she will be attending.

The letter itself was written in December 2014, by the Reverend at our local Church in England, confirming our links.

I have asked to be put on the waiting list, and the school is also aware that we are currently out of the country, and they have also not raised any issues.

What did the letter say? It cannot have confirmed that you were regularly attending to worship as you were away

Which may mean that the letter was insufficient to qualify you for criteria 4.

It's good you have the emails from the LEA. Have they offered you an alterntive school and have you accepted such offer?

The letter confirmed that prior to our move we had regularly attended. I presume that is the reason we have fallen into criteria 5. We have been offered an alternative school, and we have been in contact with them and accepted the offer, and they are also aware that we are currently out of the country.

Thanks for your advice everyone.

We're overseas and attend a church here, which is part of the evangelical alliance/churches together and therefore counts as continuous church attendance in terms of DS's high school application. Can you arrange a letter from your church in Canada? Applying from overseas isn't usually allowed even if you own the house you will be returning to (and have flights booked/job contract), as we do.

Honestly, the whole process has been very stressful as we were initially told to apply in the normal way by our LA and the school, but then the school refused to accept the application after it had been submitted. Now we're going through the appeals process as DS1 doesn't yet have a place for September, but thankfully, DS2 is going to go back into his old primary class.

Good luck with your move!

I am sure you are right, OP. The criterion is looking for a recent letter confirming current attendance at one of the churches in the specified groups; that's why it says "are involved". A letter confirming past attendance doesn't fulfil that.

You're wise to accept the alternative offer, so that your child has a place for September in case you don't get a place in the preferred school via an appeal (highly unlikely, for the reasons I mentioned) or the waiting list (perhaps more likely).

So have you been attending church regularly whilst you have been out of the country? Two years ago is not exactly current attendance is it? I think a letter from your current place of worship (if any) would be required for you to have any chance at all.