Has anyone won an appeal based on this...?

[workingonitagain]

Just wondering if anyone thinks this sound like a reasonable appeal?
We are moving out of our area and school will be a 30 min drive from our new place. I have 3dc. My eldest is in reception so i will be applying for a reception as it will be before the summer. I know there are no places apart from 1 school which is also about 15 min drive. Our closest school is 0.3 miles and thats the one i will be applying for. 2 are on the waiting list. So anyway im expecting to get rejected. My appeal will be based on this. My middle dc will start in sept 2016 so will be applying this december. I know he will get it and so i feel that my eldest will benefit from changing school in reception rather than after year 1 ( thats assuming that once my dc2 got a place, dc1 will get one too) also dc2 will not get a chance to go to a local preschool and benefit from meeting other children who will possibly be in his class when he starts. I don't even want to think about having 2 children with 2 different schools they are accepted in!
Well this sounded a lot stronger in my head than it is written down!

What do you all think?

This is likely to fall under the Infant Class size rules. Does the preferred school have class sizes of 30?

Because if so, an appeal can only success if a) there has been a mistake which deprived your DC of a place (very unlikely for an in-year application), b) the entrance criteria are unlawful (you haven't said you've spotted anything iffy about them) or c) the decision is so unreasonable as to be perverse (high threshold for this, usually things like child protection issues).

The 'balance of prejudice' type of argument (where you'd try to show that the detriment to the school in admitting another pupil is less than the detriment to your DC if not admitted) isn't permitted under ICS rules, essentially Y3 and upwards.

As meditrina says, you would be very unlikely to win an ICS appeal on the reasons you outline. The school is simply full and from what you have written, none of the reasons needed for a successful ICS appeal would apply (e.g., LA broke Admissions Code).

You can always appeal anyway. I went to appeal for my Dd in very similar circumstances. I knew I was unlikely to succeed but I thought it was worth a punt at least. Just don't bank on being successful!

The good news is that if you are very close to your chosen school, your chances of being high on the waiting list are good.

Thanks both i do not know the class number but i assume it will be on it's full capacity.
So you think i would have a better chance of them opening a space for him when (and if) my dc2 gets a place offered for sept 2016 ? (If he doesn't get one before)

you would move up waiting list when DC2 has a place

They won't open up a space for him. Once your second child is at the school your oldest will go up, probably to the top, of the waiting list assuming siblings get priority, and that the school holds a waiting list for year 1 and higher. However you will still be reliant upon someone in his year group leaving.

Once he is in year 3 then an appeal is more likely to succeed if you have a good case as class sizes are no longer limited by law. unless the government changes this

Far too many questions really here to be able to answer sensibly.
The fact you are moving into the area may be an advantage if there are no local schools with places, as you might then be considered to be an "excepted pupil" if the only places are a 15 minute drive away, which I assume means it is more than 5 miles away. But a lot depends on the admission number of the school, the attitude of the LA to the guidance about allocating places as an "excepted pupil" and how far the LA consider is a reasonable distance.
Whilst there might well be sibling priority in the admission criteria for the school this will only operate if it allows this to be for older siblings - quite often only the elder sibling can be the catalyst for being higher up the admission criteria. Plus this does not give the child a place, simply puts them further up the admission criteria ladder.
If you want to tell me the names of the school you wold prefer, the school you are currently at and the LA involved on a PM, I might be able to tell you some more info.

Thanks all. Im really hoping it won't be years before we get a place..

Thanks admission any info is greatly appreciated. I pm you