anyone sit on placement appeal panels?

[dancemom]

I have been doing this for about 2 years and I'm sitting down to plough through the paperwork before doing 2 days of panels next week.

Just glancing through them 90% of them are appeals where the reason given is "I work full time and X family member is going to look after dc so scared needs to go to Y school which is near X family members home"

If you do this role do you find this also??

Are you referring to ICS appeals?

I sit on panels and I do think there is a widespread lack of understanding about what actually counts as grounds for appeal for ICS appeals. Most are along the lines of what you mention, or other issues around work meaning they can't get children to allocated schools on time, all of which is irrelevant.

Yes, and said family member can't drive or has bad knees and can't possibly get the child to the allocated school.

I'm in Scotland where it's dealt with differently but yes, the lack of research astounds me!

I used to. I think it's stacked against the parent, tbh. They get told that grounds for appeal are mistake that costs child a place, or 'unreasonable' decision. Then get told that unreasonable means 'no reasonable person would make this decision'.

Well, no reasonable person would choose to have two children in two schools that start at exactly the same time, 2 miles apart.

No reasonable person would choose to put their child in a school that is a 30 minute walk away when there is a school around the corner.

No reasonable person would choose to put their child in the school in special measures when there is an outstanding school close by, etc....

But of course, that's not what unreasonable means for appeals. The parents are like lambs wandering into a lions' den. The LA knows the regs. Inside out (although managed to stuff up an amazing number of times!)

I'm in the process of appealing. They make it utterly clear what unreasonable means. It's perverse, illogical etc and the threshold is high. The odds are against me regardless but they're clear about this in all the literature.

If I've got the right person, Show, then I'd say the decision for you is unreasonable, perverse and illogical. Unfortunately for you I won't be sitting on your panel.

I am afraid that most parents put into a school appeal situation believe that their case is somehow unique and therefore should be allowed. I do not have any problem with that because for them getting their child into the school they want is probably one of the most important things they will do.
However the panel is faced with obeying the law and the law around infant class size regs is particularly difficult as it is so restrictive.
I am afraid that significant numbers of appeals are doomed to failure but there are those that are allowed because there has been a mistake etc and for that reason if nothing else panel members need to accept that many appeals will be repetitive and likely to not be successful.

That's a shame. A friendly face would help. I'm terrified. I've no idea what we do if we fail. Home school seems the only option.

Many parents see it as an extension of being a customer - they get to choose and if they don't get what they want if they complain enough the will.

Regretably t4gnut you are correct, parents do not have a choice of school, they can express a preference for a particular school. Unfortunately politicians of all colours perpetuate the myth that there is choice by their words, but there is not.

I think a lot of parents will always want where the grass appears greener and believe their 'choice' will be upheld as it is actually a right. Our LA goes to extreme lengths to give information to parents about how to make an informed choice. This does not stop Parents believing they will get school A even though they are miles out of catchment and no-one from their road has been offered a place at that school since the year dot. They live in hope but inevitably hopes are dashed. I don't think the system is stacked against the parents but parents do have to take responsibility for reading about how places are allocated and understand the rules that apply - to everyone.