Year 3 In-Year Appeal questions

[rippednips]

Hello, I have asked questions previously about this and the information I've learned has been invaluable, thanks! Hoping for more help and advice please. So, finally after many months we finally sent our appeal off and we have our appeal due to be heard in 2 weeks. Firstly, am I ok with my paperwork being shared with a Parents' School Preference Advisor? Is this just the reasons why I am appealing? I haven't sent any further paperwork in support of my appeal - in fact I'm not sure there is anything I can send. Apart from siblings/logistics which I know won't carry any weight, reasons for appealing centre on the fact that son is on SEN register in his current school: verbal dyspraxia, stammer, dysfluency (receives speech therapy outside of school), visual stress, dyslexic tendencies, performing below age-related expectations but no targets have been set for him or appropriate interventions put in place. School we are appealing for has very comprehensive and detailed SEND report (from which we've quoted) which we believe will go towards helping give our son the support he needs in order to catch up with his peers. We also focus on how school we are appealing for provide 18 different extra-curricular sports clubs across the school, how they have a high % of children doing these clubs (quote from their newsletter), they are overall sports champions for our area and hold a silver kite mark award and our son would flourish in this environment. Sport is something he can excel in and he plays junior hockey outside of school but his current school only offers one extra-curricular club he can do and one offered by a local football club open to the whole school of which 4 children attend. Also, plan to find out current or previous class sizes before the appeal as I know that some classes have gone over 30 before - it's 3 form entry, so I believe they do have the capacity to go over 30 as they have before. I'm not sure what questions I should prepare to pose to the Admission Authority and is it likely that the appeal will go to Stage 2? Please help me best prepare for this if you can! All help and advice very much appreciated. Thank you.

Bump

Almost Everything that you have said about your appeal is in effect your case in part 2 of the appeal. Part 1 of the appeal is the school's case not to admit and they have to show prejudice to the school over and above the fact that they have reached the PAN of the cohort you are applying to enter.
If you can show that the school has gone over 30 in the class in the past and especially if one of the current classes is over 30, then that is a starting point for saying that the school have not proved prejudice. The school will usually add in to their case things like the corridors are narrow, it will reduce the time that the teacher can spend with each individual pupil etc so that they get over the threshold of proving prejudice. Whilst some cases are won at part 1 the vast majority are at part 2 which when you case is balanced against the school's case for prejudice to your son.
Unless you have some significant other reasons at part 1, I would assume that your case rests with the strength of your argument in Part 2.

Thank you so much for your reply! OK, will prepare myself for Stage 2 of the appeal. Do you know what sort of questions I should/could be asking during Stage 1 of the appeal?