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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

dd1 refused a place at both preferred schools, I need to appeal....HELP!

117 replies

junkinmytrunk · 26/03/2007 09:02

dd1 has been refused a place for bothe preferred schools and given a place at a horrible school further away.

My 1st choice is where she currently attends nursery but is a very overly subscribed school.

2nd choice is the school round the corner that has had a lot of money put into it and is on the up but is normally undersubscribed.

I will have to walk past both these schools the attend where she has been placed.

I'm so angry, its the last thing I need right now. I was expecting to be refused a place at her school but really thought she'd get in round the corner. It just doesn't make any sense.

Need to fill in the form to appeal but don't know where to start!

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Tortington · 26/03/2007 09:03

i dont think you have grounds for appeal unless there are solid reasons youc annot get your child to a school further away

Greenshoots · 26/03/2007 09:04

I know people who have appealed successfully - it's definitely worth a try. Keep bumping, others will know how to go about it (I don't).

slayerette · 26/03/2007 09:19

Whereabouts are you? If you go on your county council's website and look under school admissions, they might have all the stages that you need to go through to appeal. We haven't heard our placements yet, but the appeal details are already on the website - takes us through exactly what to do step by step. HTH

Tortington · 26/03/2007 09:20

i appealed successfully twice. infact and senior went right to a tribunal at the civic centre.

but i had solid grounds

MintChocChippyMinton · 26/03/2007 10:06

Make sure you are on the other schools' waiting lists.

hippipotami · 26/03/2007 10:51

If you have to walk past both other schools to get to the school you have been allocated, does that mean you have not been given your nearest school?

Perhaps you have grounds to appeal based on catchment area?

Is there any way you can look up the first two schools catchment area to see if you are actually in it?
If you are, and it is the school closest to you then you may have grounds to appeal?

GreenandBlackOtter · 26/03/2007 10:52

i know people who have appealed successfully but sorry i cant be more help than that
good luck!

UnquietDad · 26/03/2007 11:06

junk - the temptation is to ask what is so horrible about the school, because after all lots of parents do send their kids there - but I suspect I know! We were in a similar situation.

Your appeal needs to be based on the school you want being the right one for your DD, and not the other schools not being right, if you see what I mean.

We lost an appeal once then appealed successfully a second time. If your DD is in infants (KS1) there is a problem that the class sizes are "capped" at 30 and in theory they cannot allow more in. However, there are 33 in my DD's class - 3, including her, got in on appeal. The appeal panel is totally independent from the school and the LEA.

On the appeal panel there will probably be three people. Putting their respective cases will be you, the LEA rep and the school head (possibly and/or head of governors). It's likely that, even if the head is sympathetic - as ours was - then (s)he will have to be there putting the collective opinion of the governors.

I could give all sorts of advice, but without knowing your situation in more depth it's perhaps better if I point you towards two places.

First of all, this book by Ben Rooney, which we didn't use but which is strongly recommended by others. I heard him on the radio and was impressed by his common sense and knowledge of the subject.

Secondly, the Advisory Centre for Education - give them a call and discuss your situation. They will help you to know exactly what questions you should be asking at the appeal. They were very useful for us.

Good luck!

bakedpotato · 26/03/2007 11:10

Nothing to do with appeals, but do ring up school secs/LEA and make sure dd is on the appropriate waiting lists.
Really worth sucking up to school secs ime.
They should tell you, I think, whereabouts she is in the queue.
Long time between now and Sept, and there's bound to be quite a lot of movement

UnquietDad · 26/03/2007 11:13

Primary Admissions office in your local LEA are the people to call about waiting list position, I think - don't bug the school.

But check - our LEA, at the end of the year, wipes the waiting list. They decided not to have them for Y1 and Y2 as it "created an expectation". That's good, isn't it? How long before the NHS tries that one....?

sanae · 26/03/2007 14:31

seems ridiculous to me not to be able to go to your geographically nearest school. How far away is the one you have been allocated?- still walking distance or would you have to drive? Could you mention importance of walking to school, being part of a community around the school, or is this not relevant. I know someone who has successfully appealed, so worth a go especially if the school is not normally full

hana · 26/03/2007 14:32

the school secretaries don't have any say on the lists - until school actually starts in Sept 2007, the LEA are in charge of all lists, and any movement up or donw on the lists will come from them.

goo dluck

UnquietDad · 26/03/2007 14:36

also get yourself a copy of

this DfES publication

and this one

and know them back-to-front! Photocopy the relevant bits, highlight them and take them in with you for reference.

pooka · 26/03/2007 14:39

I didn't get my preferred school either. DD currently at pre-school there and ds due to start in September 08. It's my closest school by a lot - less than half a mile away at the end of my road. But this year the catchment has been freakishly small. Now if it had been last year, she would have got in. Rather

Unfortunately I don't think ds's pre-school place will be persuasive groudns to appeal, since dd would be starting in January 08, before he is due to start. But am going to try regardless.

ScummyMummy · 26/03/2007 14:42

Waiting lists move a lot. Ring the school secretaries to say hi and see where your daughter is on their waiting lists. My sons didn't get in anywhere at first but later were offered places at my preferred school without an appeal being needed.

UnquietDad · 26/03/2007 14:43

You should always try. If you don't ask, you don't get. And lay it on thick. If there's a good reason why you can't travel to other catchments - e.g. no car and the public transport is rubbish - get evidence of that too.

UnquietDad · 26/03/2007 14:44

Just to reiterate I wouldn't recommend bothering the school secretary. Phone the Primary Admissions Unit at your local authority. They hold waiting lists, not the school.

ScummyMummy · 26/03/2007 14:53

I would definitely disagree, unquietdad. I forged great relationships with all the school secretaries in the area at that time. I rang occasionally just to see what was happening and reiterate that i wanted to be kept on the waiting lists rather than being all over them like a nagging eejit rah, you understand. They know the system and are lovely and reassuring, I found. I still think my boys' school secretary is one of the very fabbest things about their school.

UnquietDad · 26/03/2007 14:54

fair enough, scummymummy - if you can get an informal relationship going that might help. But Primary Admissions units are still the ones with the latest info on waiting lists and places available. Some schools don't like to be bugged about it.

nogoes · 26/03/2007 14:55

I wonder why you were not allocated your local school? Can you find out?

ScummyMummy · 26/03/2007 15:02

It probably depends on the personnel involved, tbh, QD!. My Local Authority person was useless,
name of Gary, I am reminded by this, my anguished thread of the time. Things may well have changed since then though and it prbably varies from area to area. I do agree that being seen to be naggy or pushy by secretaries is a bad idea.

galaxy · 26/03/2007 15:06

really feel for you as we are in the same position and I am sitting completing my appeal form now. In our case, the only appeal grounds we have are that we believe they have mapped the school and our home inaccurately. There's apublic (made up) footpath running from our house straight to one of our preferred schools. They have ignored that and measured walking through the town centre. If they accept our route, we are then closer to that school than the one they've allocated by only 0.1 of a mile but our preference doesn't involve crossing any roads or even seeing a car.

Go for it but do find out the date for appeal submission deadline - ours is this Wednesday

On the plus side, we are number one on the waiting list at the local Faith School so fingers crossed.

janinlondon · 26/03/2007 15:30

I don't think being the closest school is grounds.......or we'd have people appealing all over London! But I suppose it might be different in some places? Most schools I think admit the 30 children who live closest?

janinlondon · 26/03/2007 15:31

PS:..or who have siblings already in. (Sorry!)

galaxy · 26/03/2007 15:38

janinlondon. That's what we thought but we are 0.31m miles away from a town centre school and they claim that no-one living further than 0.5 miles away got in - we didn't get in as they have not counted the footpath that runs down the back of the development we live in. I know for a fact that someone living 0.6 miles go in and has no siblings or special needs!

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