Hello. Did anyone win an appeal for primary reception class whn there were 30 children admitted?

[fedda]

Hello, my child is on a waiting list and I was wondering if anyone had won an appeal while all 30 children have been already admitted for the reception class. If so, would you kindly share your experience and you thoughts what helped you. Ta.

Which borough are you in?

The fact that the borough doesn't take account of siblings is in itself a case for appeal in that the admission policy is unreasonable.

Fedda - have you asked you LEA for the admission details? They have maps etc to show how the distances were calculated, and whilst they will not tell you the names and addresses of every person who applied, they will in my experience give you information as to how many were in each category and show you the map which has each of the addresses marked (so you can see everyone who was in the "proximity" category, and their respective distances from the school).

Is this a church school btw as different criteria may apply?

That's a very good advice, thank you, ladymuck. I'll contact them tomorrow. How would you appeal on the grounds that siblings criteria is on of the last once on the list if the criteria has been published? I've been looking at School appeals and it was suggested there that they are not getting involved in any dispute or general issues and they will most probably tell me that siblings priority is a difficult desision to make and takes time to imply - at least that's what all the parents who wrote the letters prior to applying for the school received as the answers. There argument is that it's not fair on people who live in PAA. ours - that people can cheat on addresses and do all the wrong things to get their children in and siblings should be admitted first as parents phisically can't be in 2 places at once. I doubt I'll have a chnce to raise this issue on the appeal though. The school we are applying for is not a church school, it's a state school which is very popular and many people move in PAA in order to get their kids in. the admission policy might change in future because the idea to separate siblings when everybody is speaking about the importance of the famililies is simply not justified.

Which LEA are you dealing with?

Ladymuck, the point is my LEA doesn't recognize siblings' priority as impirtant as PAA. There were very many discussions on siblings priority in UK and many people put forward the idea of replacing catchment area priority with siblings priority and so far everybody i know of has failed. The point is not what my LEA is but what do I do and what do the other mums do in similar situation regardless their area. I'm sure I'm not alone and this exchange of ideas would benefit many other mums and their children because in the end of the day families should be supported. Please, keep writing whatever relevant you think it might be to the appeals and any other useful tactics. Thank you.

Because precedents are formed on an individual LEA basis.

Can you print out the admission criteria for the school in question? And whether this is the standard criteria for the LEA?

Priority is given to

1. Children in public care
2. Children in catchment area with brothers/sisters at school 3.Children with special needs withing PAA 4.Nearest distance 5.Siblings so you can see where the siblings come! The LEA decides, not the school.

Well I would define siblings as 2, and your school would meet the latest Government guidelines in terms of giving priorities to family units at prmary age. But obv you're outside of catchment so you're stuffed in terms of challenging the rules. If 2 wasn't there then you would have had grounds to appeal that the admission criteria was unreasonable (new appeals can be launched this year as the new code has come out), but your admission criteria would be seen to be reasonable unless the ctachment has moved significantly? Might be worth putting a shout out for anyone in Redbridge as they had issues along this line with some catchments changing. Was your currrent property in catchment when first child got in?

Your only hope is that they have miscalculated distances so I would get hold of the maps that the LEA will have drawn.

My first one wasn't in a catchment area but then it was easier to get into the school as it was not that popular. many parents used to hold on and then in July decide to go privately so the places were allocated to the children on the waiting list. Now everybody is holding on to the place in the school because it's a good state school so they go privately when the kids reach 11.
i'll try to get hold of the maps, thank you.

Hi everyone, am desperate for any help with my childs appeal for reception class and would appreciate any help or advice from people who have been through the process or know of friends who have been through it. Been reading unquietdad and ladymuck and would love for you to reply. The school is a church school and is refusing to give information which is needed for our case e.g PAN (published Admission Numbers) and IAN (Indicated admission number)distance map etc.many thanks. cairde

Hi,cairde. Sorry for replying since i haven't really got any experience and learning this matter myself but my understanding is that if you send the appealing form to your local LEA they by law have to provide you with the answers you are looking for. Anyway, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Hi cairde, thanks for your message.
I'm not an expert - can only really speak from the point of view of what happened to us with DD. You need to get hold of two documents from the DfES - the "Admissions Code" and the "Appeals Code". I think I have linked to them earlier in the thread. If not, they are on the DfES website. They should tell you all the rules for church schools.

Sorry I can't be of more help, but every LEA is different and my advice may not be as widely applicable as I first thought!

UnquietDad, I think your advice is the best advice I had and LEA are only different in their admission criteria. Hammersmith, Richmond and some other LEA put siblings first and that helps the families not be separated. Many others put catchment area first and many people wait for the place for their child and then move so the idea of supporting catchment area doesn't work in reality. The argument that they can always remove the child if they find out doen't work either because then they find that it will devastate the child! Anyway, why most secondary schools even in our area put siblings first then? Kids can traven on their own when they go to secondary school. They can't when they are in primary. We walked on our own when we were 7 but knowing what is happening around us now not many parents would let their 8 or 9 year old go to school, come back on their own, open the door and stay in empty house for almost an hour waiting for his/her mum to arrive! i'm going to appeal, I'm just waiting for them to give me the date and I'll put all the arguments I can but I'm aware that my chances are slim. Still, I'll try my best and if anyone has any advice, tips, thoughts, I'll be very grateful.

Hi unquietdad and fedda, thank you so much for replying and your advice. I have got the documents from the dfes with regards school admission code of practice and school admission appeal code of practice.Having problems with the school witholding information e.g. class number for reception this year and year 1 and year 2. Unquietdad you were successful with year 1 despite 32 in the class already where did you find the information that helped you win your case? Is my understanding correct reception,year1 and year2 are all part of Key Stage 1 and the law is 30 per class. what was the deciding factor? I plan to reapply for year 1 next year and appeal again if need be. Fedda Good Luck with your appeal hearing and will keep my fingers crossed. Have you spoken to anyone who has appealed even if they lost you could get ideas. Have read Ben Rooney book How to win your school appeal? its very good. Your local library may have it. I would talk to parents whose children are going to the school already and see if they no anyone who appealed in the past. Ace is also very good and their booklet also. Unquiet dad already mentioned in earlier emails re:ACE. (Advisory Centre for Education)www.ace-ed.org.uk Many thanks cairde

Thank you for your kind advice, cairde. I'm going to speak to some parents who appealed when I know who went for it. i agree, the book is good and I found it in my local library. I called ACE 3 times and each time had totally different reaction from the person I was speaking to. On one occasion I was told that I had a very strong point and on another that it's highly unlikely I'd win my case because i'm outside the catcment area. I guess it very much depends who is going to be on appeal pannel and how the percive the situation. Anyway, I'll keep you informed how it all went (when it happens).

fedda and unquietdad and ladymuck look at www.schoolappeals.co.uk. Look at this website Alan Sinfield has won an appeal and has done a document which you can download for around £3,its a very good document for helping formulate your appeal. If you have any more ideas that can help me in my appeal,would love to hear them. Ask Alan Sinfield apecific questions and he will email you. read his document first. cairde

Hi imaginary friend, would appreciate if you could contact me as I noted in may you had 3 friends who did appeals and would appreciate any information on what the appeal hearing was like. If they could do it again what would they do differently. What questions should I ask at the hearing? How to find information that would be useful for the appeal as the church school has not replied to our questions by email or by phone which are crucial for arguing our case. I am fellow london lewisham borough. many thanks cairde

Hi imaginary friend, I noted that 2 of your friends failed their appeal and 1 succeeded. What grounds were the 2 that failed appealing and what grounds was the 1 that won appealing on? Am desperate for any help as I have had my son assessed this week and he has a speech language development delay of 6-12months and want to get him into this school as he is an Ivf baby and only child and his best friend and other friends are already going to this school. The school we have been offered has 400 pupils involves crossing up to 5 roads that are busy, is much further away and he is a very shy sensitive child and we do not know anyone there and I feel his speech will regress instead of progressing which it has done at the present nursery I am sending him which has a teacher pupil ratio of 1:6. Any help would be much appreciated many thanks. cairde

Thank you very much for your advice, cairde.

Hi Fedda
Have you been given a date for your appeal yet. am still waiting. Glad to be of help will keep my fingers crossed for you. cairde

Hi, cairde. No, I haven't either. Just as well because I'm still trying to get as much information and tips, advice, etc. as possible.

Hi all
anyone know of someone who has been to a school appeal and won or lost. Would love to hear about the appeal hearing experience have heard its like a court case. Is this true? look forward to hearing to hearing from you and many thanks. cairde

Hi imaginary friend and anyone who may have been through the appeal process.
could you please tell about your 3 friends
who went through the appeal process. would appreciate any tips or advice. Have been told today our appeal is on the 25th of June at the school which we are appealing to. many thanks again cairde

hi fedda
any news for your date for appeal. wishing you luck. mine is changed to 10 july. cairde

Hi, cairde. Thank you very much for your kind wishes. I wish you good luck as well. I haven't got the date yet so I'm still waiting.