Primary School Appeal Advice

[lizzyt1234]

hi everyone, my son has recently started his first year at primary school. When we applied for his school place we had only lived in the area 6 months. We chose a school that was approx 2 mile away despite there being a school closer. He has now been there 6 weeks and we have realised we have made a mistake and are really unhappy with the community surrounding the school and the people it attracts. We have applied to move him to the school closer but unfortunately this is a very small school and the limit on their reception class is 23. I think this is due to the fact that from year 3 they move to shared classes so obviously have to avoid bigger class sizes later down the line. They have rejected our application and we are now submitting an appeal as we are aware they have accepted 24 in previous years. I have data going back 5 years and there are a few occasions across different age groups where they have 24 in a class. The headteacher and deputy have also confirmed that the school isn't at full capacity and that on occasions they will allow bigger class sizes if there is space in future year groups which there is. Whilst we are very unhappy with the community at the current school, having done more research and spent more time at the other school we are also sure that this is a school where he will be much happier and thrive. He is a shy and sensitive child that needs reassurance. The current school is larger and he cries almost daily saying he is scared and doesn't like playing in the big playground with bigger boys. The new school is less formal, has a more friendly and personal feel - perhaps due to it being smaller. Their ethos is focused on the emotional well being of children and they refer to the school as a family. All reasons for us to feel he will be happier there. It is also just a mile away, and in the area we feel is our community. We will submit an appeal based on the above. This is something that we are both feeling extremely anxious about would be very grateful of any advice or experiences from similar appeals.

Is the PAN 23? As I understand it, taking more than PAN is usually a big deal and not easily won. But the experts will be along in a moment

Unusual PAN, that.

Sorry i'm new to this. when you say PAN I assume you mean max?

It's the published admissions number. In the case you refer to, the reception PAN is 23, so effectively yes, that's the maximum number the school will comfortably admit. As you have said, this can change depending on pupil numbers further up the school, but I don't think knowing they have occasionally exceeded it will help you in an appeal. If the reception class is over 30 (eg including some Y1s in a mixed class), they wouldn't be able to admit your DS in anything other than exceptional circumstances. Your initial choice was for the other school, so therefore no mistake has been made by the admissions authority.
Having said all that, I must stress that I'm by no means an expert, though I do have some experience as a governor overseeing admissions and appeals. I think your best hope is to go on the waiting list of your preferred school; however it's possible someone has written some better qualified and more hopeful advice while I was typing. I hope you can get your son the learning environment he needs.

The PAN is usually only breached in exceptional circumstances, e.g. A child with an EHCP applying where the LA name the school on the EHCP, a child of a Services parent, a LAC child. Unless you meet those criteria, you most likely won't get in. You can leave their name on the waiting list though.
It may be that your child would be equally unsettled in a different school, it may not be the specific school that's the issue. Are you concerned that your DC may be mixing with children you don't want them to mix with?

I think you just have to wait until a place comes up. You made a mistake - you should have researched the schools more and what would suit your child a bit more at the time. It’s not the schools job to then correct this - they have the max number for their year so they are full.
Personally I would focus on getting him to enjoy his current school more.

PAN = Published Admission Number, i.e. the number of pupils the school admits during the normal admissions round. A PAN of 23 suggests they have 3 classes across Y3-Y6 with around 30 in each.

Every appeal is about getting the school to admit more than PAN. If the school is below PAN they have to admit anyone who applies. I think didireallysaythat is getting confused with infant class size appeals, which are very difficult to win.

The good news is that this is not an infant class size appeal. You can therefore win by showing that the disadvantage to your son from not being admitted outweighs the problems the school will face through having to cope with an additional pupil.

The fact they have been up to 24 in a class before helps a little as it suggests they can cope with an additional pupil.

The main thing is to remember that you are appealing for this school, not against his current school. The appeal panel will be independent from the appeal school but it is possible one or more of them may have some kind of link with your son's current school, so talking negatively about that school and its community may rub them up the wrong way. Concentrate on what the appeal school can offer him. In addition to the points you've already made, see if they offer any extracurricular activities that are missing from his current school and are particularly relevant to your son. For example, your son is musically talented and the appeal school has lots of extracurricular musical activities, that would be worth mentioning.

What you have to try to do is to convince the appeal panel that the disadvantage to your child of not attending the school is greater than the disadvantage to the school of having an extra pupil in the class.

I had to appeal to get my son into the very small school that his sister was already attending (different circumstances to you - he was not already attending another school). Go ahead and appeal. My impression (supported by anecdotal evidence from other parents and even some LEA people) is that schools take into account that some parents will appeal, i.e. they keep their published admissions number deliberately low. When I researched my kids' school, I found that their admissions number was actually lower than it could have been, based on national guidelines about how many children should be admitted to a school based on various factors like space. If you're entitled to appeal, you have nothing to lose by doing so, except the time and effort of filling in the forms. But you will probably need a better reason than simply not liking the people who attend the current school.

Incidentally, is your child happy at their current school? If so, i would seriously consider leaving then there. How good a school is doesn't just depend on how it looks 'on paper' - it's as much about the fit between the child and the school. My kids' school is OFSTED 'outstanding', yet there have been a few parents who have been so dissatisfied that they've removed their kids and sent them elsewhere. My own kids are very happy there. But, you know, you do risk taking your child from somewhere they are happy and settled and putting them somewhere where they are less happy. Something to take into account, I think.

A PAN of 23 is a funny number. There are 2 reasons this could be the case - firstly the classrooms are very small and therefore cannot accommodate anymore children. Secondly the school is operating 6 classrooms across 7 year groups,, which means they have 3 infant classrooms (1 for each year group of 23) and then 3 classes of 30 or 31 split between the year groups 3 to 7. You have said the school is not at full capacity, which makes me think that they are running 3 classes across the junior years because they simply have less pupils in these year groups.
The key issue for you is exactly how many school classrooms there are in the school, is it 6 or is it 7 - maybe they are using 6 but are using a 7th classroom as a small group working space ?
If they really have 7 classrooms then at appeal you can argue strongly that the school would have plenty of space in the infant classes to accommodate another pupil and that the school cannot argue what is called "future prejudice" in the junior year because in fact they have 7 classrooms in total - just not using all of them.
If they only have 6 classrooms then the school is correct that they should not be expected to admit more because it creates more issues in the junior classes. You will therefore need a strong case to win at appeal and nothing you have said so far is likely to be successful.
I would appeal but keep the reasons for appeal to the minimum necessary - it is nearer home and is a smaller school without going into much detail. You can add more later. About a week before the appeal you will receive the school's case not to admit and that should answer all the questions about the number of classrooms and the reason for the unusual admission number. You can then quickly resubmit in writing and adjusted appeal as long as all the parties involved get to see it a few days before the appeal date.