Appeal advice for KS2 place. Appeal in 1 week

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Hello everyone, I would like advice on school appeals. What kind of questions we should ask? How to present your best case? Is it better to be assertive / friendly?........ Any advice at all would be appreciated.

Brief overview
Relocated to a new area last August 2018.
DS1 started Yr 2 in Sept 2018, he was allocated the 5th closest school. The school he has been at for just over a year has appalling results so we are keen to move him to our local school which we are in catchment for. We are already on the waiting list and number 1.
DS2 started at our local school in reception a couple of weeks ago.

Our appeal is based on him being in KS2 and therefore being able to go over the 30 children per class rule; we are in catchment (which trumps the sibling rule in this Borough) and that his sibling attends the school.

We have also mentioned that he loves sport (the school has better facilities), is a good student and is close to his younger brother etc, etc.

Any advice would be really appreciated. TIA

Have you done your statement yet? I can message you mine which was also a KS2 appeal for our local school when I moved house.

I think it’s really important to know the system inside out.

Yes. We had to write that when we submitted our appeal

Being a good student and being close to his brother won't sway the panel. Good sports facilities might if you can provide evidence of his abilities and that his current school can't cater for them. It really depends on how strong the school's case is, and what the needs of that particular class are in terms of SEN, EAL and Pupil Premium.

Things that won’t sway it: being in catchment, being close to his brother (unless you can demonstrate that he has a very particular need to be in the same school), being a good student.

You need to show why your son would be more disadvantaged by not going to this school than the school would be by having to admit an extra pupil.

So for example, the sports is something to build on - does this school offer particular sports that he has shown an interest/aptitude in (that the current school doesn’t)? Does it offer extracurricular activities which the other doesn’t, again with him having shown an interest/aptitude? You might find it useful to look through newsletters etc. to find information beyond what you know from having your other son there.

You can only use things you’ve put in your written appeal so read it all through and think about what you can say about the points you’ve made.

I found it incredibly difficult because of the emotion involved. I had to dig my nails into my leg to stop my crying as I knew I needed to get all my points across. However the panel were lovely and asked me lots of questions. They made sure I could say everything I wanted to say.

I took evidence that the ‘USP’ for want of a better phrase of this school was something that my dd was involved with out of school already and had been in her previous school. You can’t just say ‘ohh, she’s always wanted to do football’.

There wasn’t anyone there from the school at mine, just a man from admissions. He talked about square footage and fire exits. How many TAs there were. How the school had managed going over their numbers before.

Unfortunately, most of the points you have made won't carry any weight at appeal. To win you have to show that your son will be disadvantaged by not going to this school. Unless you have evidence from an appropriate professional that he has a much stronger need than other children to be with his sibling the appeal panel will not accept that going to a different school disadvantages him. Similarly, there is no reason to believe that going to a non-catchment school disadvantages him.

I would keep well away from talking about him being a good student. That won't win your appeal and could put the panel's backs up, which won't help.

That leaves us with the point about sporting facilities. That could be a point in your favour. Go strong on that point.

Without knowing what has been said in the case to refuse admission it is impossible to advise what questions to ask. However, you should use your questions to highlight any weaknesses in the school's case.

As for whether to be friendly, assertive, etc., I would say just be natural. You will probably be too nervous to do anything else. Don't be aggressive but make sure you get present your case as well as you can.

Hi
I’d try and find out the level of SEN needs in the class, the size of the classroom, any demands on space (classroom and communal), have the school managed with more than 30 pupils before and if so how did it go.
As for demeanour I’d go for friendly, courteous and probably slightly deferential.
Good luck with it, I’m likely to have to appeal for my child’s secondary next year and I’m dreading it. I also sit on appeals panels so have seen the other side and I know how emotional parents can get.

When I appealed after a house move I simply stated that my kids must attend the same school for logistical reasons because all the schools start at the same time and I didn't drive. During the (audio recorded) appeal the panel member had the cheek to suggest my mother (note not father) did one of the school runs every day, thankfully I was quick witted enough to calmly say that it's a 7 hour round trip, would the council be funding her daily petrol bill! I simply stated that they needed the same school or a taxi to collect dd2 and I would walk dd1 and I would home school until they offered one of these options, I complained to the ombudsman about the "your mum" remark, 2 days later a place magically became available.

2 days later a place magically became available

I can assure you that it wasn't magic. The LA would have been quite happy for you to home educate. It doesn't cost them anything and may save them some money. And your logistical arguments would not have carried any weight with the panel. You were lucky.

I don't agree with what marigold said about only being able to talk about what was in the written appeal. Things quite often come up during the appeal itself which haven't been mentioned in writing; very occasionally nothing at all is written on the form apart from the child's name and the school.

It was in my paperwork that I received from the LEA that I couldn’t bring in new information as then the LEA wouldn’t have an opportunity to collect information to rebuff what I was saying. So I couldn’t say that the school ran a ballet programme and here is my dd’s acceptance letter into the Royal Academy of Dance then I couldn’t because the LEA wouldn’t be able to check the facts. Obviously it might not be the same everywhere.

Hi we have been told that we have to put forward all our points before the appeal to give a chance for the LEA / school to respond. We wouldn't be able to bring anything 'new' to the hearing. Due to this we have put as much detail as possible in our appeal statement.

It's really difficult how to play this. We've had various bits of advice from people who sit on appeal boards and it's very obvious that different appeals boards have different priorities. We know that they have been over 30 children in all years in the past and their results in year 6 are well above the national and local average.

We will not make an emphasis on him being a good student, we just wanted to point out that if he carries on with his current trajectory he won't be an additional 'burden' to the class.

Loving all the advice, it's really appreciated

The rules are that you cannot bring new documentary evidence to the hearing. If you do the appeal panel may refuse to consider it or adjourn the hearing to a later date to allow everyone to read and consider the evidence. However, you don't have to confine your arguments to the ones you have put in your written statement. It is best to have all the significant arguments in your written statement but the panel should not refuse to consider a point just because it isn't in your statement.

The fact that they can go over 30 pupils and have done in the past weakens the case to refuse admission. It is unlikely to win your case on its own.

I would also be careful about saying your son won't be an additional burden. That can go down badly with appeal panels.

Different appeal panels do indeed have different priorities. Some I find quite surprising. In terms of how you present, you do have to play it by ear. As I say, don't be aggressive. That definitely won't go down well. But beyond that, there is no way of knowing how the panel will react. However, the case to refuse admission will be presented first. That will give you a good clue as to how to behave with this panel.