Infant Class Size appeal. Please read & advise, thanks :)

[seashells210]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum. Signed up looking for some advice on the liklihood of winning an infant class size appeal. Would be great to hear from parents who have been in similar situations or from people who have dealt with such appeals.

On 16 April I had an email offering a primary school place to my son to start in September.
On the application I put 3 local choices. He wasn't offered any of them. The one they've offered is 1.5 miles away. I plan to appeal on the following grounds and would be interested to know stories of any cases where appeals have been won by parents on this forum.

1. He's been offered a Roman Catholic school. We are a Muslim family and I deliberately avoided Roman Catholic schools on religious grounds. Just to clarify, I have nothing against Catholics but, as a non-Catholic I don't want my son's schooling to be centered around th faith. This includes several prayers daily and having to attend Mass and various other RC services. Each school I applied to was either CoE or non-religious. The school offered places a very heavy emphasis on the Catholic faith. I'm not against this for Catholics but, as a non Catholic, I'm not keen.

1. The school is 1.5 miles' walk from our home. I don't drive and there are NO reliable local bus services which fit in with school run times. The only reliable way to get him to school and myself to work on time afterwards would be a daily taxi fare of AT LEAST £12.00 to £15.00 (depending on traffic).

1. We currently live in hiding from my abusive ex (son's father) who knows the area where the school is. He's threatened to kill me and abduct our son. Need to keep a low profile and certainly don't want son attending school that far from home, and in an area his father knows. I intend to submit with my appeal all the police and court paperwork to show what his father has threatened me with.

Do any of the above 3 reasons sound like solid grounds for winning an appeal on ICS? As I understand the process, I need to appeal FOR the school I applied for, rather than reasons AGAINST the school I've been offered but I have several good reasons against the school that's been offered and I want these reasons to be heard.

There are only three grounds on which you can win an infant class size appeal:

• that the admission arrangements are contrary to the Admissions Code or relevant law and this has cost your son a place

• that the admission arrangements have not been administered correctly and this has cost your son a place

• that the decision to refuse admission is unreasonable

Note that the bar for a decision to be unreasonable is very high - in essence, the decision must be irrational.

Your argument about the school offered won't carry any weight, I'm afraid. For a start it is about not wanting the school offered rather than needing the appeal school. But in any case, objecting to the faith orientation of the allocated school does not win appeals. Note that you can opt for your son not to take part in religious education and services.

Your argument about distance also won't carry any weight. Transport and childcare issues don't win appeals. This is regarded as a problem for parents, not something that school admissions have to solve.

Your third argument is better. If you submitted evidence of the need to avoid schools in your ex's area when you applied you can use this to argue that the refusal to admit was unreasonable. Even if you didn't submit the evidence at that time, since this is a safeguarding issue a sympathetic appeal panel may feel able to admit. It depends on how strong a case you can make that attending the allocated school will put your son at risk.

None of your arguments are solid grounds for winning an appeal but your third argument has a chance depending on how good a case you can make and the views of the appeal panel.

Agree with prh.

The first two grounds are not grounds under ICS, I'm afraid. 1.5m wouldn't even qualify you for free transport - that needs to be over 2 miles.

Did you submit any evidence about your need to avoid this area when you first applied? 1.5 miles doesn't feel like a particularly large distance to make the difference between being in hiding or not; you would need to provide some very strong evidence as to why a specific school wouldn't prove a risk over the one allocated.

If you can, a panel may be sympathetic to the situation, but it will very much be down to the panel on the day.

I have read this before?

I was going to say that- 1.5 miles is really nothing. And I can't see why it would make a difference to avoid the area? You live a 30minute walk- 5minute drive from the area you need to avoid?

Anyway remember you are appealing for the school you want not against the school you have been allocated.

as pp have said, only the 3rd item on your list is worth anything. the other items are irrelevant - any parent can opt their child out of religious elements in a school's activities, and millions of parents use childminders or other wraparound care to deal with logistics of transport, it is simply not their problem.

although your 3rd reason is a good reason not to send your child to the allocated school, it's not really a good reason for you to jump the queue at your top choice school. if there's another undersubscribed school 1.8 miles away in the opposite direction to the area where your ex lives then that would be perfectly suitable. have you established which schools within a 3 mile radius have places spare?

Firstly, 1.5 miles is not unwalkable. It would take you about half an hour. Lots of children live further away from their schools than that.

Secondly, you say you are not anti-Catholic, but you don't want your child to go to a Catholic school. You are, however happy for him to go to any other Christian school. You can withdraw your child from any religion based activities, but you're going to have nativity plays, Easter bunnies and the like whatever school you go to. Schools these days have a duty to teach about all religions.

Thirdly, the school that is too close to your ex is only 1.5m away. Surely if you don't want the child in a school in the area his father knows, that area will extend to where you are ready to accept a place?

I thought it was familiar.

Posted on another site weeks ago with reasons why they don't want an offered school. Given the same advice as here regarding distance and faith and to appeal for the offered school.

Thought I was losing my marbles.

1.5 miles in London is quite a long way. Most 4 year olds would struggle with this.

Secondly, if you are in hiding, are you in a refuge? If so, they can help you with school applications and appeals. Also, do get in touch with social services. They might also be able to help. I think you need to let go of the faith aspect of the schools but you need to think primarily about the need for your DC to be near to you for social reasons. Try and get a social worker to put together a case for you. Its the best chance.

But they are only 4 for 12 months, and not in school for at least 5 of those months.
How can 1.5 miles be further in London than it is anywhere else? You wouldn't have to walk down country roads with no pavement or lighting or anything.

Sorry but my two year old is walking 1
Mile to drop his sister off and back. That's two miles twice a day. If he can cope I'm sure a 4yo could walk 1.5miles.

People in London have a very different idea about what’s local. In the country you get transport if you live on an unsafe walking route. Narrow lanes, no pavement or lights. My DC got transport as we live in a small village with narrow lanes, no pavements and no street lights! You don’t get this in London.
Most parents don’t walk 1.5 miles to school with KS1 children. They walk slowly and 30 minutes is very optimistic. For mum that’s 2 hours a day and probably a lot more.

You only have to look at petitions to save hospital departments in London which, if lost, would mean patients going to another hospital around 1 mile away. It’s just a different perception of neighbourhoods.

I do think the social side of this appeal is the way to go. Not distance from school or religion. Or class size.

The only realistic possibility for winning an infant class size appeal is potentially with your third reason around violent father.
My first reaction would be to agree with you that you and especially child need to be protected and that I could be convinced that the LA were unreasonable in not giving you a place.
However my big issue would be the small distance involved (1.5 miles). To me anybody could find someone if they wanted to if they knew you were only that distance away. If there was at least 10 miles distance then thats OK. Somehow you would need to convince me that the school you want is actually a safe haven and the only one that could give you that sanctuary. I do not now what something is but that is what you need to be concentrating on.