URGENT Infant Class Sie Appeal - ADVICE? :(

[Linz858]

HELP! We've appealed the decision to refuse our daughter a place at her primary school where she attends the nursery. We have had issues with her behaviour which settled immensely on starting school nursery. Dad works away and she struggles with change and separation anxiety. At the start of lockdown with the loss of school her behaviour declined tot he point of self harm, and attacking me in complete and utter rage - far beyond the normal tantrums of a 4 year old. Myself and my husband have been completely traumatised. He has been home from work for 3 months due to the problems covid-19 has caused to his industry. Our daughter will be completely distraught when he eventually gets to go back to work.
We were at crisis point as a family and consulted a psychologist, we kept having appointments deferred due to covid, but eventually had a full day assessment and she has written a supporting statement that change and new situations will have very detrimental effects on her mental health, which we fully agree with.

Our appeal is being done by writing due to Covid-19. The panel have come back to us with questions like why didn't we submit medical evidence with her school application (self explanatory really) and do we have any comments about the only ways a panel can accept her....

I don't know if the admissions authority made a mistake? Getting any information has been a battlefield. The only thing is that the school have reduced their intake to 60 this year down from 90 previously - but their website, twitter and facebook don't mention this and still says a '3 form entry school' or '90 place reception'.

We have genuine concern for our daughters mental health. She is very intelligent but will not cope well with a new setting, new teachers, new friends, new childminder all at once. I've watched my little girl rip her own hair out sobbing and I've also fought her off as she tries to rip my skin off. It's been harrowing and I don't know how I can get this across - my appeal statement was 8000 words and I feel like I still have to convince them by answering more questions. I'll do it, but I feel like we're on trial!

Any help, advice or even just breaking the 'jargon' they give us down around the circumstances they can allow a child would help!

Many thanks in advance

If it's a 60 PAN school, then your appeal will be Infant Class Size; and you can only win on very limited grounds;

• that the admission criteria are unlawful
• the criteria were incorrectly applied and this lost you a place
• that the decision not to award a place is so perverse as to be legally unreasonable

Assuming the criteria were lawful and correctly applied (you can get idea of this by checking the letter you got with your decision; it should say what criteria you were considered under and distance, say, assuming that is a criteria) then you are relying on the unreasonable clause.

Your problem is that when spaces were allocated, they had no information about your child; for obvious reasons, but it means at the time the decision was made, it was not unreasonable.

Does the school have a social/medical criteria? Have you now submitted evidence under this criteria that this school is the only one that can meet her needs?

Even though the school is attached to the pre school, there will be new teachers, new environment, new pupils etc - where has she been allocated a space? Maybe worth working with them to make the transition smoother

I do not see anything in what you have said that would suggest that you will win an appeal which will be an infant class side appeal. Whilst the panel will look carefully at your child's behaviour issues, the LA will say that this issue can be handled at any school. By the same token COVID-19 issues apply to all pupils and therefore will not be a strength of your case.

The behaviour manifests at home in a direct response to changes in routine and circumstance and is explosive and can come from nowhere, therefore maintaining her support system is paramount. School has been the only calming influence and we have evidence of this - and the Lockdown with its loss of routine has brought about her old behaviour and then maximised it tenfold. She will lose the familiar surroundings (where she is currently in a Reception classroom since going back as they are trying to transition the older nursery children) and also her support network. Our psychologist agrees that a move now would severely impact her given the implications change have for her, and this is at a time her father will be (hopefully) returning to work abroad for long periods. We have submitted a report from the psychologist, along with supporting letters from her private nursery setting and health visitor family friend who are all aware of the issues we have had with our daughter - so as to build the picture for the panel.

She has been allocated another local school - by no means bad. But this would mean us having to use a childminder as I start work too early to get her to breakfast club - currently our close friend takes her for us along with her own son which our daughter is comfortable with. I know this isn't essentially a factor they will look at - but to us we know that come September everything is going to change all at once for our daughter and she is not going to cope.

We are, of course, in touch with the new school and trying to make a plan of how we can introduce her steadily etc - but we know it is going to cause significant damage to her already volatile state.

Your problem is that all this evidence is from after places were allocated, so, under ICS, the decision not to award a place was not unreasonable as the admissions authority did not have this information.

Whilst in older years there is more flexibility around the needs of the child, there really isn't under ICS.

Does the school have a medical/social needs criteria and have you now asked to be considered under that?

I used to sit on appeal panels and unfortunately for you the law changed quite a few years ago. We used to be able to weigh up your child's needs against the class being full and make a common sense decision. Now we can't if the class has 30 children in it. You could have the most harrowing story which makes the panel weep but they still can't give you the place you want/need. If the places were allocated correctly at the time then I'm sorry but you're wasting you time.

All you can do is make sure your child is on the waiting list in the right category and hope a space becomes free, and start preparing her now for going to her allocated school.

1. Pupils with exceptional so­cial and / or medical reasons for attending the school. A letter from the child’s GP or other relevant professional such as a social worker must be submitted by you with the application stating why your child’s needs can only be met by attending the preferred school. It is up to you to provide any evidence. The admissions team will not seek information about your child or telephone people on your behalf, the decision will be based solely on the information you send in.

When you apply online, tell us that there is supporting evidence in the space provided, and send it to the School Admissions & Transfers team or email to [email protected] or by post. If we do not receive this information by the closing date, we will not be able to consider your child under this priority, unless it relates to a change of circumstances (such as a new diagnosis) which has occurred since the closing date.

All correspondence will be treated as private and confidential.

If the evidence you supply is not considered compelling enough to be included in this priority, your application will be considered under the other priorities as appropriate.

Medical reasons

• if there are medical reasons that make it essential for your child to at­tend a particular school, you must provide supporting information from a doctor together with any other relevant information by the deadline;

• this must make a compelling case as to why your child’s needs can only be met at the preferred school, a medical condition in itself will not automatically result in a place at your preferred school;

• the evidence should explain exactly what the child’s needs are, and what specialist support and/or facilities your child requires;

• the evidence should explain why other schools could not provide the appropriate support for your child.

Social reasons

• if there are social reasons that make it essential for your child to

attend a particular school, you must provide independent evidence from a professional who is supporting your family;

• the supporting evidence needs to set out the particular reasons why the school in question is the most suitable and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school;

• the evidence should explain exactly what the child’s needs are, and what specialist support and/or facilities your child requires;

• the evidence should explain why other schools could not provide the appropriate support for your child.

Social reasons do not include domestic arrangements such as parents working commitments or childcare arrangements.

Please note that submitting this information does not guarantee that your child will be included in this category.

Sorry yes the above is from the schools admission criteria - so I need to ask them to consider her under this section?

It sounds really hard for you OP, but surely if the 60 places have been allocated and you didn't supply the relevant information at the time of application there is little to be done now.

Only in terms of her place on the waiting list.

@Linz858

Sorry yes the above is from the schools admission criteria - so I need to ask them to consider her under this section?

Yes, on the assumption you are not already in criteria 1-5.

You should note this isn't going to get her a place even if they accept her into this criteria; however, if they accept her under this, it should at least move her up the waiting list.

The key thing there is “with the application” and yours wasn’t.

As others have said, you didn't supply any of the information at the time of applying, so sending it in now won't make any difference (unless a child has had something major happen like being taken into care or diagnosisnof a serious medical r the application process).
Did you use a private EP, or did nursery arrange it? Did the EP observe your DD and consult with nursery staff? I ask because unless they have done these things, their report may well not be any help if all the EP has gone on is what you have told them. Have you had some input from an Early Years SEN team? In other words, is your child already known to the SEN services?
Your DH may well not be returning abroad to work for some time, so he will be able to support your DD when she starts in September. Also, perhaps cmsider changing your working hours for at least the first term so that you can do the school run yourself.

It sounds like you're hopeful that by having a psychologist's report, that will change circumstances for you. Sadly, as others have said, it won't. I used to sit on appeals and there were many panellists who refused to sit on KS1 (Infant Class Size) appeals, because your hands are tied - there is no wiggle room.

I think you have 3 problems with appeal:

1. It's ICS. That would apply whether the PAN was 90 or 60. As long as the council changed the size of the PAN legally, there is no issue there.
2. You didn't have evidence of the situation to submit.
3. The situation is not unique to your DD. Many, many children will struggle with the changes that have come with COVID-19.

Finally, even if a panel could consider your daughter's personal situation, I think you'd have a hard job convincing them that the school transition is the problem here. Even if she stays at the same school site, she is moving from Nursery to school. That's a massive change. The routine will change, the rules will change, the teaching strategy will change, the teachers will change and the children will change. You've said they your husband works away, but hasn't done for the last few months. Arguably, you could say that actually it is your DH working away that is detrimental to your DD, so he should find work here for her benefit. I'm not for one minute saying that is the case, but it shows that there are lots of factors for your DD's stability and I wouldn't be convinced that this particular school is the one that will make the difference, if I was reading the case.

There seems to be a lot of negative in everything you all are saying, at a time when I have 7 days to respond to the appeals team and was simply looking for any advice. I do not think being told I am 'wasting my time' is constructive at this point.

My husband will be returning to working abroad within the next month or two at a push after a considerable time at home - our daughter has considerable separation anxiety particularly from dad. I work for the NHS and already on a flexible working agreement and have been declined any further change - obviously I looked into this!
Circumstances have changed since the time of applying hence why we are supplying evidence now based on what we have been through. We used a private psychologist as we were at crisis point and could not afford to wait through the NHS. Our psychologist carried out full assessments and has spoken at length with the school and SEN lead and very much supports our appeal in relation to our daughters mental health.

What precisely has the psychiatrist said? If they have said something along the lines of ‘Mrs Linz states that her dd needs this school’, it won’t help you in any way. If they say ‘It is my opinion that dd...’ you would have a stronger case - although in all honesty, the panel may just see it as a paid for opinion so worth rather less than an NHS view.

And yes, I know it’s an ICS appeal, but in the past, expert advisors that post On these threads, have said sometimes panels can give a sympathetic decision (If arguably wrong) if there is an overwhelming need.

I hear what you're saying, and I'm sorry it's so negative. The reality is that, though. There is no room for manoeuvre with an ICS appeal. The best evidence in the world makes no difference. The test of 'unreasonable' in the ICS rules is such that it has to be a decision that no rational local authority would make. Examples such as 'placing a child of a police officer in a school where they would be at risk of physical harm.'

Every year, there will be appeals from parents where children have been placed at different schools, 30 minutes drive from each other and the parent can't get them both to school at the same time. Their appeals are denied. It's sad, but there is no allowance in the ICS appeal rules for circumstances.

So, whilst your circumstances have changed, and that may boost your DD up the waiting list if the LA accept that evidence as valid for criteria 6, it won't make a difference to an ICS appeal, because the process will be:

Is the admission criteria unlawful? No
Was there a mistake which cost the child a place that should have been theirs? No
Was the decision not to admit unreasonable? No

That's it, sadly.

@Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies but if they do make a wrong but sympathetic decision, they LA can appeal that decision. It's not wise to suggest that a panel may choose to act unlawfully and that it would be ok.

If that’s the case Lougle, I’m sorry that I’m giving any false hope. OP.. I most definitely am not an expert, so ignore my post.

There seems to be a lot of negative in everything you all are saying, at a time when I have 7 days to respond to the appeals team and was simply looking for any advice. I do not think being told I am 'wasting my time' is constructive at this point.

I think that people are just being realistic but hopefully the appeal panel will find a way.

@TW2013

"I think that people are just being realistic but hopefully the appeal panel will find a way."

The appeal panel isn't there to 'find a way'. The appeal panel is a neutral party that has to uphold the law on admissions. That means that some children in KS1 who are not appealing an ICS admission or KS2 or higher may get in on the balance of prejudice or because of error in the process. However, for the vast majority of KS1 ICS appeals, the change of success is vanishingly small. For my LA (a good LA who generally get admissions right) that chance is 0.4% (4 in 1000).

We sought psychological help because we were at breaking point and did not know what was wrong with our daughter. I did not pay for a letter of support. My daughter was assessed for a full day and the results of that assessment led the psychologist to support the appeal because of what showed up in terms of her mental health, reaction to change and what she has dealt with.
My husband is very much seeking to work at home rather than abroad - you will appreciate this is not an instant thing.
We had problems with our daughter prior to her starting school nursery, which revolved around change and separation. I am not blaming Covid for her behaviour - it is the loss of routine and external support that lockdown has brought which has highlighted how she is going to react to complete change in September. She knows the Reception teacher for the school we are appealing for, our close family friend supports her emotionally and her son is like a brother to our daughter. It is the picture as a whole and what will change all at once for her that is the issue as a self harming 4 year old!! We started her at the school in good faith she would continue, and the issue of the class size dropping was massively downplayed to us. They still advertise as a 3 form entry school when this is incorrect.

@Linz858

There seems to be a lot of negative in everything you all are saying, at a time when I have 7 days to respond to the appeals team and was simply looking for any advice. I do not think being told I am 'wasting my time' is constructive at this point. My husband will be returning to working abroad within the next month or two at a push after a considerable time at home - our daughter has considerable separation anxiety particularly from dad. I work for the NHS and already on a flexible working agreement and have been declined any further change - obviously I looked into this! Circumstances have changed since the time of applying hence why we are supplying evidence now based on what we have been through. We used a private psychologist as we were at crisis point and could not afford to wait through the NHS. Our psychologist carried out full assessments and has spoken at length with the school and SEN lead and very much supports our appeal in relation to our daughters mental health.

I'm sorry if it comes across that way. However, there are a number of us here (including me) who sit on panels, and there is no point not being realistic.

ICS appeals are constrained in their success by law. Appeals for older groups are easier in the sense that panels can take into account the affect on the child, but ICS panels can't.

You may find yourself with a panel that takes a very lenient view, but legally, they shouldn't. That's why I'm advising making sure the school have assessed you under C6, to ensure you are as high on the waiting list as you can be.

You might do better to apply for an EHCP with nursery's support and request that the school is named in that. It won't be quick though even if you are successful. Does she have to start in September?