Infant class size appeal

[Summer1310]

Hi ,
im looking for some advice on a infant class size appeal which I'm waiting to hear a date for , for Sept 2022 reception place I've read some expert advice on here and wondered if anyone could share some specific to my situation ?
my older son I sent to an out of catchment village school 2 years ago , he has a diagnosis of Autism and SPD ( now has an EHCP but didn't when I applied) I looked at many schools local to me but this was the only school that actually wanted to have him and agreed they could meet his needs and he's doing brilliant even though he has very complicated needs and getting him in and out of school is a problem as he often refuses I'm so happy for him and he loves it there. So naturally I only applied for my daughter to go here as the school is amazing , but due to a high birth year in village they havent offered her a place which I'm now having to appeal as there's been no movement in places ( am currently on waiting list position 1) however the school have a pan of 18 but have already offered 21 places ( last child offered a place was a set of twins out of cat ment sibling )I feel it's unlikely 2 children will leave for her then to get that space , and also someone could move to the area making us lower down list.
another interesting thing I noticed was on the school admission category every category clearly stated how they would prioritise that category except the "siblings out of catchment " category which was the category my daughter was placed in and that of the last child admitted to the school. I know they live 0.07 closer according to distance but as stated it doesn't state they will prioritise by distance ...
so I've referred to this in my appeal letter , the fact that moving my son isn't an option (the school head agreed with this) and also my daughter has epilepsy which I've managed to get a supporting letter from her specialist nurse supporting me stating how the longer travel times between schools ,earlier mornings , later days will negatively impact her seizure control etc
im struggling to sleep worrying about this appeal I know it's so strict on what they allow and have done a lot of research but could just do with some advice personal to my situation any help will be greatly appreciated.

Any advice from 
@prh47bridge
Or 
@admission

Or any one who sits on these kind of panels or has been in my situation

You say it is an infant class size appeal, but then go on to say they have a pan of 18?
What happens in y1 and 2?

It only classes and an ICS appeal if they would be going over 30 at some point yR-y2.

Normally distance is the tie break for within a category.

Did you really not apply elsewhere? What is your allocated school?

Does it have an exceptional medical/social category?

Guessing its two classes over YrR-2 (20x3) with a PAN of 20, not 18?

Do they have a medical need category?

Yes there 2 classes for KS1 they split year 1 up between R and year 2.
No very naive of me I agree they school has never been oversubscribed usually children out of catchment get a space with no sibling connection. I was offered my catchment school which is in the other direction to where I take my son , I've since been offered a place at a school next door to my youngest sons nursery as this would work better but obviously the same problems are still there .

No unfortunately no medical category. This over subscription criteria is :
1- looked after
2- siblings in catchment ( prioritised siblings, staff children, distance)
3-catchment ( distance closest to school if oversubscribed)
4-out of catchment siblings
5 - staff children
6 - out of catchment ( closest distance of oversubscribed)

The Pan is definitely 18 as it clearly states this in admissions policy however the past 2 years they have gone over last year by 1 (19) and previous year that my sons in by 3 (21)

The numbers don't make sense for an ICS appeal. If all three years are full up to PAN, there are 54 children in KS1. Even with Reception going 3 over PAN, that is still only 57. If there are two classes, that is not an ICS case unless they are mixing some Y3 children in with KS1.

If it is an ICS appeal, you are unlikely to win unless there has been a mistake and your daughter should have got a place. I'm not sure whether the information you've posted suggests that there has been an error. It would be useful to see the actual oversubscription criteria in full. If you would like to PM me the name of the LA and school involved, I will take a look.

@prh47bridge I've PM you details

They are saying next year the classes will be 31 for R-1 due to multiple birth clause and 30 for 1-2

I am surprised they have gone over by 3 on multiple births. That should only happen if the last child admitted was one of quadruplets, which would be unusual especially as it seems to have happened 2 years ago as well. It makes me think they have misunderstood the regulations and are automatically treating one of each pair of twins as excepted even when both could be admitted without going over PAN and without going over the class size limit. That doesn't directly help you as, assuming these twins were correctly ranked ahead of you, your daughter still wouldn't have got a place, but it is potentially worth raising if the school is doing what I suspect. If the appeal panel realises the school has got this wrong, it may make them wonder what else the school is getting wrong.

Their oversubscription criteria are poorly written. However, I think an appeal panel is likely to take the view that distance is the tie breaker so, unless they have measured from the wrong address, I doubt that will get you anywhere.

As this is an ICS case, your daughter's epilepsy isn't something the appeal panel is supposed to consider, but I would still include it in your case. It seems to me that this is a long shot, but you should go ahead with the appeal. I occasionally come across cases where a sympathetic appeal panel has admitted the child even when, under the rules, they should not have done so. And it is also possible that something will come up in the hearing that will show a mistake has been made.

as far as I'm aware they have only admitted one set of twins , twin one was offered place 20 which is where they would have cut off taking account the sizes of year groups 1 and 2 but as it was a multiple birth they have then admitted twin 2 as number 21. Two years ago my son was child 21 late application I think they allowed it as the then year 1 and 2 was only at 18 each.
do you know if they will double check measurements if it's not something I've mentioned in appeal letter will panel go through all children offered place and check they are in correct category ?
i stated my grounds as the school admission code had been broken due to no priority for my daughters category ( not clear as stated) and I felt the decision was therefore not impartial . And decision was unreasonable due to my circumstances ( I know this is a very high bar and unlikely ) but feel I need to put as much in as possible.

Experts - could OP use the fact that the PAN is 18, but that they clearly regard the PAN as 20 given that they admit up to 20 automatically? Perhaps if they'd had a PAN of 20 you would have been child 19 or 20?

Hi,

Aside from the odd PAN issue - you may fair better with the sibling issue in your appeal.

if they offer to what they call 'prioritised siblings' what are they?

In our LA we have some schools where children inside the catchment area are allocated before children outside the catchment - meaning that in-catchment non-siblings are offered before siblings outside the catchment. In reality siblings outside the area are rarely offered and if they are it will be a waiting list offer in Y2 or so.

We do however prioritise the sibling of a child with an EHCP who lives outside the catchment. This is because an EHCP names the best place for the child concerned the family should not be penalised for this - this is why when the best school for the child is a non-mainstream setting, or is some distantance, transport is provided.

As the whole Infant Class Size issue is odd with this one, you may have a chance .

Ok, so they've gone over PAN then admitted a twin. That makes sense.

Two years ago, admitting your son didn't take them over the infant class size limit.

The appeal panel won't check categories. They might find that someone has been placed in the wrong category if evidence emerges to show that has happened, but they won't go on a fishing expedition. Similarly, they will only ask for distances to be checked if someone argues that they've measured from the wrong house. If the appeal papers submitted by the school don't show where they have measured from and to, ask them for a map. As you haven't got a date for the hearing yet, you still have time to add things to your written case.

@titchy Unless those admitted over PAN should have been lower priority than the OP's daughter, that won't help. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, I would assume those admitted as child 19 and 20 are those who would have been admitted if PAN had been 20.

@schooladmission how would I find out if my LA does a "priorities sibling " the school in question is a academy so their own admission authority how ever when I've approached them they seem to put blame on LA for admissions and vice Versa when I've approached school admissions would it need to be in their admission criteria ?
@prh47bridge would you say then I should add that in about all distances even if I'm unsure if it's the case ? The only distance I know was that of the last child admitted ?

Hi,
Another panel chair here. Unless a mistake can be shown, then I'm afraid I would say that the school next to your younger child's nursery is a reasonable offer. Sorry.

In my LA it is usual practice to state the category and distance of the last child offered a place. So if you live further away they admitted correctly.
The LA should be able to explain at the appeal exactly how the distances are measured

It is only worth adding distances if you think they've measured from the wrong house. Get the map from them and check.

What matters is not the LA's admission arrangements, it is the school's, so forget about "prioritised siblings". The school prioritises all in-catchment children over out of catchment siblings unless the out of catchment child was in catchment when the older sibling was admitted but is now out of catchment due to changes in the catchment area.

I don't think they have measure my distance wrong when I double checked it it was perhaps out by 0.02 of a mile but then I don't no at what point in the school they have measured from which could explain the difference do u think I should still ask ?.
I do feel like I'm being punished I 100 % done the right thing for my son sending him to this school he was initially offered a place at my older daughters primary (90 in take) but after meeting with Senco before places were offered (all siblings were given priority) it was apparent it wasn't the school for him , they even mentioned excluding him! I spent ages finding a lovely school that could meet his needs , and also left behind all the friendships and support network I had formed at my older daughters school ( she was only there for one more year before going to middle school) and now after all this my youngest daughter is gonna pay the price ! She will miss on average of 1 hour a day as I have no one who can help take her which by the end of the week will be like a whole day missed !! It's such a shame for her she is at a disadvantage due to her epilepsy and now throwing this in to the mix it's just gonna be such a shame for her ! If I thought my son could cope with being moved I would and put an end to all this , but he just wouldn't and he's got an amazing 1:1 at his school it's just an awful situation!!

Have you asked for transport for DS? He will be entitled, if you are refused contact SENTAS for help as they specialise in helping parents with transport appeals.

I think it's something I may have to consider the problem with my son he's very irrational and his behaviour is often erratic and he will point blank refuse to go , I find I can persuade him sometimes after a period of time but again this would still delay my daughter getting to school as I wouldn't be able to leave to take her untill my son had left. He struggles with car journeys which has been documented over the years by paediatrician he will kick out ,attempt to escape , damage car.

@schooladmission my understanding was that op placed son in school before he had an EHCP, so the LA did not place him there following consultation etc and usually there's something written in EHCP's about parental preference and non catchment schools (e.g. parents being responsibly for transport)

Many parents, myself included, worry their DC won’t cope with transport but once settled they do cope better than expected. If DS is an escape artist do you have a crelling harness?

LAs often try to use parental preference as a reason to try to refuse transport, however SENTAS can help you challenge this. Here is more information about this situation.