School place appeal Year 4

[Mumzy3RC]

Hello, I applied for a school place transfer in May. The school was unable to offer a place so filed an appeal in June and have and appeal date this month.

His brother was offered a place and already attends the school.

My reasons for appeal are a disability called joint hypermobility syndrome that affects his walking distance. It also causes other issues should he be one over tired such as clumsiness, pain, stomach issues, difficulty concentrating etc.

This school is around a 5 min walk from home.
There are no other schools under a mile away. He wouldn't be able to walk that and still be able to manage school and walk home.

I don't drive and public transport isn't reliable around here. The nearest school with places is around 1.3 miles away and would require 2 different buses each way. And one of the buses is being withdrawn soon anyway. But it would make his day even longer and he'd quickly struggle.

I'm just looking for advice for my appeal. I can still submit evidence to support my appeal. Is there anything I should be doing that's obvious that I may have missed.

The best thing you can get is a letter from your consultant or GP, explaining the disability and stating that in their opinion this is a good reason why he should be given a place at the school. The important part of this letter is that it states words to the effect of "in my professional opinion" this is the best school and that other schools are not within walking distance. What it should not say is that they agree with Mrs Muzy that the school is the right school. Appeal panels have been told clearly that this kind of letter should not be given any weight. Letters from the consultant stating in my professional opinion however should be given appropriate weight in making decisions.
Obviously you should also be stating that brother is already in the school and the obvious issues with having siblings in different schools causing problems of times to get to the two schools, especially when no transport is available

Separate to the appeal, if DC can’t reasonably be expected to walk to school due to their disability have you asked the LA for transport?