Winning school appeal

[Natwild]

My two kids have been in separate schools for 2 years I have my appeal coming up the headteacher said she will accept my daughter because she's in year 3 which I'm happy about but I don't know if I will win my appeal any advice.

What basis are you appealing on?

If there is a space in yr 3 anyway then you don't need to appeal!

Surely there's no longer a need for appeal if they have said they will take her?

They are over subscribed so have to appeal the school know my circumstances and the headteacher is willing to accept her at the appeal all this stress for 2 years my son is 6 my daughter is 8.

So what's your argument? What will you say to the panel to get them to admit your DC?

I've told them quite alot I was wanting someone on here who's won an appeal when in ks2 its different more likely to win plus the headteacher is on my side my daughter isn't wanting to leave her school but I got to think about myself and what's best for all of us

Well, assuming that the schools admissions policy is in line with the admissions code, you would be appealing under the 3rd criteria:

'the decision to refuse admission was unreasonable. This means that the panel believes that no reasonable admission authority could have come to the same decision. The word ‘reasonable’ has a strong legal meaning in this context and is a high bar. For example, a decision that makes it impossible for you to get all your children to school on time is unlikely to be considered unreasonable. However, if a place was refused to a child whose family had to relocate under a witness protection scheme, the panel might consider that unreasonable.'

So you need to think about how you could convince the panel that no reasonable authority could have come to the same decision.

You win an appeal by demonstrating that it is worse for your daughter not to attend the school than it is for the school to have to accept another pupil (as it is no longer an infant class size appeal, it is not just about mistakes/reasonableness).

If school don’t put up any argument then it should be fairly easy to win (the panel’s task is to weigh up the two sides, not decide if you are worthy enough). That said, I would be wary of assuming it will be a walk over - school could have just accepted your daughter without going to appeal if they wanted to. Do you know who will present for the school? You don’t want to get there unprepared and find out it’s someone who presents that the school is full and argues against admission.

So what are your points for wanting her to go to this school?

As it is an appeal for a year 3 place, Infant Class Size rules no longer apply, so you can also appeal on "balance of prejudice", which means you have to the show that the prejudice (detriment to your DC from not attending outweighs the detriment to the school and its other pupils by going over numbers.

The school seems to be saying they won't put up much of a case against admission (which makes it a bit easier for you) but of course there may be other appellants, so if the panel decide that the school can cope with two extra pupils, but there are four appellants, you need to have one of the stronger two cases.

Your case need to be rooted in the educational needs of your DC. (Not the convenience of having them in the same place, only mention that in passing if at all)

So what does the school you want offer, that will strongly benefit your DC, that is not currently available to them?

I don't understand (sorry). So the Head is saying she will accept admission but only at appeal? So what she'll put everyone through the process and waste volunteers time ? She'll turn up to the meeting and say she no longer contests ?

Unless I've got this wrong, what a joke.

It's not a joke. A HT, even when a school is its own admissions authority, cannot admit over PAN. So it has to be via appeal.

I lost my appeal 2 years ago so my daughter remained on the waiting list but this school is always over subscribed my son got a place in reception so I decided to appeal again only because the teacher told me to as I'm late picking up both kids once in the morning and roughly 20 minutes after school. Late mark everyday not good. No school clubs at both schools catch 22 situation.

If I win I will post on here both schools are fantastic in understanding and my daughter loves the school she's at the one I'm appealing for is local authority the other is there own admissions. My son is also on the waiting list for my daughters school he is 3rd out of catchment area. My daughter is 1st for the school I'm appeal 10 minutes walk 40 minutes for the school she is at.

There's no room in year 3 or they would accept its a very popular school I'm from Birkenshaw west Yorkshire.

I hate to disagree with @meditrina but I am going to on this specific point..

Technically, only a regular admissions year (reception, year 3 in some schools, year 7) has a PAN. Often other years are referred to as having a PAN, but unless they are an admissions year, it is a notional not an actual PAN.

Infant Class Size is a different situation, there is no leeway, but above that admissions authorities do have leeway to admit over the notional "PAN" for that year - a year 3 class of 30, say, could have 31 if the admissions authority chose to take an extra child, which they are allowed to do.

(They can also decide to admit over actual admissions PAN in a regular admissions year if they want - this year a number of schools local to me did in Yr7 in agreement with the LA as it's a bulge year. What they can't do is admit under PAN if there are children wanting the spaces; and children over PAN have to come from the waiting list in order)

However, the extra child would have to be the next child on the waiting list; they can't just choose who to take. So if OP is not top of the waiting list, the school can't just decide she should have a place because they feel sorry for her situation. If she is, they could, but in reality, this doesn't often happen, as it annoys another local school by taking a child away from them, and usually local schools like to keep on good terms. Schools prefer to be able to say, "the appeals panel made the decision, not us!"

It sounds as if this could develop into the kind of appeal I was involved in recently, where we invited the school to set out their case for not admitting and they replied that they had space and would happily accept the child. In that scenario, there’s no prejudice (in appeal-speak) to the school and so the appeal has to be allowed.

Thank you @PatriciaHolm

I hadn't properly grasped that that was possible - probably because it doesn't seem to happen round here, and I had wrongly concluded it was not allowed at all, rather than it being local disinclination (which now seems a likely scenario)

I won my appeal I am so happy 😊 😃 😀 😄 😁

That’s great news, must be a big relief! And lovely to have it sorted in time for September.

Great! Very pleased for you.